Review : Tabula Beach Cafe
Tabula Beach Cafe, located in Asian Games Village and isn’t hard to reach. A plus and a minus point of the location is the seclusion and not being in a crowded market. There’s ample of parking space too. From the outside it just looks like an ordinary restaurant except for the boards that say ‘Tabula Beach Cafe’.
As you enter the restaurant, the first thing you notice is the giant bar with all the booze you can drink! The seating area so far reminds you of every other resto-bar you’ve been to and there’s loads of room. Interiors are good enough with some quirky elements like the graffiti wall and a private island (No PDA though!).
The theme-based beach shack is probably what you’re looking for and it
is the real deal with the sky painted canopy-like ceiling and sand under your feet you do get the beach feel. There’s a separate area for sheesha lovers and smoking is allowed in the premises. The furniture is matched with the ambience and yes you do get a separate bar for the outdoor seating so you can drink like a tanker as their menu says. The restaurant was pretty deserted at the lunch time but the party begins in the evening with people dancing to hit numbers played by various DJs as briefed to us.
Amid the chill feeling of beach came the food, presented neatly with minimal adornment. Not the most decorated plate but certainly matched the theme being implied.
The food was mostly unexceptionally delicious. We ordered a pizza, loaded nachos, grilled peri peri sole as suggested by the attendant, along with a virgin mojito and the not so virgin martini. Finally for dessert, the Rhum Caramel Dome seemed too irresistible by the name!
fresh and some exotic veggies on top and decent amount of cheddar and mozzarella cheese. The taste was balanced and conservatively like most pizzas you’d usually come across. The only glitch about the pizza was a little over-crisp crust at some places that was hard to munch upon. Thanks to the fairly large quantity of their drinks, I gulped it down and moved to the next slice. The drinks were averagely good and plentiful.
The Tabula Beach Loaded Nachos were delicious in the first few bites with the unique flavor of melted cheese, jalapeno and chile can queso and I’d really give a point for the unusual ingredients. However, it was only a matter of minutes before the nachos got soggy due to the puree and then the rajma-nachos weren’t really a delight anymore.
Everybody loves chocolate (well, mostly) and the most common dessert has to be chocolaty, so the Rhum Caramel Dome.
It looked as good as the name and tasted even better. The taste of rum
was overpowering in the molten centre and it’s a matter of choice if you appreciate it or hate it to the core. Me? I liked the tinge.
Last but certainly not the least, the dish that stole the show. Grilled Peri Peri Sole, the highlight of the meal, presented with fries and exotic veggies is a must have when you visit Tabula Beach Cafe. Perfectly grilled to brown but soft and juicy from the inside. But what made it so special was the tangy (and a little sweet) sauce made it exceptionally delicious!
This cafe is a quiet and chill place to feel the beach till the evening and it comes to life at night when loud music and booze mix! The service was exceptionally efficient and the attendants were more than happy to help.
Definitely a must visit to get away from the boring usual resto bars. They also have a ladies night every week for them hen parties. Perfect for a date or a crazy hangout with your buddies and drink like a tanker!