Description: East Meets West is towards the bottom of the Baga Road, and is well set back from hustle and bustle of the traffic. An arched entrance lit with colourful lights marks its presence, and from the road, there’s a fair walk to the main restaurant. When we made the final turn into this spectacular garden restaurant, we were warmly received by a smartly dressed headwaiter, who, with some apparent pride, guided us to our table for the evening.
East Meets West has entertainment every night of the week, and I was particularly attracted to Saturday evening, when a jazz trio were on the bill. There’s a covered dance area in the centre of the garden, and the saxophonist, keyboard player, and drummer started their performance promptly at 7:30pm. I have to say that they were only okay, until they started to sing... Singing was not their forte, and I was only grateful that they chose to play rather than sing. A couple of brave souls risked the floor, and they were mid-flow when a power cut hit the Baga Streets. An interesting finish to an attempt at a slinky boogie on the dance floor!
This garden restaurant is a real treat: the furniture is stylish (although I didn’t find the wrought iron chairs that comfortable) and the tables well laid with a real touch of class. Coloured lights adorn the place and complimented the natural vegetation that surrounded us. It is a truly relaxing environment, and it's run in a very professional manner. If you fancy fish, there’s a small chilled selection of fresh fish for you to choose from. The waiter will happily escort you to make that choice.
An open barbecue area is set back from the main area, but the chef and his distinctive large white hat is easily noticed. This provides pleasant cooking smells for the garden restaurant, whetting our appetites. There’s a whole range of dishes on the menu, and as the name suggests, this restaurant prides itself with providing a subtle fusion of eastern and western tastes. I don’t think you’ll any pure Indian dishes on the menu, and it perfectly suited our palate, as you could select food without any of the usual spices. That is not to say that the food was bland or herb free, but it was subtly aimed at the western palate. On one occasion I opted for a vegetable lasagna, my wife for the Sagaloo with steamed rice.
We’d had a starter of Onion Bajis, which were interesting insofar as they were in delicate strips rather than hardy clumps and were only very lightly spiced. The main courses were in massive portions, and I struggled to finish, but it was extremely tasty and I bravely soldiered on! We thoroughly enjoyed our visits to East Meets West, and I’d strongly recommend it as a venue for an evening out.
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