I usually do not blog about one off restaurant events and those are posted mainly on my Facebook and Instagram. But this one is special because it was my first outing post the Corona ‘unlocking’. Of course corona is still going strong, hence the New Normal systems are in place and I am here to write about my experiences at the recently reopened brunch at one of my favorite restaurants.

So read on about the newly restarted brunch at the Taj Yeshwantpur and the processes that they have in place to reassure the guest and make the experience a relaxing and secure one.

I went into lockdown soon after touchdown on March 4th, 2020, when I flew in from Ahmedabad. This was 1 day before my elder son’s birthday on March 5th.
After 3.5 months of being self incarcerated in my apartment, I finally stepped out on June 21st, 1 day after my younger son’s birthday. Trivia like this, gives me a high like no other 😀
Well I always wanted my ‘first outing’ to be special and I was actually waiting for a suitable occasion, despite the lockdown being lifted much earlier.
And what better place than my dear hospitality brand, the Taj group of hotels.
An invite from my favorite chef Selvaraj to the reopening of their Sunday brunch at Taj Yeshwantpur, Bangalore, got me moving out of my house again and it goes without saying that this event was made even more memorable by the legendary Taj hospitality.

To explain the new system in brief, they had all the hygiene protocols in place right from the entrance. No frisking, no valet parking, convenient parking spaces right near the entrance for self parking, hands sanitized and temperature checked before entering, signature taken indicating compliance with the procedures, sanitizer dispensers at several locations and other such ‘standard new normal’ processes (to use an oxymoron).

The actual brunch was within the contained space of the Palette restaurant and not in the open air under the banyan tree as in the past.

Greetings of course were by way of a 1 meter distant Namaste.

All the furniture has been rearranged for maintaining social distancing and all cutlery and dinner ware sanitized and placed within disposable covers, to be opened only before the meal.

Disposable cutlery is available for those who want it.

The brunch does not have the regular buffet dishes lined up but is a finite menu that one can download by scanning the QR (Quick Response) code which is on a card on the table.

All the items are served at the table by the staff, suitably ‘armored’ in their masks, visors, gloves and all such protective wear.

Pickles and sauces are laid on the table and even the papad comes in its own protective sheath.

The Live counters literally come up to the table and serve chaats and dimsums in little trolleys. The rest of the starters are served on demand.

Likewise, the order for the main course is taken by the staff and the food is brought to the table.

The dessert counter is the only one where one can walk up to and drool from a distance, while pointing out this, that, thaat and thaaat … and the treats are then served to you by the staff in charge.

So you get the point right? There are very few points of contact by the diners, thus greatly reducing the chances of contamination.
Personally I also prefer this method, since firstly I can sit back like a queen and get served 😀 and most importantly apart from being hygienic, this also reduces the chances of wastage to a big extent. And I am quite paranoid when it comes to food being wasted.

Sorry if the tale is long but I wanted to highlight the new system because that is the reassurance that people want to have now.

Apart from all this, there was live music too (which could have been toned down a bit because it was difficult to hear the waiters talking to you from 1 meter away :-D).

Also being Father’s Day, there was a focus on the occasion by way of a few special dishes and a few sentimentally cheesy lines on little blackboards 😀

As for the food, it was wah Taj as always and the added pleasure for me was the ending of my 3.5 month prawn famine 😀 With crispy salt and pepper fried prawns, prawn dimsum, chilly prawns and what not (*insert ecstatic emoticon*)

The vegetarian starters were excellent too and the favorite at the table was the crispy fried water chestnut and lotus root which I ate up before taking pictures 😎

For the rest of the menu, please see the picture below.

Of course I gorged mainly on the prawns but could not resist over doing it with an appam and stew too.

For dessert, I exercised will power and gave in only to the rasmalai that was giving me the come hither. The rest of the goodies were fed to my camera.

All in all it was a very refreshing experience with very attentive service and a great place to celebrate my release from home jail. As usual, I felt most welcomed and at home at the Taj and I thank Chef Selvaraj for yet another memorable experience.

June 21st, 2020

Brunch details –

Timings –

12.00 hrs to 16.00 hrs every Sunday

Address –

Taj Yeshwantpur, Bangalore

Phone – +91 9900492451

Price –

1. Brunch at Palette – INR 1200 + tax per head

2. Brunch at Home –

a) Non veg – INR 1000 AI per box

b) Veg – INR 800 AI per box

3. Brunch at Palette with a massage at Jiva spa – INR 5000 AI

I hope you enjoyed this write up and I would really appreciate if you leave your feedback in the Blog comments.

For more pictures see My Facebook Taj Yeshwantpur – Brunch Reopening

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