Salut Sudaka!

What a great find! Sudaka is situated at The Legends hotel on North Boag Road. The lobby was quiet and we wondered if we were at the right place. Took the lift to the first floor and walked into the South American restobar that was pretty full but managed to find seats near the bar, quite an accomplishment for a Friday night. Sudaka sizzles with energy, the bar is bathed in fluorescent purple glow, the music is loud enough to dissuade conversation and it's embarrassing when the volume drops suddenly and our conversation is loud enough to be heard by everyone within earshot. But it's ok because it happens to almost everyone there! The welcome was warm and menus featuring a range of food from the southern continent and some international favourites were handed over.

Pink Fantasy; Daikiri No.3

Paradise Bay

My niece and I were in luck - it was Ladies' Night. From 8 -10 pm, select cocktails are on the house provided you walk up to the bar and order them. But the rider is that you can only order those that have vodka or white rum as the base. No problem as the cocktail menu has plenty of choices. We ordered Paradise Bay, Daikiri No. 3 and Pink Fantasy. Barmaid, the lady bartender did a great job and those drinks were really really good. Of course, men and non-cocktail drinkers will be spoilt for choice with the range of spirits on offer.

The Olympics was happening at Rio; on Sudaka's screen, a badminton final was going on and the crowd was glued to the game. The walls of the restaurant had cutouts of the region's most popular sport. Once the match was over, the DJ console came to life.

Ecuadorian Night

We were hungry and ordered plate of Ecuadorian Night (225/). Service was quick and soon we were served a dish of chicken cubes slathered in homemade bbq sauce, potato wedges and a perfectly fried egg on top. The meat was quite spicy, some of the chilli heat was raw. My niece asked for the egg to be cooked all the way through and the staff was quite happy  to do it.

Beef taouk

Garlic bread

A second starter was Beef Taouk (285/), skewered beef and olives, served with tzatziki. The meat was absolutely tender though the salty olives didn't quite go with the tangy dip. In fact, it was a better match with the chicken. We also ordered a plate of garlic bread (188/). The slices were large and buttery but the flavour of garlic bordered on a shade of raw.

Panque' Che

We skipped a main course and from the dessert section, Panque' Che (255/) looked interesting. It was a large pancake filled with homemade caramel sauce. Brown sugar was sprinkled over the top and the chef brought it to our table and pressed a heated ladle over the top of the roll to allow the sugar to caramelise - bit of theatre there! Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was divine, the aroma of burnt sugar and the ensuing smoke enveloped us, its warmth was very comforting.

I simply need to go back to explore more of this cuisine. However, the charm of the place, excellent service and the ambiance are plus points. Our bill came to about 1100/ as the drinks were free but do expect to pay about 1600/++ for a meal for 2 without alcohol on other days. They also have some interesting meal combos.

Sudaka
37, North Boag Road, T' Nagar
Chennai 600017.

9600412495