'In a shell' seafood festival at Bene, Sheraton at Brigade gateway

My love for sea food is insistent so when I was invited to explore the on going seafood festival 'In a shell', very aptly named, at Bene, Sheraton at Brigade gateway I was very happy to be part of it.

As this was my first visit to Bene, I was really looking forward for the entire experience. The ambiance was very pleasant and sophisticated. The place is very warm and the decor is good. Before we started with our meal, Chef Hemanth came and introduced us to the evening and the food.

Chef Hemanth

We started our evening with some bread spread followed by antipasto, Duo of Bruschetta first was a slow poached prawn with fresh tomato, basil garlic and the second was steamed crab meat with pickled onion. Both were really good but personally I liked the latter one which was sweet and salty and the crab meat melted in the mouth. Prawn was cooked well too. The bread was slightly thicker for my taste.

Bread spread

slow poached prawn with fresh tomato, basil garlic

steamed crab meat with pickled onion

Duo of Bruschetta

The second meal was Oysters "reinvented" which had fried oysters with agrodolce, fennel, onion and peppers. I was told that oysters are most commonly eaten in their raw form which took me by surprise. Chef had reinvented oysters by frying them and serving with agrodolce, fennel, onion and peppers. As the oysters were fried, it did not taste slimy and it was a little crunchier. I would need to have more of it to write more about it. Needless to say, I liked the presentation of the meal very much.

Oysters "reinvented"

The next on our table was Seafood chowder. It was tomato based seafood broth with fresh clams, mussels, prawns and crab meat. It looked very filling. The taste immediately hit me the taste of the sea water. One of the best chowder I have ever had. Fresh and tasty, this meal made me crave for more. I am sure I will surely visit Bene to have the chowder before the festival ends.

Seafood chowder

For my main course, I chose Lobster, Asparagus and Pasta which was delicious open faced lobster ravioli with asparagus, wilted spinach and zucchini sauce. The lobsters was cooled to perfection and was very easy to cut and just melted in the mouth. I am sure chef has doe lot of hard work for this kind of taste. Pasta along with zucchini sauce matched the well cooked lobsters. Asparagus did not work with me as it killed the smooth flavor of the dish.

Lobster, Asparagus and Pasta

Some of the other blogger friend's chose Smoky pasta and mussels for their main course. The pasta was smoked and served with clams, mussels and crab meat with tomatoes and basil. As I took a taste of it, all I could get was a smoky taste. The smoky taste was brilliant and was present through all the components of the dish from the sauce to the meat. While for the rest, Smoky pasta did the trick, for me it was the lobster ravioli which made my meal.

Smoky pasta and mussels

I can never complete a meal without a dessert. Dessert is an important part of my meal. Dessert was served which was a walnut and almond tart served with vanilla ice cream. I do not prefer nuts in my desserts. The tart was very rich with lots of nuts and chocolate.

A coffee is a perfect way to end an Italian meal so it was time for some cappucino.

All throughout the meal, the company of great people adds to the experience. The company of Vijayan Gangadharan, the executive assistant manager at the Sheraton, Bangalore was very informative and we all were loved to listen to his food adventures from around the world and his knowledge on wines.

I was impressed on my first visit to Bene. The seafood festival is on till 25th June and is highly recommended to seafood lovers as it is just not a fish and prawn festival but includes variety in its offerings. The seafood is procured fresh each and every day yet the pricing is regular and not boosted for the festival. An average meal will cost Rs.2500 plus taxes and charges for a meal for 2.

Address: 4th Floor, Sheraton @ Brigade Gateway, 26/1, Dr. Rajkumar Road, Malleshwaram - Rajajinagar, Bangalore - 560055
Ph: +91 80 4252 1000

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