A vegetarian Lebanese/Italian /Mongolian restaurant - If you have read my earlier posts you will know that I have my reservations about such cuisines being vegetarian. I can't digest the fact that these predominantly non-vegetarian foods can be made any other way. But I always try and keep an open mind when we do visit such places. Little Italy was a huge disappointment for us and when Eurasia, a franchise of the place opened up in Jayanagar, I was still skeptical. This despite the good reviews it has received on popular food review websites.

Anyways, skepticism aside, we finally decided to head to the place; it was after all walking distance from my house on the road popularly known as avarekai road, thanks to the gazillion avarekai vendors sitting there. As we entered, the decor got a couple of oohs and aahs from us. Airy and full of natural light, we decided to sit downstairs rather than on the terrace. This was more, to be close to the throne for junior who loves to frequent the place on every visit to every restaurant.

For starters, we struggled to choose between Pita bread with hummus or Pita bread with muttabel. The Muttabel - roasted eggplant seasoned with spiced herbs and olive oil - won. The dish looked really cute when it came with pomegranate seeds decorating it. The muttabel tasted good, quite close to what is served in the Gulf. The olive oil was not really there, but the black olives made up for it. Nice and sufficient for two people.

Next, we opted for the mixed platter of starters, which was batter-fried capsicum, onion rings, and corn fritters. While the descriptions on the menu were varied, all three veggies were batter fried and served with tomato salsa. All three were really batter fried and not with channa batter like my prejudiced mind would expect. They really went well with the tangy salsa. But, we honestly wished they hadn't sprinkled a truckload of chaat powder on the dish. We dusted it off and gobbled it all up.

For the main course, I just had to try the pastas. They have a good range of toppings as well as pastas in terms of penne, spaghetti, fusili, farfelle and even gnocchi. I opted for the Matriciana in spaghetti. This was tomato sauce, soya mince, cheese, onion, chilly and basil. It was topped off with shavings of Parmesan. The quantity was excellent and the taste - well, it was my big step into believing that vegetarian Italian could actually be really good. The sauce was rich without being overly so, tangy and very yummy.

Husband decided to go in for a Mongolian Wok-Talk - This is a stir-fry where you get to choose your ingredients, the sauce and the type of noodles you want it tossed in. He went for the Yakitori sauce, which seriously should have a dangerously spicy sign next to it. Our spice levels are really high but even this one had us reaching for the water glass one too many times. It was good, nevertheless. In this sauce was tossed onions, zucchini, broccoli and red and yellow capsicum. This dish came to the table steaming hot and was good right down to the last bite.

Dessert was a rushed affair because junior turned sleepy and therefore cranky. We settled for the most common of desserts from rather yummy sounding list - caramel custard. What came was perfectly shaped and delicious to boot.

To round up - I am definitely going there again - to try more starters, salads, pizzas and hopefully the barbecues. Yes! They have this too but it is not yet functional. Money wise - the meal came to Rs 1100.

Address: #12, 32nd cross, Jayanagar 7th block, Bangalore - 82
Cuisine: Italian, Mongolian, Lebanese
Wallet factor: Rs 1100. No alcohol here
Cards Accepted: Yes
Parking: Nothing exclusive and can be a little tough especially on weekends

Courtesy: http://onruthprabhusplate.blogspot.com/

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