I’ve been to The Table on multiple occasions, had the Chef feature at the first Kala Ghoda Arts Festival food workshops, and recommended it to those who ask for interesting food. But I’ve never had a completely satisfactory experience there. The first few times I went there, I sent my steak back over and over again, and finally gave up on the idea of ordering a main course at all. Which is perfectly ok if the selection of starters is as expansive and awesome as the Small Plates at The Table.
For me, The Table is nestled in the ‘Golden Triangle’ – right between Indigo Deli, Woodside Inn and Ling’s Pavillion – three of my favourite places to eat. Its eclectic décor seems bizarre on any day, but lends a fun element to a normally boring evening. I enjoy sitting downstairs on the long bar much more than I do at a regular table on the mezzanine.
I went for dinner one Friday evening, determined to stick to my vegetarian diet of salad and lentils. As you can see from this post, I failed miserably. Or was it splendidly? Think I’m going to say – I failed magnificently. Gone were plans of going out afterwards and drinking, it was all we could do to get ourselves to bed!
We started with an old favourite – the boneless chicken wings in a ginger honey glaze. These are unlike any chicken wings I’ve ever eaten – they’re SQUARE! They look like tiny checkers on a board. The sauce is divine, I highly recommend dribbling it onto their very excellent French fries and enjoying it. (Yes, I do this A LOT).
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| Chicken Wing Chess? |
The Tiger Prawns with white wine, garlic & breadcrumbs were pretty good, the sauce was nice and light and the dish looked incredibly appetizing the second they put it down in front of me.
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| Mmm |
I love their Roasted Beet Salad With Chives, Orange, Mint And Feta – it’s a huge favourite of mine. We opted to go without pine nuts in the salad (allergies, you know!) and it was still amazing. The feta is slightly warm and runny, and complements the earthiness of the beets and the citrus of the orange perfectly.
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| Didn't get a picture of that - have a prawn? |
My brother has been raving about their Grilled Octopus With Sweet Corn & Cumin Puree and Lemon & Mint Bulgar for months, but I’ve been scared to try it. My relationship with tentacled sea creatures is tenacious at best (see what I did there?) but I threw caution to the wind and ordered it anyway. It was AMAZING. The octopus was grilled to the point where it was just slightly chewy, not fishy at all. The bulgar was flavored excellently and the puree complemented the dish.
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| Make sure you eat this |
I could have done without the Crispy Pork Belly Sliders. Served with an onion ring on each (the boys went crazy about that), they were nice, but not something I would order again. In fact I only had the one bite I needed to decide this and then went back to my Octopus. Erm, Octopi.
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| They're gonna jump out of the screen any second now |
Tenderloin Tacos are the one thing I didn’t try, though they looked pretty good. I was excessively full by the time they were placed on the table and decided to skip them in favour of a few bites of dessert.
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| The Beefy Mac - looked good, but too salty |
We’ve had the Steamed Buns with Hoisin Pork before and they’re a nice light addition to the starters we ordered. Softly seasoned, these have been on The Table’s menu since the beginning and should always stay there!
Once of The Table’s crowning glories is the Meatballs In Tomato Gravy With Pomme Frites. Alex taught us how to make these at Kala Ghoda a long time ago and I have been salivating everytime I eat them since. I must have eaten at least 6 at that first tasting, and order them every time. A combination of beef and pork, they are light, melt in your mouth delicious and accompanied by a nice punchy tomato sauce.
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| Sluuurp |
Too full for a main course, we sipped wine and water while everyone else ate (I’m obsessed with Rosé at the moment) and turned our eyes to dessert.
The warm chocolate tart was pretty good, but completely outshined by the orange Panna cotta. Perfectly wobbly, refreshingly light and delicate, this was the best way to end a meal. The dessert isn’t heavy so it doesn’t matter if you have only one bite or ten. Yes, I know its heavy because of all the cream, but it doesn’t feel heavy and that’s really what counts isn’t it?
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| So good |
The menu and quality have shifted a little since Alex left, but it’s still a place I’d recommend going if you wanted to have a good meal. Not a quiet one, because the restaurant is very loud, but a good one.
The weather forecast has been looking good of late - it's cloudy, with a chance of meatballs. x
