Uno Chicago Bar & Grill, Kolkata

People love a fancy place, but do they love a fancy place with average food?

A touch of Chicago in Kolkata.

I simply loved the atmosphere here. It is carved out of the Exit gate of Swabhumi, which used to be a go-to place for having an amazing evening hangout. Right from the entrance, you can feel the liveliness of the place. Neon lights, plush interiors, pipped music and cool, wintery air. What better can you ask for? The bar is well-decked, not with alcohol though. The open space and brilliant interiors give it an ecstatic look and feel. They have an immense seating place. One is on the outside with clear glass top gazebos, some tables here and there. Then there is a lounge on the second floor, totally covered. They are coming up with the rooftop as well, starting 25th December 2018. I personally loved the “I ♥ UNO” setup.

Next plus is the well-trained, well-groomed staff. They are thorough with the menu, a point that is seldom a plus anywhere else. They are always on their toes.

Coming to the food, the menu is very expansive and brings the famous Deep Dish Pizzas to Kolkata. We ordered thePull-Apart Garlic Bread. The plating was done nicely to accommodate 6 buns. When it comes to the name, you fancy something like a bread loaded with cheese. But this was not the case here. A small amount of cheese was topped ON the bun, baked and then served. No pulling apart here. Breads were dry.

Next up wasSkillet Parmesan Meatballs. As the menu read, “succulent” pieces of chicken, well, they were not. They were hard and dry. The meatballs lacked taste too. After a couple of average dishes, our expectations from Uno Chicago were dripping. Then came theVeggie GrilledQuesadillas. They were superb. The right taste with the right amount of fillings. The salsa and sour cream were perfect in taste. Must try.We also had theClassic Onion Rings. Nothing wrong with this one.

Now heading towards the small plates,Pizza Skinswas what we ordered. It was a miniature deep dish pizza, basically a pizza with mashed potatoes. The taste was good, but at some point of time, it would become too dry.

For the finale, we had to lay our hands on the Deep Dish Pizza that they had invented, way back in 1943. We tried theUno Cheese and Tomato. Talking about toppings on a pizza, and being a personal fan of Domino’s Pizza (coz of their Cheese Burst Base

), this was rather a completely different experience. So many things stuffed inside a pizza. They give it in 2 portion sizes, one being for an individual or the regular. The pizza tasted dry, i don’t know why.

Since alcohol licence has not been received yet, there are an array of mocktails on offer. The Pinacoladas here are to die for.

To sum it up, ambiance and service are top-notch here. When it comes to food, even their signature dishes failed to impress. They might be making genuine quality dishes, but they need to understand the palate of people they are serving. We Indians, do not like our food bland and dry. A bit of spices can amp up the taste for these innovative dishes.

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