While Mexican would not normally be my choice of go to cuisine since my leanings are more towards Pan Asian, I did however take the plunge during a long overdue meeting with Chef Vikas Seth. Chef Vikas is the passion behind Sanchez, which is his Mexican baby that interestingly resides alongside its Pan Asian sibling Sriracha, which is also a work of art by the chef.
So join me on this colorful meal as the prettiest of foods paraded on my table and made me feel definitely kindlier to the cuisine that I had hitherto ignored in my life 😀
Sanchez and Sriracha at their Indiranagar locations are the new branches of the highly popular original outlets at UB City. Barely a few months old, they have been creating quite a buzz and are quite the sought after dining spots for a customer profile that ranges from solo diners to entire families and everyone in between.
And it is interesting to know that their menus are enhanced versions of their UB City counterparts, with a live Taquería menu with 16 varieties of tacos including the ‘dulectable’ Dulce De Leche Ice Cream Taco, the Sanchez Avocado Toast Theory, Garnachas, Oaxacan Style Tortilla Soup, Tlalpeño Broth, Wet Burritos, Chilaquiles and Dark chocolate Guacamole.
The decor –
Exuding a welcoming aura, Sanchez beckons the hungry diner from its strategic location alongside the main road. Bright and colorful tables occupy an outdoor terrace space as well as air conditioned insides.
The long taqueria counter turning out live tacos, lies across the hall from the entrance.
A well endowed bar is on the left and shakes up Tequila based cocktails along with the usual regular offerings.
Cuisine –
The cuisine is Mexican and as the chef puts it, it is a combination of traditional Mex, Tex Mex and also bears an exciting twist of Modern Mex. Chef Vikas has had several culinary sojourns in Mexico and fueled by his passion to excel in it, he has imbibed a deep understanding of the cuisine.
He also wisely declares that while authenticity is to be maintained, it is also important to sense the pulse or in this case palate, of the local clientele and accordingly cater to their tastes.
A flexibility and openness of this kind, can only be beneficial to all and it also helps to create an expansive menu which luckily has not been made too expensive 😀
While some of the ‘unsubstituteable’ ingredients are sourced from Mexico, they also believe that it is important to source locally and hence there is a healthy mix of various elements that end up in highly palatable end products that grace your platter and please your palate.
The menu again is just the way I like it. Apart from a brief description of the cuisine, there are definitions of the ingredients used along with highly helpful pronunciations too. So Quesadilla is not kweasadilla but Kaisadiya … as in asking for the price in hindi – bhaiiya ye kaisadiya ? and so on 😀
My meal –
You may now proceed to vicariously enjoy what is on my platter 😀
OMG – Oh My Guac – The live muddling of the Mango and Roasted Jalapeño Guacamole prepared at my table side, was my dramatic start to the meal.
The guacamole is infused with seasonal excitement and they have gone through strawberry, mango and other variations here. Mine was infused with mango and also topped with chunks of mango and roasted jalapeño. This all time favorite dip was served with Yellow Corn Chips, Blue Corn Chips, Roasted Tomato Salsa and Sour Cream.
The Oaxacan Artisan Queso Fresco was next. Yes Woa ha kan … you Kan do this, just try 😀 This fresh homemade cheese made Mexican style was served with home made grilled Bolillo bread and smokey chipotle.
Of course I had to sample the offerings of the live Taqueria and since I am a seafood lover and I have a thing for beet, it was quite apt that the Serrano Grilled Fish in Soft Beet Tacos found its way to me, accompanied by jalapeno mayo and roasted tomato salsa.
Sanchez also has an impressive offering of Hard-Yellow Corn Tacos, Mexican Blue Corn Hard Tacos, Sea Flavored Charcoal Corn Tacos, Modern Soft Roasted Beet Corn Tacos, Healthy Soft Spinach Corn Tacos, Nutritious Grated Carrot Corn Taco, Colorful Purple Tacos made from Red Cabbage Juice and Soft Flour Tacos. Their tacos have a choice of accompaniments of Charro Black Beans flavored with Mexican Chorizo and Bacon or Refried Beans and Pico De Gallo.
