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In one of my previous posts, I spoke about how restaurants today are focusing on food and ambience that looks good. While most eateries are only show and have no taste, there are a few of these that are pretty good.
One such place that au recently visited was Voila in Jubilee Hills. Though the place has been here for close to a year now, I only visited recently to experience their new menu on invite. Like always, this post is going to be my experience of trying new flavours at Voila Jubilee Hills.
Chic yet Elegant Ambience
Jubilee Hills is one of those places in Hyderabad that’s always bustling with new cafés, lounges and restaurants. While many of them find their home in sprawling, renovated bungalows, a few are right on the main road.
Voila is located in the same building as Amnesia. It’s right next to Rajthali and opposite Alcazar Mall and Rayalaseema Ruchulu in Jubilee Hills. The restaurant welcomes you with a small outdoor seating area with a basic yet pretty setup.
As you enter, you’re greeted by a waterfall. The gold and teal colour combination is not only elegant but calming too. There are quite a few seating options – quiet & cosy corners, large tables with live TV and a well-stocked bar counter. There’s a mezzanine floor which has beautiful paintings and decor items. I was told that the concept of Voila is that of a retail restaurant. Meaning you can buy everything you can touch and feel. Right from the paintings & decors, to the cutlery and even furniture!
Overall, it’s a refreshing, chic yet elegant ambience. The choice of music goes perfectly well with the vibe of the place. The waterfall and the mirrors on the roof just add to the whole charm of the place.
New Flavours, New Menu – Voila Review
The theme of the restaurant is Indo-European and the menu is expansive. Chef Omaid and Vikas head the operations here dishing out food. The new menu promises some rustic Indo-European flavours with equally good cocktails and mocktails. We were already soaking in the vibes at Voila when we had a table aromatiser. A flowery smell just engulfed the table and the dry ice made it look heavenly. In contrast, this was a special arrangement for our table, not quite sure if regular customers get this or not.
Soup & Small Plates
We started with a service of Amuse Bouche, a biscuity, creamy start to the meal. This was followed by a nicely done Pumpkin Soup. It was rich in flavours, especially garlic. It was served with shallots which just went well with the soup. The next interesting item that we had was the 5 Cheese Paniyaram. These were served on quite a unique plate. Crunchy from the outside and soft from the inside, these tasted well.
There was also a serving of Chilli Garlic & Cheese kulcha with Thecha cream. Thecha if you don’t know is a spicy chutney from Maharashtra. It was a nice preparation, however, I felt the ones I had at Farzi Cafe were better. The Paneer Chettinad Taco with pickled onion was a nice combination of South Indian and Mexican flavours. Overall, some nice additions on the starters and soups front.
Delicious Mains
While we were still relishing the flavours of the small plates, the main course slowly arrived at the table. We had two unique dishes, Saag Arti with Pickled Bamboo along with Paneer Chettinad and Malabar Porotta. The Saag was as fresh as it could get and was made from Sarson and Spinach. The pickled bamboo did confuse some of us as being chicken. However, loved the combination, the flavorful saag with a rather subtle bamboo.
If there was one thing that I absolutely loved during the night, it was the Paneer Chettinad with Malabar Porotta. The rich gravy with nice texture and the typical Chettinad flavours was coupled with coconut slices which made it extraordinaire. Together with the Porotta, this was an excellent combination, something that I would recommend.
Drinks & Desserts
Apart from the delicious mains and small plates that we had, we also go to their beverages and desserts offering. They had a good mix of fancy cocktails and mocktails. We were served Shahi Tukda Bread Pudding, and Hyderabad Triffle Pudding with fresh fruits. While both of them looked good, I feel they can improve the desserts.
Talking about mocktails, they do have a variety with Jamun, Chilly Guava, Shikanji, Passion Fruit, Jackfruit and Iced Tea. The flavours were quite different and not something that everyone would like. Some were on the sweeter side bringing down the actual flavours. We requested a less sweet version which they agreed to and served. The second round was much better. Cocktails as per what my friends say were much better than mocktails.
Say Voila to Volia’s new menu!
It’s been there for a year and I visited it only last week. But glad that I did. Voila is a place that offers some wonderful interiors with chic ambience – one of the finest in the city. I loved the small plates, especially the Paniyaram and the soup. The standout however was the Chettinad Paneer, I’d recommend everyone to try it.
Overall, it was a good experience dining at Voila. Wishing the team the best for the new menu and I’m sure people are going to love it. Let me know your thoughts about this post or your experiences at Voila in the comments below. You can also tweet me at @Atulmaharaj, DM on Instagram or Get In Touch.
