Let's Walk Down the Board - Board Walk - Ramada Chennai

Outlet: Egmore

Address: Ramada, Gandhi Irwin Bridge Road, Egmore, Chennai.

Cuisine: Indian & Oriental with International Beverages.

The Nearbuy (Groupon) deal was the culprit behind the dining experience. The Ramada hotel isn’t the one that is known for good food so spending huge money just for the ambience wasn’t my cup of tea. And one fine day while doing my most favorite time-pass of browsing through the restaurants and then coupons via Nearbuy made me pay the bills. The deal of Rs.899 INR for two persons with unlimited mocktails/ one cocktail/one pint of beer and one unlimited starter and combo meal sounded like the ideal reason to surprise my husband as well as dine at Board Walk.

Made the reservations for dinner; and the surprise seemed surprising and enjoyable for my better-half. As we reached ‘Ramada’ at Egmore, which is so easy to locate I warned him to not have any expectations about the food. The majestic wooden throne and the trail of wooden steps led us to the Board Walk. The ambience is the killer; they lure you into a romantic dining experience. The giant & stylish alphabets that ring “Board Walk”, the heavy and neatly curved stilted chairs & tables, the cozy-glittering pool and the breeze that hits us with happiness was beyond magic. Except for the loud and meaningless music everything about ambience was almost perfect.

Any dinner wouldn’t be complete without the real happiness that’s food. And they had a separate menu with food items crafted for Nearbuy deal. We made our drinks choice and choose one veg & one non-veg for both the starters & main course. And yeah, they don’t serve dessert as part of the deal so go ahead and get one separately (but read my full post to know if it’s worth buying one). So let me deal with each food separately.

Disclaimer: It wasn’t the best lighting to take photos especially using mobile camera. So, bear with the photos which aren’t good.

First came the Drinks: We went with one unlimited mocktail & one cocktail. The cocktail which was vodka base was far better than the mocktails. And even the mocktail’s choice is limited to two to three; I settled with Mango cooler & mint cooler – it tasted more like a mango bite & menthol; wasn’t refreshing by any means. They as well admitted that it was 3-4 different flavored syrups which they use so taste justifies that. Still couldn’t believe that this was coming out from the kitchen of a five-star hotel. With the options I had the Mango seemed better.

And then there was something that made us complaint less. The Starters:

Paneer Tikka – Flavors of the tandoor marination and the cook on paneer with slight char on the corner was perfect. But this wasn’t the softest paneer I have tasted so I was questioning the quality here again; nevertheless a good one.

Chicken Tikka – The cook on the meat & the flavors were again pretty good but too much artificial colours to make the chicken look reddish was never needed; these colours make me hate the dish. But both the starters were definitely the good ones for the evening with the mint sauce & yogurt. Though unlimited we stopped with one serving as we still had the mains!

The Main Course (combo meal) included one salad, two sabjis (gravy) and one portion of bread/rice/pulao (any one).

The Tossed Salad was quite refreshing and better than we expected them to be. So the verdict is good.

We opted for the breads (Roti & Naan) with Dal Tadka & Murgh Rizala. The breads were great, no complaints there. In the gravies, Murgh Rizala was an easy winner – the gravy base with pudina & buttery richness elevated the chicken’s taste. Loved it!

Dal Tadka was neither bad nor good. The garlic flavor started to overpower the true essence of dal; would have been better with rice.

I had mixed feeling about the food but if you ask for a verdict than I would say, “I didn’t like it”. The ambience matches up for the food. Also the deal makes everything seem better. Is the usual A La Carte tastes better? Not sure, but whether it is an offer or A La Carte the food should be the best and here it wasn’t. So I won’t risk spending money on their A La Carte menu.

Breaking Down Points

Location & Parking: Positive. Easy to find and valet parking.

Ambience: Biggest Positive. Killer I say! If you could afford do visit them for this reason.

Food Variety: Average. A La Carte had good options. For the deal, the variety seemed decent; a small piece of dessert would have made it perfect.

Taste: Negative. Without correcting the taste all their efforts would seem like a waste. Offer/regular A La Carte, do make sure to serve good food.

Quality: Let-down. The presentation, the quality of food ingredients & flavors needs immediate attention.

Quantity: Good. The quantity is perfect for the deal price.

Service: Good. Friendly & prompt. Having better knowledge about the food they serve will make it easy to address customers query.

Price: Nearbuy deal – Good. Rs. 899 INR deal is reasonable considering the entire experience. Anything apart from this price would seem like a robbery until the food tastes right.

So my Verdict!

Board Walk! The charismatic ramp-walk that promises an ambience filled with glam but fails you with the food. The food taste, variety & quality for such offers (Nearbuy) definitely need improvement. The pricing is the best part that makes you forgive the other drawbacks. I can’t comment about their ‘A La Carte’, hope that’s better. High-time they work on their food so they cope with their competitors.

P.S. This write-up is based on my food palate & dining experience during my restaurant visit. Food criticism is based on the food provided for Nearbuy deal. Remember, no two person’s palate can be same.