That Place, Ahmedabad

That Place,
G2, Aeon Complex,
Near Reliance Fresh,
Vijay Cross Roads,
Navrangpura,
Ahmedabad

The only reason, I haven't yet reviewed "That Place" is because we have been there so many times and I don't know where to start.

The food is amazing. For a Non-vegetarian in Ahmedabad, this place is a delight. You can sit down, think of what kind of flavours you want to indulge in and then blindly order off the menu and be assured of a good meal. They have items from all over - some Mexican, Italian, Mediterranean, Japanese, Jamaican, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Pizzas, Burgers, sandwiches, fondue and so much more and each of them tastes wonderful.

I think the only food we haven't tried here yet, is their brunch (because of our familiar problem of not being able to reach anywhere before 3pm on a weekend). We have arrived at weird hours 4pm / 6pm and still been served almost every item on the menu, even though the restaurant is minimally staffed at these hours. Service takes just a tad bit longer, but the dishes taste just as good.

The even more wonderful thing about "That Place" is that even on an overflowing weekend with mind boggling dinner rush, the quality of food has never been compromised upon - a malaise that most other "popular" restaurants in Ahmedabad suffer from.

Since we have eaten here so often, I'll just run through the menu page by page when reviewing the food below, it will be easier for me.

Smoothies : (119/-) No one in my family like smoothies, so the only time we ordered it was when my dad wanted to try one. He had the yellow fantasy - a mango papaya concoction  and was quite happy with it.

Mixed Fruit Juices : (109/-) From past experience I would recommend the Golden Sparkles, Sea Breeze, After Glow and most definitely the Watermelon Mojito. Extremely refreshing on a hot day.

Among their fresh fruit juices, (119/-) the orange is absolutely fantastic. Completely natural, I ask for my juice without added sugar and it is quite brilliant.

Their teas (59/-) are pretty standard, but the coffees (89/-) are really good.

Sharing Menu : Their French Fries (129/-) are very good, but you get these complimentary with a lot of dishes, so we have never felt the need to order them separately. Among the nachos we love the spicy salsa (veg -229/-) and the roast chicken (279/-) variations. They come with an absolutely perfect balance of flavours and a sour cream dip.

The lamb nachos however should be ordered only if you are in a big group and can consume it quickly. As it cools down the lamb starts to feel very heavy and clumpy on the tongue. The initial taste is good, but not when it starts to turn cold.

All 4 savoury fondues (379/-) are excellent, our personal favourite is the spicy paprika. You get a choice of grilled vegetables, bread and French fries to dip into the cheese mix.

Their foccacia sandwiches (veg 199/- non veg 249/-) all come with fries and a salad on the side. We have loved all 3 non-veg options - the chicken fajita (little weird having it in a foccacia instead of a roll, but still yummy), chicken Cesar and chicken sausage. The husbands favourite is the sausage.

Wraps : (199/- 229/- 249/-) The tempura chicken is nice and crispy and the Mexican is nice and spicy. We haven't tried the kheema though (I've been avoiding the kheema dishes since we had the issue with the kheema nachos once cold)

The spicy chicken burger (279/-) and the lamb burger (279/-) are lovely. Its so good to finally have a honest-to-goodness burger that has flavours and textures (I do like the occasional McD's, but I crave a good home made burger and That Place caters to this craving) We haven't gotten round to trying the tower burger (299/-) yet, but definitely some time soon.

We have loved all their soups (129/- & 169/-) that we have tried. The Vietnamese Spicy Noodle Soup, is practically a meal in itself. What I really appreciate is that all the non veg soups are clear soups, they haven't been thickened with cornflour, so while it does fill your stomach, it doesn't leave you with a heavy after feel. Their balance of flavours in the soups has always been just right.

Among the salads, (199/- 229/- 249/- 279/-) I've only tried the Caesar Salad, which has been very good. The fact of the matter is, is that if we have driven all the way to Vijay Crossroads to eat at "That Place" its because I'm hungry and want something substantial to eat - something large and meaty. The days I'm in the mood for just a salad, doesn't justify driving all that way in traffic, I'd rather just toss a salad at home.

Among the pizzas, (269/- - 399/-) we have only tried the fiery chicken (349/-), which was very good - nice and spicy. That Place makes thin crust pizzas which suit us perfectly. But as mentioned above, if we drive here, I want something more substantial, so pizzas rarely make it to our order.

Entrees: the sun dried tomato bruschettas (199/-) are lovely. I wonder why I haven't tried their sushi (299/-) yet (oh wait, its probably because they only have a vegetarian version) Among the non veg entrees, I would heavily recommend the Chimichuri chicken, Mexican pepper chicken, black pepper chicken, paprika fish, Cajun prawns and Caribbean prawns. These are all excellent. The yakitori chicken is on the sweeter side and more mildly flavoured, so its not too much to our taste and the cilantro chilli fish is quite bland compared to the paprika fish, which I can eat anytime. The prawns are quite decently sized for the price. Chicken entrees are 269/-, fish are 289/- and prawns are 349/-

Main Course : The bangers and mash (379/-) are lovely - wonderful sausages, beautiful cheesy garlicky mashed potates, this is a heavenly combination. The Portuguese and the Jerk chicken (379/-) are excellent and the herbed rice served with them is just a perfect foil to the spicy chicken. The East African Chicken Poussin (379/-) is very different from anything I have ever tasted before, but its wonderful - the tamarind sauce gives it a lovely touch of extra flavour.

The roast chicken breast (379/-)is on the blander side, but nice and juicy. The chicken parma (379/-) wasn't very good when I had it. The chicken and the cheese had got dried out and did not have the right amount of moisture content in it, so you couldn't really appreciate any flavour, when the texture was dry. All 3 stews (379/-) are lovely - the Moroccan, Thai Curry and creamy chicken.

The Quesadillas (379/-)  were fantastic - its been a long time since I had good quesadillas, these definitely fit the bill. The Iranian Cholle Kebab (399/-) can be given a miss - it has good flavours, but the meat isn't always the best. The Lamb steak (399/-) was very good when we tried it. The fish and chips (399/-) was good, but the Catch of the Day in lemon feta sauce (399/-) is divine.

My family says that the prawn curry (399/-) and the burnt garlic prawns were perfect. That place serves good sized prawns and they have always been fresh and succulent. I haven't tried the risottos (379/-) or the Amritsari masala fish (399/-) yet. The risottos I will get around to, the Amritsari masala is not something I like on fish, I feel it kills the flavour of the fish completely, but given that restaurants only serve basa these days, maybe I should give it another try.

We haven't tried their pastas (299/- - 399/-) yet. I make pasta at home so frequently, that we rarely order it when we go out.

The Desserts are all fantastic. Definitely try the chocolate fondue (279/-), it is way better than the Chocolate room. That Place is very obliging about substitutions, we ask for no fruits but more marshmallows and brownies and they always serve us with a smile. The sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce (169/-) is simply amazing. Lovely texture and flavour. But my favourite is definitely the almond and chocolate tart (169/- - by a very small margin above the previous 2) although its served with plain whipped cream and not Chantilly Cream as promised in the menu.

Service is excellent. They are very obliging about basic substitutions and requests. I love the little chocolates that come with the bill. Even if I've gorged on dessert, I never miss these mini chocolates.

So that's my quick run down of the menu with an extremely heavy recommendation - "You Have to Eat at That Place!"

Rating : 4.5 / 5