Restaurant Review: Bon Appétit

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

Address: 109/26 Hazra Road, Kolkata

Cuisine Type: Mexican, French, Italian & Continental 

Located on the interiors of Hazra road, Bon Appétit would leave a long-lasting impression on any foodie. Be it for their decor, unique seating arrangements or awesome desserts palette. Check out what WhenWeEat did when they visited this cosy little restaurant :)

Other Details

Bar Available:No

Veg/Non Veg: Vein  and Non-Veg both

Hours: 11 AM to 8:30 PM (Tue-Sun), Monday Closed

Home Delivery:No

Attendees:Red Chilli, Green Chilli & Friend

The Menu: The menu comprised of Italian, Mexican, French and Continental cuisines. Be it appetisers, entree or desserts. Take a look:

Bill Please:

(Chicken Cheese Nachos) 110+ (Chicken & Cheese Pan Cake) 125+ (Chicken Mexicon Rice Bowl from Valentines’ day menu) 120+ (Fresh Strawberry Cheese Cake from Valentines’ day menu) 95+ (Black Forest Pudding eggless) 45+ (Chocolate Fondue) 75= INR 570/- 

Pros and Cons

Pros

 Absolutely lovely, lip-smacking Desserts
Variety in menu
Great ambience
Distinctive yet casual decor
Hygiene and neat presentation
Pocket Friendly

Cons

Payment pattern (Only cash)
Only 1 set of Napkin tray, sauce-jars, salt & pepper jar for the whole restaurant
Self-service even for a glass of water
Space quite small and feels a bit overcrowded when full

Our Platter

This is a short synopsis of our experience. In this section we decode the presentation, flavours and spices of every dish we had in this restaurant. Check out which dish was scrumptious and which one was a drab, which one you would be glad to avoid and which one you would demand a second helping:

1.    Nachos with Cheese dip & Salsa (Chicken)

Decoding the dish: Tortilla chips served hot with cheese spread, salsa spread, shredded chicken and jalapeno topping.

WWEat thinks:  In terms of taste the chips were much like Mad Angles, however the spices and the hotness of Salsa was nicely balanced with Cheese. The overall piquant aroma of the dish makes it a good appetiser. We definitely recommend you to try this dish.

2.          Chicken Cheese Pan Cake

Decoding the dish: Sandwiched between two Pan Cakes were shredded chicken, tomato slices, melted cheese, herbs and hot potato chips.

WWEat thinks:  It is a full course meal itself with fresh chicken & cheese. We didn’t sense any aroma of those herbs however it may have been that the cheese dominated their flavour. The hot potato chips were an absolute delight. In terms of quantity we gotta give these guys thumbs up because even the three of us had to struggle to gobble up the entire the dish. Do go for this dish if you visit Bon Appétit.

3.          Chicken Mexican  Rice Bowl (Valentine’s Day special menu)

Decoding the dish:  Boiled Rice, Salsa, Jalapeno, Cheese, Chips crumbs and shredded chicken.

WWEat thinks:  The rice was too mushy. None of us have had Mexican sticky rice before, so we don’t know whether it ought to be the way it was. So, even if it was indeed an authentic Mexican rice bowl, to our Indian taste buds however, it wasn’t quite impressive. Also, it would have been better if the rice had a little more crunch. When we revisit the place, we are gonna give this dish a miss.

4.          Chocolate Fondue

Decoding the dish: Chocolate fondue with six Brownie dices and six cake dices.

WWEat thinks: This was an absolute chocolatey delight. The velvety fondue was just lip-smacking! It is a complete package for all chocolate aficionados and we recommend you choco-holics to not give it a miss.

5.          Black Forest Pudding

Decoding the dish: Black forest cake base in a cup, whipped cream with Cherry at the top.

WWEat thinks: It tasted much like Black Forest Cake, the difference we felt was in the presentation. Black Forest Cake usually served in a plate and this pudding was served in a cup. If you are looking for some light savouries then surely try this dish.

6.          Fresh Strawberry Cheese Cake (Valentine’s Day special menu)

Decoding the dish: Strawberry flavoured solid cheese, nutty fudge base, caramelized fresh strawberry pieces, whipped cream, adorned with a slice of lemon and a tiny basil leaf. 

