Small and surprisingly good!
Restaurant review | Huckleberry, Bangalore | Priya Bala
Huckleberry on 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, keeps a quiet profile, compared to its rather raucous neighbours. And that suits the style of this restaurant just fine. It’s small and cosy, but not cramped, thanks to the high tiled roof. It’s casual and a little bit kitschy – ladybirds painted on chair seats, garden furniture and ludo boards on table tops. All of which combine to give it a warm, welcoming air.
A wood-fired brick oven which the owners are proud to possess is at the centre of this restaurant. So, the pizzas are the main piece, so to speak. But customers kept asking for other mains, so they’ve added on other dishes, including some pasta. It happens all too often in Bangalore – diners wanting fried rice in Andhra restaurants, veg curries in steak houses and similar demands. Still, Huckleberry wishes most of all to be a pizzeria and wine bar.
They have a compact wine list and at excellent prices, especially given what other restaurants in the area charge. Wine coolers and sangrias are on offer, if you like it lighter and fruity. I had my first taste of the Vindiva Shiraz here and was most impressed. Even better, it came in the right red wine glass, not the cheap little ones even some upscale restaurants use.
There’s a blackboard menu which changes once every few weeks. From the list we chose a starter of cheese and mushroom rolls. They were deep-fried, all gooey and lovely inside. Not great for calorie counters, I know, but there’s no denying they were scrumptious. The potato and peanut soup sounded intriguing and so we had a taste of that, too. It was velvety, full of flavour, rather like a vegetarian bisque, with a nice hit of rosemary.
Then we had the pizza – super thin crust,with lashings of toppings that were fresh and of excellent quality. Nothing like the dessicated salami and withered capsicum the pizza chains put on theirs. Full marks for the Huckleberry pizzas. They come at a very good price, too.
The sensible pricing, friendly service and personal attention of the owners makes the Huckleberry experience utterly satisfying. What’s also heartening is that they make a conscious effort to stay green – using the brick oven, cutting down on waste and sourcing ingredients locally as far as possible. For that alone this restaurant wins my vote.
For dessert I recommend the coffee cheesecake – which is like having your after post-prandial pudding and coffee on one plate. It’s a perfect way to round off a meal at this small restaurant, which serves good food, in a relaxed setting and does its bit for the environment as well.
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