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| Orange cheesecake; banoffee & apple crumble pies, muffins |
Gossip is a quirky, colourful space. A pastry counter sits to one side, there are pretty desserts and breads to ogle at. American road signs and artwork hang on the walls, cute little bulb-shaped planters with creepers dangle above. The light fixtures are interesting, there are some that have dials on them! The glass-walled kitchen lets customers look into the food prep area. The service crew look sharp in their hats and we are seated immediately, considering we're the only customers there at that time. Menus are handed over and recommendations made. It's still in its soft launch stage we hear!
We're served a welcome drink in glass bulbs - iced lemon tea. There's mint and apple slices in the drink, that big hit of citrus is so refreshing.
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| Prawn tempura; batter fried calamari |
Our starters were prawn tempura with wasabi and batter-fried calamari. The minute they were served, a business of flies showed up. The bug zapper clearly was no match for them. In between swishes, we chomped on the prawns - fresh and well-coated with batter. The dips are served separately - there's wasabi mixed with mayo (there have been times when customers couldn't handle the pungency), spicy salsa, honey and a tangy gingery onion dip. The calamari was a tad chewy and served with a sweetish mayo dip and an even nicer one that had chopped black olives in it. Not a trace of oil on any of the fried stuff.
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| Bread and accompaniments |
There's a complimentary bread basket with slices of multi-grain bread, a carafe of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and herb and garlic butter. The butter had been piped into tiny pats. The thought that has gone into plating a bit of butter is surely commendable. All the breads are baked in-house.
The menu has quite a few choices, some European, Indian, a smattering of Mid-Eastern, Asian, pasta, pizza and vegetarian as well. There are also salads and I noticed a larger Indian selection that was going to be added soon.
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| Grilled beef steak |
We ordered 3 main courses and when they arrived, the flies departed. Grilled beef steak was a tender steak coated with mushroom, pepper and wine reduction. The pepper added a hint of warmth to the sauce.
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| Roasted beef chops |
Pot-roasted beef chops was a hearty dish. Cooked in a red wine garlic sauce, it also had potato and peppers and the hint of rosemary was quite subtle. The meat, served on the bone, was tender.
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| Peri-cardium! |
Peri-cardium (yes, the name called out to me) was breast of chicken stuffed with peri peri basil butter. It had been grilled perfectly as when sliced, a stream of hot butter flowed out. And the sauce it was served with was exquisite. All kinds of flavours - that of butter, basil, shallots, chilli flakes and cheese made for a beautiful combination. All the main courses were served with grilled vegetables and peanut-flavoured rice.
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| Tender coconut mousse |
By then, Hari Prasad, one half of the team that runs Gossip came around. He told us the idea of the restaurant was conceived during the floods that hit the city last year. He has plans in hand to make the space more engaging (I'm not revealing anything more). Anyway, he seemed to be the right person to ask for a dessert recommendation and there were plenty. He suggested baklava but by then, I had seen tender coconut mousse on the menu. Served in the shell, it had a sprinkling of coarse brown sugar over the top, creamy coconutty mousse within. The taste of coconut milk was quite pronounced while the tender coconut flavour had taken a backseat. I would have loved it even more if the mousse had set a bit more. The crunch of sugar was a really good idea.
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| Baklava tart |
The baklava was an open tart, smooth cream cheese filled the cavity. The pastry could have been a little more crisp, the combination of cheese and fruit provided contrasting textures. Beautifully plated with honey drizzled around, it was crying out for one more element - the crunch of chopped pistachios.
Gossip is well worth the drive for the food. It's been quite a while since I've had a meal that delivered what it promised and then some more. This is a team that understands ingredients and how to treat them right, fusion or otherwise.
Our bill came to 2000/, the baklava tart was on the house. Portions are generous and and service is commendable. I'm told the issue with flies has been taken care of. Time for the next visit I guess.
Gossip Bistro
191/141 Uthandi Village ECR
Chennai 600119.
+91 9940244569.
Open from 11 am -11 pm.
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