Anupam’s Coast to Coast, perched with confident culinary conviction on the ever-ebullient Church Street, is no pedestrian purveyor of platitudes on a plate. It is, rather, a gastronomic gauntlet flung down with flair. A bold, briny proclamation that coastal Karnataka cuisine, with all its piquant potency and spice suffused splendour, has well and truly arrived in the urban heartland of Bengaluru.
The establishment, in an act of both culinary cartography and regional pride, casts its net wide. Yes, forgive the piscatorial pun, for it swims too temptingly to resist; across the abundant and aromatic seascape of Karnataka’s coastal kitchens.
It proclaims itself “rooted in Mangalore’s coastal kitchens,” and indeed, this is no idle flourish. The menu is a symphony composed in the key of curry leaves, coconut, tamarind, ghee, and that ineffable alchemy of freshly ground spices that transmutes the quotidian into the transcendent.
But what, one might ask with epistemological rigour, does this professed coastal fidelity mean in practice?
It manifests most delectably in a phalanx of signature dishes that are at once decadent and disarmingly authentic: the Chicken Ghee Roast, a fiery ode to indulgence; the Prawn Tawa Fry, crisped to crustacean perfection; the Pomfret Rawa Tawa Fry, wherein texture and taste engage in harmonious tandem; and the Neer Dosa, that gossamer-soft staple which is less a bread and more an edible whisper. To this, add the deeply addictive Pulimunchi gravies. Tangy, spice-laden elixirs that do not merely coat the palate, but commandeer it.
The menu, generous in its ambit, moves fluidly from seafood starters and coastal curries to Mangalorean staples like Kori Roti and boiled rice, before meandering with perhaps a touch of democratic pragmatism; into the territories of biryani and North Indian fare, thus extending an olive branch (or perhaps a curry leaf) to the pan-Indian palate.
For those inclined towards oenological adventures or simply in pursuit of social lubrication, a well-stocked bar stands ready. Replete with libations suited for both the restrained sipper and the Dionysian enthusiast. Be forewarned, however, that such indulgences are not entirely frugal: the cost for two may climb into what one might diplomatically term the moderately aspirational.
And so, if you should find yourself ambling down Church Street with a craving for seaspray and spice, for the coastal without the commute, then let Anupam’s be your port of call. Here, you do not merely eat. You partake in a culinary narrative steeped in tradition, technique, and the tantalising tension between fire and finesse.
In summation: this is not a timid, tourist brochure homage to Karnataka’s coast. It is a full-throated, full-bodied, inland incarnation of the coastal spirit; where flavour reigns supreme, and every bite tells a story older and more delicious than you dared imagine.
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