Restaurant Review : FAVA , UB City , Bangalore

Read Time:2 Minute, 56 Second

“The origin of Mediterranean food dates back to Mesopotamia or ancient Egypt and its diversity in cuisine is influenced from variety of cultures and regions.”

However the “nouveau” one is as recent as mid 20th century and the three core ingredients most commonly used ,regardless of region of influence, are olives, wheat, and grapes. Apart from them, there is widespread use of seafood & meats and vegetables and fresh herbs as basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary etc.

There are three distinct styles , that are visible in this cuisine.The first one , Eastern Mediterranean uses lot of curds and cheese , along with the pitas, kabab ,chickpeas and fruit juices among others.Yes , I am talking about the regions of Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Egypt.

The second one is Southern European regions of Italy, Southern France, and Spain, uses understandably wines for both cooking and pairing with the meals. There is lot of usage of ingredients like tomatoes, garlic, and pine nut while preparing dishes and grains for preparing breads and pasta.

Lastly, the Northern African region around Mediterranean, where the countries like Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya use spices include cumin, coriander, saffron, cinnamon, cloves, chillies, saffron, dried fruits and paprika ,bringing the uniqueness to this cuisine.

FAVA, standing tall and majestic just like the adjacent UB towers, among the host of restaurants at the uber-luxury mall, The Collection, UB City, Bangalore, is my Bangalore’s favourite Mediterranean restaurant and bar.

A venture of Master Chef Abhijit Saha , it was first opened to public in 2010, with the menu curated “with an excellent selection of traditional favourites and creative dishes from the Mediterranean region”.

Chef Abhijit Saha

Chef extraordinaire in classical and modern European cuisine as well as regional Indian cuisine, he is one of the top chefs in the country. He has been a speaker at the Culinary Institute of America and IFCA National Culinary Congress among others. He was also the guest judge at MasterChef India last season.

(P.C : Abhijit Saha Facebook account)

Prior to his food ventures, Chef Saha has worked as the Director of Food & Services and Executive Chef with The Park Hotels; as Executive Chef with The Manor, New Delhi and with the Taj Group of Hotels, New Delhi, where he started his career in 1990.

As I work at UB city, I went to Fava for lunch with few friends. These days , they also have a special weekday Prix Fixe lunch options priced at INR 650 per person where one chose the three course menu.

What did we have ?

Water Melon & Feta Salad – fresh and rejuvenating savoury Mediterranean salad with pomegranate, mint ,arugula ,balsamic reduction sprinkled with fresh extra virgin olive oil.

Lamb Hummus – one of my favourite combination from the Lebanon , must have here with some kuboos.

Pepperoni Pizza – the Italian salami , bell pepper , mozzerella ,

Chicken Calzone , the succulent Zucchini, fresh mozzarella, basil pesto and mixed greens

Apple Crumble Tart – Apple and mint jelly and vanilla sauce

Fave is also one of the best places in Bangalore to relish the Liquid nitrogen ice-cream.Here you can try flavours of the day, cherry compote and toasted nuts Sunshine Mango and butterscotch ice-cream with pomegranate sauce, chocolate flakes, oreo cookie and whipped cream
Dawn Fig n honey and chocolate ice cream, banana, nuts and caramel sauce
Chill Out Vanilla and strawberry ice cream, fresh fruits, chocolate sauce and mint