The Sanchez Avocado Toast Theory – How can one dine at a Mexican place and not raise a toast to Avocado ? At Sanchez they bake their own Bolillo bread every day for the toast. They have also created fun versions of the avocado toast, just to make our lives more entertaining 😀
I had the Smashed Beets and Cheese version with roasted beet and cheese spread, avocado, crumbled queso fresco, habanero pickled onions and blasted capers. Quite a blast you will agree.
Garnachas are small crispy tortilla with flavorful toppings. Here they serve these garnachas with a choice of topping which is finished with roasted tomato salsa and queso fresco.
I had the Chocolate Mole chicken (which I called the Chocni chameli because it reminded me of chikni chameli 😀 and also the vegetarian Green Mole.
Smokey Chipotle Chicken Tamale, Aztec style was nest and it came cocooned in corn husk, gratinated with cheese and accompanied with spiced sauce, Mexican rice and refried bean. This dish is also served gluten free. Please check while ordering.
They also have a World cup cricket special menu going now at present and I also batted from that 😀 with the Tlayudas – The Oaxacan Pizza which is a large, thin tortilla that is baked with black beans puree, jalapeno slices, cheese and topping of your choice, finished with lettuce, pico de gallo, ancho chili avocado and sour cream!!! My topping was their Homemade Mexican Chorizo which is a spicy twice cooked pork sausage. Most delicious.
I also clicked a picture of their Wet Burritos because unlike me, my camera still had space in it 😀 These are Mexican wraps that are stuffed with beans or potatoes and sun dried tenderloin with a spicy arbol chili salsa on the side. At Sanchez Indiranagar, they are served with refried beans, Mexican rice, sour cream and pico de gallo, stuffed with either sautéed vegetables or Pasilla tenderloin for veg and non veg options respectively. They are then topped with a sauce and served along with a house salad. A huge meal indeed.
Dessert(s) – I have to add that ‘s’ because the chef would not release me until I had tasted all his signature treats 😀
There was the ever popular home made style Tres Leches cake richly soaked in its typical 3 kinds of milk. Some of the customers come only to have this treat and I was witness to that 😀
The Dark Chocolate Guacamole with toasted Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) was next in line to tempt me. Chocolate … avocado … really no prizes for guessing how enticed I was !!! The accompanying crispy cinnamon sugar dusted nachos totally complemented the gooey, yummy texture of the chocuamole (which is what they should be calling it :-D) It is noteworthy to mention that this is eggless and can be made vegan too on request.
Now when one is oozing with excessive food and also severe guilt, what does one do? One proves that one has no will power whatsoever and goes on to demolishing the Mini Oozing Churros, all 4 of them *eyeroll* These piped churros have fillings of Cajeta, chocolate, caramel and cream and are tossed in cinnamon sugar. Remember, cinnamon is healthy 😀
Being a lover of avocado, I not only chose to eat it but also drink it and then eat it as I was drinking it 😀 The Avocado Margarita allows you to just that, served as it is in an avocado shell, from which I also scooped out bits that were still clinging to the sides after I had consumed the drink. One should never waste 😀
Contact and reservations –
The Indiranagar outlet of Sanchez is located at –
608, 12th Main Road, 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore
Phone – +91 80 42200081
Parking – Street side or Valet
Alcohol – Yes
Air conditioning – Yes
Timings – 11:30am – 11:30pm
Price factor – Meal for 2 in the range of Rs 1200/- ++
FB page – https://www.facebook.com/sanchezblr/
For more pictures see My Facebook – Sanchez, Indiranagar Also catch me on My Facebook, My Facebook page, My Twitter and My Instagram
Please Note – This meal was on invite from Sanchez. The narrative is based on the inputs that I received from various sources as well as my own experiences.
June 12th, 2019
