Kipos (Greek) : a garden or a tavern in a garden
For me, food and romance go together – one without the other is hungry and boring! I entered Kipos with no high expectations on either front. After all, it was a continental food joint housed in a shopping mall on one of the busiest streets of Bandra ! And boy was I wrong and how wrong was I !
I enter into this white, stucco walled, white tabled place with blue lighting cast over everything, a long bar on one side, a long runner table, faux windows and flower boxes and I say to myself – Mamma Mia !! It was like I was on the Kalokairi Island in Greece, where days were filled with sun and sea and nights were filled with Disco lights, strobes and Abba! My heart went into the Dancing Queen overdrive …humming … “Friday night and the lights are low..Looking out for the place to go..Where they play the right music, getting in the swing…”
Though I was drunk on the atmosphere, we tried a couple of drinks. We went for their signature drinks, White Russian and the Orange Berry Caprioska. The former came as a mint muddled Kahlua and Vodka mix with a test tube of cream in it – you add the cream as you like. It was accompanied by mint and chocolate flavoured molecular caviar. The Caprioska was a vodka based drink that came in berry-flavoured, molecular caviar alongwith a fresh orange cranberry mint addition on the side. While I found the Russian a little heavy due to the cream, the Caprioska was light and fruity and summery!
Going with the atmosphere, we decided to try out the Greek specialties and started with the Prawn and Olive Kebabs. The prawns were very lightly seasoned with olive oil, lime and oregano and just cooked slightly. They were soft and delicious with all the flavours of the sea and the olives lent an earthiness to it. Frankly, I did not need the dip that came with it. The other starter was Feta Lime Chicken – succulent pieces of chicken marinated in Feta, Lemon and Thyme and roasted to melt-in-the mouth perfection. It came with a tzatziki dip. The last starter we tried was the Chicken Saganaki. Traditionally Saganaki is made by frying various kinds of cheese and making a sort of a fondue to be eaten with bread and lime. In this Chicken Saganaki, the sauce was cheesy but the tomatoes overpowered the delicate flavours. It was definitely not one of my favourite dishes of the night.
For the mains, we ordered the Lamb Moussaka and the Lemon Pepper Fish Greek Style. The Lamb Moussaka is a lamb mince layered with eggplant and potatoes – I found the potatoes soggy and the lamb needed more seasoning. The fish was fresh and well flavoured though the butter sage sauce lacked punch. On the manager’s insistence, we tried the Chicken Pizza which was the house specialty and I am glad I did. It was a burst of flavours in every bite. The combination of chicken, baked cheese with fresh pomegranate and rocket leaves was so full of freshness that you felt you were really sitting in a Greek garden with sun on your face and savouring a cold shot of ouzo.
For dessert we had a chocolate Mud Cake with Chocolate sauce. The cake was soft, delectable and creamy and the sauce was balanced. All I can say that it was sinful indulgence drowning in sinful decadence!
And another Abba song played in my mind ..”Mamma Mia, here I go again..My my, how can I resist you?..”
Ratings out of 5
Food: 3 | Ambiance: 3.5 | Service: 3.5 | Overall: 3
Meal for Two without Alcohol: Rs. 2000 Approximately plus taxes| Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes|
Timing:7 pm to 1 am | Wheelchair access : Yes
Address: 5th Floor, Crystal Shoppers Paradise, Off Linking Road, Bandra west, Mumbai
Telephone : 022 30151100
Disclaimer : This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. Due judgment and care has been applied by the author to remain objective and unbiased in the review; however readers may exercise their own discretion.
