We went back to Fia’s Lounge, the lovely Parsi restaurant on Richmond Road in Bangalore, for lunch yesterday. Our elder daughter was in town, and leaving soon, and we were keen to have a proper, memorable meal out somewhere. After running through a few options, we settled on Fia’s – which, although we’d only been once before more than a year ago, felt like an old favourite.

We arrived for a late lunch, and there were guests at only 3 other tables. The restaurant looks like the dining room of a heritage hotel – red lamps hanging from the ceiling, old style granite flooring, large tables with fine cutlery, and ample space between the tables. To walk in is to be transported away from the din and dust of the city.

We ordered our starters and beverages quickly. To begin with, we had kolmi na farcha – large prawns fried in a crispy egg batter, and salli chicken kabab – chicken in a spiced coriander mariande with crisp fried potato shreds. Both had a separate appeal to the Bengali tastebuds of the family – the farcha reminiscent of a ‘kobiraji’ cutlet, and the salli not far from a ‘jhuri alu bhaja’. The kolmi was fantastic, excellent large prawns – sweet and succulent along with a light marinade, enveloped in the airy crisp farcha batter. The chicken was very good too, with its delicious coriander marinade on the soft chicken, set off by the light crunch of the salli. I might have preferred a bit more roast and char on the chicken – but that thought struck only after I was done licking my fingers.

The drinks were Persian Pixie and a hot kokum todi. The Pixie was delicious, lightly pulpy with strong citrus and pineapple flavours. The kokum todi was good for my throat, and with its generous kokum infusion, it acted as a good palate cleanser and a digestif as well.

For the mains, we ordered a masoor gosht, a chicken kofta curry and a Parsi chicken pilaf. The kitchen at Fia’s seems to take the just the right amount of time to serve each order – neither suspiciously quick, which might suggest reheated items or standard sauces and gravies slapped together, nor inordinately long, as if they began forming the koftas or boiling the dal after the order was placed. A commercial kitchen, but not an industrialised one – if that makes sense. I only make this point as it underscored the feeling of dining at a good chef’s home rather than at a restaurant, thus elevating the meal experience.

The masoor gosht was lovely, thick, richly cooked whole masoor dal forming a wonderful based for the soft, well-cooked mutton pieces – all in a temperate amount of spices and oil. The kofta curry had the softest chicken koftas in a silky orange sauce – while there was nothing wrong with the dish, this was probably the weakest in the lineup on the day. The chicken pilaf delivered a satisfying end to the main courses – redolent with the flavour of birista, and with beautifully cooked pieces of chicken.

Dessert was a must to round off such a meal, and we picked the biggest hits from a Parsi dessert menu – lagan nu custard, and falooda. The falooda was one of two items we repeated from our previous visit (the Persian Pixie was the other) – and with good reason. A lovely falooda, basil seeds, ice cream and everything else in a delightful, sinful stacked glass. The lagan nu custard was wonderfully set, with strong hints of nutmeg and cinnamon, and the right level of sweet.

The menu at Fia’s is expansive, and showcases the great variety of Parsi cuisine (they also have a pasta and pizza set, for less ‘experimental’ guests!). Over two visits, we have managed to order (almost) completely different dishes – yet much remains unexplored. The proper way to experience Fia’s is to show up with a big group, occupy one of their grand dining tables, and order across the menu! Till next time then…