Restaurant Review: MEDICI, Indiranagar, Bangalore

I was beginning to lose faith in the dining options at Indiranagar. With a resurgence of restaurants opening up in Koramangala, Indiranagar is rarely part of the choice for me anymore. Sure you have Herbs and Spice... that's about it. During my MSN India days, I actually use to work in the area... so I know there are some good options; I use to remember frequenting Max Mueller's cafe for the Weiner Schnitzel, Nizam's for double chicken egg rolls, Shiok for pretty authentic Thai and the Drunken beef, Nagarjuna for biryani and Nandini's for thaliis with unlimited rice, ghee and 'French' Chicken, which are basically chicken strips coated with ridiculous red colouring and delicious spices. I guess you can blame the construction of the metro for a couple of the restaurants disappearing into oblivion over there.  Should definitely give the area a once over again.  

Thought it was fitting that I met up with an old co-worker from MSN and friend, Aina Barker, for lunch in Indiranagar last week. Giving credit, where credit is due, she's a massive foodie just like me and she did introduce me to quite a few stellar restaurants in this city, including a few mentioned above. Anyways, I was actually dying to go to Max Mueller, but her highness is all, "Despite your hippy lifestyle, I'd still like to take you to fine dining." Pfft. LOL.  Which is where I come to the topic of discussion, Medici.

Medici is located on 100 feet road, Indiranagar, opposite the Raymonds showroom, above Maharaja Furniture (they have a bar/lounge on the third floor called Level III - will check it out and review it soon).  If we're talking basically, it's continental food, if we're talking specifically, would say it's a combo of French/Italian.  I'm a huge fan of tan brown and gold settings, plush comfortable seating and minimal tasteful decor, with this in mind, the ambiance at Medici really hit the spot.  What really stuck was the huge window in the front that overlooked the top of a tree (and 100FT Road), the tree was in bloom and the orange was crazy.

In Pic: Medici's plush brown/gold setting

In Pic: Medici's view

Unfortunately, didn't really give the menu a thorough look (criminal for a restaurant review, I know!), mainly because I zeroed in on exactly what I wanted immediately! I do remember seeing a pretty decent looking steak selection, a diverse set of starters and salads, a unique menu for seafood and also a very interesting sounding risotto.  However, after an absolutely shambolic effort of risotto at Tuscanos in Value Mall, I thought I'd give it a skip and go for something a little more classic and simple. More importantly though, the menu wasn't grossly overpriced like it is at Tuscanos or Caperberry (for that matter).  With such spot on ambiance and quite an up-market menu like Medici's, the prices were affordable and more than anything else, not pretentious.

I started with the Beef Carpaccio salad (Rs. 250)... and I know the first thing you're thinking, it's India!  How can you do raw beef?  Well, I'm alive and well and that was probably one of the best salads I've tasted in this city.  The beef was melt in your mouth and there was absolutely no peculiar aftertaste. The spinach salad sprinkled with gherkins, green olives and pine nuts had an irresistible and subtle sesame mustard based dressing... and the shavings of rich cheese (not a cheese expert yet!) was a perfect touch.  Aina ordered the Caesar salad (boooorrrrinnng!), but what caught my eye, this was one of the few Caesar salads I've seen in Bangalore, that throw an anchovy on it. Nice touch of authenticity.  I should also tell you, their on-table baked breads were out of this world.

In Pic: Beef Carpaccio @ Medici

In Pic: Caesar Salad @ Medici

For the main course I went for the simple and ordered Chicken Parmigiana (Rs. 300).  Last time I did this dish was in Spiga (St. Mark's Road, Bangalore), which essentially means my standards are pretty high, because Spiga have got this dish down to the T.  Much to my surprise, Medici's Parmigiana is equally good if not better.  The breaded cutlet was crisp on the outside, juicy in the inside, the tomato sauce was divine (the green olives were an amazing little add on), there was a perfect dose of mozzarella and the star on the plate was the dollop of mashed potatoes the cutlet sat on (not taking anything away from the cutlet!).  If my taste buds serve me right, it was the hint of cream cheese and garlic that made their mashed potatoes stand out.  I swallow my spit thinking about the fork pitching the cutlet smothered with the tastiest mashed potatoes I've had the pleasure of eating.  Aina went for the Chicken and Bacon Quiche and while the filling was yummy (and very different to the quiche I'm used to eating at Herbs and Spice), I found the crust a little bit too powdery.  It's a matter of taste, but I prefer when the crust is flakey and a tad bit crispy.

In Pic: Chicken Parmigiana @ Medici

In Pic: Chicken and Bacon Quiche @ Medici

Unfortunately, we gave dessert a skip (trust me, this very rarely happens) and I didn't really give the menu a second look. Their selection of beverages, particularly the range of ice teas were impressive (Rs. 120).  Top of my head I said 'Passion Fruit,' they had it and it was nicely done in a very tall chilled glass.  Had the pleasure of meeting the owner as well, Rohan, who was an utter gent.  Promise to come back with a more detailed review; have to check out the desserts, the steaks and the seafood dishes.

Will definitely be eating at Medici regularly, there seems to be an interesting little set menu they offer for corporate lunches on weekdays which looks like a steal at Rs. 400.  The review on Burrp summed it up just right: "The concept behind the restaurant is to offer gourmet food without the intimidation that goes with a fine dining restaurant."

Our bill for a glass of iced tea, fresh lime soda, Beef Carpaccio, Caesar Salad, Chicken Parmigiana and Chicken and Bacon Quiche was Rs. 1300.

Feedback, your experiences and your favourite dishes with Medici would be greatly appreciated. And please forgive a few of those cell phone pics. :) - SG

To find out more about Medici, check out their Facebook page: Click here