REVIEW: LA BENITO RESTAURANT

La Benito is a quintessential fine dine place. Located on the first floor right above the famous Rang Vesh boutique, no elevator, so it is kind of trek to the top (you have to work hard to get something good). La Benito with its food gives a chance to explore the dishes from the Far East to Italian delicacies in Vadodara. I heard that they have introduced new dishes in their menu so decided to check them out.

Ambiance: Interiors of this place are subtle It’s a cool place with nice cement washed walls and the laminated wooden look of the furniture minus the cushions. Colorful paintings hung on the walls and the bright lights illuminate the place perfectly well. This makes the ambiance neat and comfortable.

As my family knows my love for food they wanted me to take over the menu and order for them as well.

ANGEL KISS MOCKTAIL It was a lovely blend of orange, apple, lemon and kiwi although the flavor of the lemon was a bit on the higher side but overall it gave a nice feel to the mouth and charged the taste buds for what was to follow.

COUSCOUS PITA a freshly baked pita and couscous, filled with steamed vegetables, and served with spicy sauce. The pitas were baked to perfection, you could feel it when your fork and knife hit the surface and you can feel the crunch and tenderness of the bake at the same time. I tried to be at my sophisticated self for the first two bites but couldn’t resist attacking the third one with bare hands.

BAKED RICOTTA CHEESE made with ricotta flavored with Lebanese spices and drizzled with specially melted cheese, served on the bed of shredded lettuce and served with Hummus, spicy sauce and garlic mayonnaise. One of my Lebanese friend once told me that the man who knows the right Hummus, knows the right food. After all these years I finally found the right taste of hummus in India and that too luckily in Vadodara.

POLO PESTO PIZZA made with spicy pesto sauce topped with marinated tomato, ricotta, mozzarella with a dash of garlic and basil. Nothing too fancy about the pizza except the taste and the toppings are different from what you have on your regular pizzas.

EGYPTIAN FETA CHEESE ROLL a spicy herbed, buttered roll stuffed with sautéed vegetables and Egyptian condiments, topped with feta cheese. This dish is something you just want to dig in.. no talking.. just eat.

‘KIBBE’ didn’t know how to pronounce it, but the name suggested it to be something really scrumptious so just pointed it to the staff and with a beautiful smile he said it will be there in 10 minutes and lo! It was. At first glance the portion size seems less for the price, but once you start eating, trust me it’s worth every paisa paid. It’s a Lebanese delicacy, two strangely beautiful shaped Mediterranean cottage cheese balls stuffed with onion, coriander and pine nuts lying on the bed of shredded lettuce and tomato slices. The surface of the leaf shaped ball was perfectly crisp, and the stuffing inside was tender and tasted just the way it should be. It was served with two dips garlic and spicy dip.

LAVA CHOCOLATE WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM a molten flourless hot chocolate center cooked in a thin and crisp outer layer of cake had the right hint of sweetness. I decided to skip the dollop of ice cream as the cake flavor itself was very rich and to tamper it would be a sacrilege.

Helpful management, extensive menu, especially in finger food category, low music. What more can you ask for, for a nice time! The seating space is more of a cafe like. Ambiance is wonderful. Everything on their menu is delectable in taste. Though I found the meal portions a little miserly for some dishes. Though cost wise you won’t end up feeling a pinch as the food is worth all the money you pay.

Luckily we got chance to interact with the owner Mr. Amin and he explained to us the hard work it takes to order the right spices they need for the dishes and how much efforts they put in to create the right kind of dishes. If you happen to visit La Benito and you meet him, do have a conversation. It is a rare thing to find that the owner of the restaurant who knows how the food is cooked and what spices make the right dish.

Address: 1st Floor, Shantanam, Opposite Yes Bank, Inox Road, Race course