Weigh, Eat & Pay - Weigh-Out - Restaurant Review

Note: This place is shutdown. So this review will not help you.

Outlet: Greams Road

Address: 21, Greams Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai.

As Weigh-Out's Facebook page started spreading their dining concept of Weigh, Eat and Pay for the grams (of food) you ate; I bookmarked them right away. Definitely a brilliant concept for people (like me) who want to try every possible dish at a restaurant but at less portion. But this isn't the first such concept restaurant in Chennai. Way back such a concept was implemented by Hotel Saravana Bhavan at their outlet near Royapettah; as it was HSB, it was pure vegetarian. Again, I am not sure what happened - the concept was withdrawn and hardly few people knew such concept. With new restaurants popping up in Chennai every day, it is best time to experiment. Appreciation to 'Weigh-Out' team for bringing the concept back to Chennai.

With extreme praise to the concept I as well heard about the not-so-great food at the restaurant. Though it is seems only 70 paise per gram I wasn't sure to visit after hearing about the food. As I was browsing through Nearbuy (by Groupon) to check for food deals, I came across pay the deal "Rs.299 INR and consume 600 grams of food" (without the deal same 600 grams would cost Rs. 420 INR). To pay further less and eat more seemed like an exciting deal. Purchased the coupon and paid my visit to the restaurant.

#WeighOut #Restaurant #Nungambakkam #Chennai Pay only for the grams you eat! Love the Concept. Perfect for people who eat less!

— Divya Srinivasan (@DivyaSriniv) February 11, 2016

The restaurant is near MRF in Greams Road and shares the same building as Jalpaan. It is easy to notice their existence as you travel in Greams Road. Ample parking space for vehicles. The dining space is vast spread; for a dinner reservation at Weekday I could spot gradual crowd. The furniture, lighting and spacing are done perfectly; concept & buffet get more focus over the ambience. They have both: (1) Weigh, Eat, & Pay Buffet & (2) Unlimited Buffet. So I got the Weigh Out Card with 600 g and started to attack the buffet. Remember to go to the Weigh-Out counter and check the grams you have consumed each time after you pick the food.

Weigh-Out

I managed to stick on to the 600 grams and didn't consume beyond that; each gram after that would cost 70 paise. Now, let me talk about my likes & dislikes with food.

Disclaimer: The food menu changes every day so here's my take on what I ate.

Salads - Being a weighing challenge, it's better to avoid veggies & fruits as they weigh more. They had decent salad options but I choose to skip them.

Salads & Sauces

Veg Counter

Starters: Potato Wedges, Paneer Tikka & Grilled Pineapple - They need to work on their starters. Potato Wedges was excusable in taste compared to Paneer & Pineapple.

Mains

Mushroom Alfredo Pasta - Though the flavours were there; the pasta lacked sauce and seemed dry. It needs more sauce and regular checks (at the buffet) to make sure the pasta doesn't run out of sauce.

Veg Noodles & Baby Corn Crisp - Storing Noodles in a Casserole makes the noodles texture hard. Though there is no other option at the buffet they can try to refill freshly made noodles at regular intervals. The baby corns crisp tasted good.

Veg Biriyani - The saviour among the vegetarian food. Tasted good!

Pasta, Gravies & Veg Starters

Baby Corn, Noodles & Veg Biriyani

Dal Makhani & Paneer Butter Masala - I could hardly sense the need for these two without Rotis. The Indian Breads need to be ordered separately (which includes additional costs). The gravies were very mediocre.

Curd Rice - I choose to ignore it. Never like the curd rice at restaurants.

Fish Fry, Chicken Pie & Wings

Non-Veg Counter

Starters: Fish Cutlet/Fry, Chicken Pie, Chicken Wings, Devilled Egg, Chicken Tikka & Fish Tikka.

Both the fish dishes were preferably better than the Chicken dishes. The Fish cutlet/fry and tikka was decent but can be better. I didn't like any of the chicken dishes much; they seemed bland. And the pie looked unappetising. Didn't want to waste my grams by eating boiled egg so happily skipped it.

Fish & Chicken Tikka - Eggs

Mains - Mutton Biriyani & Chicken Curry - These two were the SAVIOURS in the complete buffet. Mutton Biriyani tasted delicious; no complaints! The chicken curry was perfect for the biriyani.

Mixed Non-veg Fried Rice & Fish Curry - OK! Can give it a try.

Non-Veg Mains

Desserts

Payasam, Ice Cream (Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate) and Cut Fruits were the ones worth tasting in the dessert counter. The payasam, almost similar to the consistency of Rabri, tasted delicious. If your weight cautious (I meant the food weight) then avoid the fruits.

They also had the following desserts: Chocolate Mousse, Caramel Custard, Gulab Jamun, Beetroot Halwa, Pannacotta and Choco Sticky Pudding. They have kept just to show numbers I even regret for giving them a try. I should have went for more Biriyani

Desserts

Desserts

The deal of Rs.299 INR for 600 grams made the dining experience worth. The food wasn't bad but neither Good. They have to work on their menu and taste. The service was one comforting thing; they were prompt and received the feedbacks positively as well promised to give a better dining experience at the next visit.

Breaking Down Points

Location & Parking: Positive. Locate and park at ease.

Ambience: Good. The ambience was simple yet maintained well. The restaurant was well spaced.

Food Variety: Average. Can provide more food options, which as tell can taste good. Gravies can be reduced as the possibility of a customer to order Roti is minimal (as they cost separately).

Taste: Average. Luckily we had few dishes that saved us from starving. But they need to concentrate on the taste - special attention needed for starters & desserts (which wasn't good).

Quality: Average. Neither the buffet presentation nor the flavours infused in the food seemed to impress me.

Quantity: Positive. It's in your hands. Anyways its Unlimited.

Service: Positive. One of the reasons I might give them a try again.

Price: Positive. "You pay for what you eat", they truly stick by these words.

My Favorites: Mutton Biriyani, Payasam

So my Verdict!

Weigh-Out! A brilliant concept that could attract people who want eat in tiny portions. And they aptly stick to the saying "Pay only for what you Eat". But their positives are hard to spot whereas the negatives tend to raise their hands generously. Service was great. They should improve the taste, quality and variety of food. Are you curious to know how much grams of food you eat, do check them out!

P.S. The write-up is based on my food palate & dining experience during my restaurant visit. Nearbuy (by Groupon) coupon for food deal. Remember, no two person's palate can be same.