The first thing you see, or the first thing *I* saw on entering West View at the ITC Maurya was this huge block of Grana Padano. For those who aren’t aware of Grana Padano, it is a hard cheese, quite similar to Parmigiano Reggiano in texture, age and manufacturing technique, though a little milder. Finding Parmesan cheese used to be quite a headache till a short while back and I would mostly settle for Grana Padano. As you can imagine I quite like the cheese and seeing a large-paunch size block there was quite a nice start to what turned out to be quite a lovely evening.
My guest for the evening was Semene Hailu and both of us quite liked the decor and general layout of West View. The cold spread dominates the centre of the hall and looked spectacular that day. I couldn’t wait to dig in! On the day of our visit, the West View cold spread featured dishes like wine poached asparagus and charred scallions with romesco, figs poached in red wine and balsamic vinegar wrapped in sliced chorizo, glazed pumpkin with lima beans and prawns in peri peri glaze among others. There was also a selection of cheeses (gorgonzola, grana padano, pecorino…) and cold cuts (parma ham, salumi) with fresh fruits. I’m not sure what your preferred dining format is, but such spreads really do it for me.
![Chef Akshay in Action [Dessert]](http://chefatlarge.in/wp-content/gallery/west-view-itc-maurya/DSC_2012.JPG "Chef Akshay in Action [Dessert]")
An interesting event during our evening at West View was meeting Chef Akshay. As the story goes, he started off studying for software, went on to the US for higher education, took a job that involved washing dishes among other activities to pay for his education, was discovered as an unpolished jewel by a Chef and convinced to study the culinary arts… after which he promptly landed up at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America). *pause for breath* That, ladies and gentlemen is truly inspiring and in all probability it means Chef Akshay really does love his work. I do believe it shows.
Though West View serves soups too, we chose to skip that part and go straight to the grill. To the left from the entry are various cuts of meat, seafood and vegetables placed within jewel-case like structures packed with ice. Here, depending on what’s available, you can expect to find tenderloin, quail, chorizo, lamb chops, lamb steaks, prawns, salmon, lobster, calamari, red snapper, corn, stuffed peppers and skewered veggies among others. As you can see from the pictures, I did ample justice here too. Our main course platter consisted of a tenderloin steak grilled with the biggest possible chunk of gorgonzola on it, brined quail with caribbean jerk spice, nuremberg sausage and chorizo. The customary baked potato with sour cream was present too along with some lightly tossed vegetables.
Dessert featured warm molten chocolate cake and Rum Flamed bananas with ice cream. The bananas were prepared at the table, and very good. When you’re at West View, this is one dessert you must try.
There will be many parallels drawn with other restaurants who serve food in a similar format, especially Sunday brunches. I’ve been to a few of them and believe West View breezes past them by a fairly long mile. It really depends on what you’re looking for. If it’s pure value for money, then perhaps West View isn’t really for you. If however, you’re looking to spend a long evening with good friends, in the company of a splendid cold buffet, great wines, some of the best meats in town and really nice desserts, West View is what you’re looking for.
Related Posts:
Sid! u should be banned from putting up such pictures! they are extremely distracting when viewed from an office desk!
On a serious note – this is exactly the kind of spread me and my hubby simple love! Next Stop (hopefully): west view!
This is exactly the kind of food i love Sid. Grilled and roasted meat brings out the best flavour in Meat, add to that cheese, wine and bread what else is there in life,;-)