Generally, I refrain from putting up a review for a place after only visiting it once. However, exceptions prove the rule. Meet Square 4o5, at Mani Square. I think I am in love.
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| Entrance to Square 4o5 |
Situated at the top floor of Mani Square where The Five Rivers once used to be, Square 4o5 has a very retro and fun feel to it, and bright and sunny ambiance. It was the first thing that attracted me, and I decided to check the place out. C as usual was eager, so the two of us ambled down to the place, and was greeted with a lovely rendition of “Help me make it through the night”.
The smiling server seated us (and foolish me forgot to ask his name) and we took in the very empty place, and thought maybe we had made a mistake in coming here. However, it was just around 1, so maybe not, my heart argued, and we got a pair of tall water glass, filled with cold, but not unpleasantly chilled water. The reason why I am mentioning the glass is because, through the course of our meal, they were constantly refilled, without us being aware of it. It shows a server who is attentive, and I give full marks to any server who thinks of it.
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| Aforementioned Water Glass. |
We got a pair of menu cards, and ordered our starters immediately. My head felt slightly in pain, so I ordered a Latte, and then we sort of relaxed, sat back, and examined the place. The view from the top floor was quite nice.
An assortment of condiments were kept on the tables. While there are the usual suspects, what I had not expected was a pepper mill, HP sauce, and Maggi seasoning. Brownie points there!
The first thing to hit our table was the beer battered onion rings I had eyed.
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| Beer-Battered Onion Rings (80/-) |
For the price, the serving was very generous, and served with a sweet chilli sauce, I could not stop munching on them. The rings were crisp on the outside and perfectly sweet and soft on the inside and it came piping hot. I was helplessly munching on them when the latte arrived.
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| Latte (75/-) |
A lovely glass mug filled with steaming latte, not too frothy or too watery, but just the right amount of steamed milk and coffee, which made me reach for the brown sugar instead of a packet of sugar free. I could not mar such rich erotica with a veil of artificial sweeteners. With one sugar in, this became a perfect cure to my headache, and I was officially out of my melancholia of not finding a good coffee joint around my home.
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| Paneer and Babycorn Satay (120/-) |
The first two dishes were great, but then they faltered. These Paneer and Babycorn satays came on a bed of fried mung bean noodles, and although both the paneer and babycorn was very fresh and tasty, the fault lay with the under-seasoned peanut sauce which sort of marred the taste. However, a good sprinkling of salt brought everything back to normal, and we were happy to see our server tell us that he would be okay to take the dish back. We, however, refrained him from doing anything of that sort, and ate up.
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| Grilled Chicken With Lemon Butter Sauce |
The server had warned us that it would take a bit of time to bring out our mains, and we did not mind the wait. We languished and watched Nigelissima on TLC, which played on one corner on a tiny LCD screen. My selection was the grilled chicken (280/-), and C chose the same. While I went for the mushroom sauce, she went in for the lemon butter one.
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| Grilled chicken with mushroom sauce |
Our dishes came in with a very generous portion of grilled chicken breast, under which was a bed of silky mash. I have to say this out loud – possibly this was the best mash I have had in Kolkata. I swapped a taste from C’s plate, and the lemon butter sauce was made perfect… and the chicken was grilled but not charred.
On the other hand, my plate came in with a side of spinach and sauteed beans and carrots. They were not too mushy or crunchy, and I could detect hints of butter and olive oil from them. The garlic bread was crisp and perfect for swiping the mash with, and overall, I did not miss a bite.
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| Toffee Walnut (160/-) |
After that incredibly tasty meal, I was about to cry uncle when the server suggested a dessert. We decided to split one, because neither one of us could finish one off by ourselves. The Toffee Walnut (160/-) was chef’s special of the day, and we decided on it. And I guess I was quite glad that I did.
Think of a mound of warm, perfectly caramelized walnuts over and under a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzled with a generous amount of chocolate sauce. After our heavy meal, this was the perfect way of rounding off, and we were quite happy to see the bill, which was just about 1376/- (and I declare that I would gladly pay it again for a meal like this!).
Overall, I do recommend this place. I spotted a lot of other things I want to try on the menu, so yes, I will be going back.
Square 4o5
5th Floor, Mani Square
EM Bypass, near Kakurgachhi,
Kolkata
# 033 40208206/+91 8420033622
