Chili's - Chef's Cuts

#chilis #chefscuts #ladlefulofspices #chilishyderabad #chilisbanjarahills


The popularity of Tex-Mex food in Hyderabad is quite evident from the fact that Chili's, which is a hugely popular American brand, has a huge following here as well. I had been to the Chili's in Inorbit mall, but this was the first time I visited the Banjara Hills branch, thanks to a bloggers' table invitation from them. The decor and ambiance is typically contemporary-American. The branding is evident but not too obtrusive. The lighting is on a softer note and has a good number of shades from VIBGYOR scattered over, thanks to the color concept applied on the walls and furniture.

Chef's Cuts - is actually the name they have given to a new 'plus' menu that they have designed aside from the regular menu. We were eager to explore this portion of the menu and Mr. Sagir from Chili's was equally eager to lead us through it!

While a few of us had arrived and waiting for others, the drinks started coming in. I must say I was impressed by the house mixologists' skills while they were dishing out some beautiful cocktails with élan! The margaritas were just fantastic but the two flavors that blew me away were the Minty Melon Margarita with its fruity(mango, melon)-minty flavors and Lemony Margarita which had that lemony-tangy flavor in a bit of excess. I would definitely recommend cocktails here at Chili's.

Sangria

Tropical Sunrise Margarita (if I am correct!)

Blue Pacific Margarita (if I am correct!)

Presidente Margarita

Watermelon Margarita (if I am correct!)

Minty Melon Margarita

Lemony Margarita?

And very soon our table was flooded with starters, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. The boneless Chimichurri chicken was delicious in every bite and probably I would prefer this over the bone-in ones, may be because they are less messy! For the uninitiated, chimichurri sauce has its origin in South America and is uncooked, quite akin to salsa, but with a totally different set of flavors.

The southwestern rolls became popular in US, thanks to Chili's! The veg version of it was served to us and its basically a crisp roll stuffed with corn, beans, greens and a bit of spices. A great dish for vegetarians, and I did like it for the subtle flavors of each ingredient.

Calamari is a quintessential snack dish in the Americas and no doubt that the calamari served to us was of the best quality. I simply love dipping and munching them and hope you like them as well! A very safe bet as a starter if you are a seafood lover and like calamari.

The chicken crispers which came in while we were enjoying calamaris was a lovely deal indeed. Slightly crisp on the outside(i.e., not rock hard crisp which I usually find it difficult to bite into) and really tender cooked inside. There are very few places that can take care of cooking chicken tenders like this and now Chili's is on my list for this rocker of a starter.

I am not a cheese lover, but like the classic nachos here. The quesadilla did not quite leave a mark on me, I would say it was just another bunch of quesadillas.

Chimichurri chicken(boneless)

Chimichurri Chicken

Southwestern Rolls

Calamari

Original Chicken Crispers

Classic Nachos

Quesadillas

We Started off the main course with a smoked chicken Leg and Australian Lamb shank. The smoked chicken leg looked attractive and the upper crust had some really smoky juice, but I was dissapointed when I cut open. The meat really had a very mild flavor of spices and could have done better with more spice marination.

The Australian lamb shank was 'well done' and I liked it the best from the whole lot of dishes in the Chef's cuts section. The sauce/gravy accompanying it did enhance the flavor a lot and so did the mashed potatoes that were flvored with herbs and butter. A good dish to have at Chili's.

The herb crust fish fillet, made from basa is something I would pass on. While it was not bad at all, I found a few other dishes that bettered it, especially the pan fried salmon with chipotle sauce. The salmon-chipotle combo is really good with the salmon being as fresh as it can be. I would go for this dish the next time I come here.

Smoked Chicken Leg(Chef's Cuts)

Australian Lamb Shank - Chef's Cuts

Herbed Fish Fillet

Salmon with Chipotle sauce

Spicy Crab Fillet

Chicken Burger(forgot the exact name for this..)

The desserts were decent enough. While the cheesecake and the sizzling brownie were good enough, my personal favorite was the Choco Chip Paradise Pie - a bar of choc chip(brownie?) topped with vanila icecream and caramel, all that really blended together.

Eggless Sizzling Brownie Sundae

Chocolate chip Paradise Pie

Molten Chocolate Cake

And while we were at it, we enjoyed some flair bartending, courtesy the Chili's management!

I must say I was not satisfied with the Chef's Cuts as I really enjoyed only a dish or two out of it, but the regular menu remains top choice as usual with some great food combinations and drinks.

VFM - 3.5/5(for chef's cuts) 4/5(for regular menu)

Ambiance - 3.5/5

Specials - their cocktails and starters!