WWEat thinks: The yummy strawberry flavour was very prominent, vanilla fudge base was full of nuts & fresh cream. It is quite a heavy dessert. It gives your meal a saporous conclusion.

Bon Appétit is a delight for the sweet tooth. We would definitely go back to taste their Chocolate Avalanche (seemed a popular dessert of the cafe, however, we could not try because we were extremely full). Yes, there are few service issues that the management needs to look into, other than that the experience was delightful.

From the decor, menu, presentation to the flavours, the place holds great promise and is a must try for all epicureans. And you need not be a spendthrift to enjoy the same; the place is extremely pocket-friendly.

Overview/The Restaurant

This is a detailed review that focuses on the ambiance, hygiene and overall service quality of the restaurant. If you want a short synopsis, you can check the plate-by-plate account of our experience in the Our Platter section where we decode every dish, its flavour, price and tell you which one’s a hit and which one’s a miss. Following is the overview of Bon Appétit:

A little ways down the road, on a weekday, we decided to lighten our head and re-energise our gustatory senses by having a sumptuous lunch. A tap on my phone and the navigation button showed us the nearby eatery called Bon Appétit-a cosy little cafe located in the interiors of Hazra road. It took us a while to find the restaurant. Basically, the ground floor of an apartment has been metamorphosed into the eatery. From outside it looks quite humble.

Once you go inside, you would appreciate the charming and endearing décor of the place. Wall hangings and a bookcase adorn the small corridor that leads to the seating area. Just before the entrance to the seating area is the counter where you can place your order. The seating arrangement is really fancy and playful to say the least. The hanging tables coupled with cube stools give the place a casual aura, which is why the cafe seemed to be a popular hangout for students. Saying this establishes how pocket friendly it is. However, one downside would be the space being so small. Once crowded, it really gets to you.

After settling in we took a look at the menu card. It was Valentines Week, so that had an additional Valentine’s Day Special Menu Card. We ordered Nachos with Cheese dip & Salsa (Chicken), Chicken Cheese Pan Cake and (from Valentine’s Day special menu) Chicken Mexican Rice Bowl. For desserts we ordered Black Forest Pudding, Chocolate Fondue and (from Valentine’s Day special menu) Fresh Strawberry Cheese Cake.

Please note that this is a self service restaurant. So we had to go to the counter and place the order. Then we got to know that they don’t accept credit or debit cards for payment. That was really a bummer because we had to go all the way to the ATM in on Hazra More to take out the cash and come back again: you have to pay immediately once you place the order, like it is with the self-service format. The lack of flexibility in payment options is a serious issue that the management needs to look into. It took them around 15 minutes to deliver the first dish-Nachos which were impressive. However, we had to call them back because the waiter had just served the dish with a single spoon and there was no additional cutlery in our table. Also, when we asked for water we were shown an Aqua Guard in the corridor. Apparently, you have to go between your meals and fill in those small cups with water multiple times to quench your thirst-again something the management needs to look into. Even if it is self-service, at least the glasses should be a lot bigger. It would be a great inconvenience to get up multiple times during the meal for a glass of water, more so because the place is so small and crowded.

Moving on, the Pan Cake was yummy and heavy; our tummies were already full even before the Mexican Rice arrived. The rice, however, should have had a little more crunch to it. Besides, it was too mushy and watery for our taste. What absolutely stumped us were the desserts. It is would be hard to pick a favourite amongst these three, but I would go for Chocolate Fondue. Each of these desserts was yummy and simply mouth watering. Credit goes to the staff for the neat presentation of the dishes. We made a mental note on trying their Chocolate Avalanche on our next visit.

Overall it was a good and satisfying experience but there are few things (not related to food) that the management should address. The ambiance does not give you the idea that it is a self-service restaurant-you need to go to the counter to place the order and also pay before they prepare the meal. They do not accept Debit or Credit cards. The second one I think is more of a real bummer, since these days almost every restaurant has the debit/credit card payment option. The staff had to be summoned for water, napkins, cutlery etc. Besides there was only 1 set of Napkin tray, Sauce-jars, Salt & Pepper jar for the whole restaurant.

However, I must mention again that the food was really good and pocket friendly. And do try any of their delicious desserts- the extra calories will be worth it :)