Goat cheese-flavoured gin, a tower of tomato rasam, and other playful, palatable creations at Nadodi remind us to look at the lighter side of life amidst dark times
With the economy taking a massive hit from the pandemic, fine dining restaurants the world over have scaled down their operations.
Not Nadodi, however. Despite entertaining the idea of introducing stand-alone dishes, the team has decided to continue doing what they do best, which is to serve epic dégustations.
"I wanted to introduce à la carte offerings. After all, you need manpower to execute a tasting menu," says head chef Sricharan Venkatesh. "But sometimes, the locals take you by surprise."
Heavily bearded, as is de rigueur during lockdown, he gazes at a group of revellers across the room. A customer, whom we can only assume is celebrating her birthday, sports a sparkly tiara that matches her toothy smile. She isn't the only one who's excited to be out of the house; tonight's reservations have surpassed the restaurant's expectations—Nadodi is operating at full capacity for the first time since CMCO.
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Granted, Nadodi now seats less customers to comply with social distancing measures, but no longer is it a husk of a restaurant; life has flowed back into the dining room, which hums with life and energy.
We place ourselves in the able hands of the team, who introduces us to a series of South Indian street snacks, from moreish duck puffs redolent of miniature hand pies to fermented rice pancakes presented as cutesy 'ice cream cones'. Not unlike Massimo Bottura's dish dubbed The Crunchy Part of the Lasagna, Nadodi's Dosa, Sambhar & Chutney is all about maximising the best part of the dosa—the delightfully crispy circumference.