b! reviews Kryptos by Willi @ Nungambakkam

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Like the expression ‘Greek God’ is to men, ‘Greek food’ should be the last word in judging food, gushes Sandhya Ramachandran after a visit to Kryptos by Willi.

Our idea of Greek cuisine is barely what one could have called authentic. Apart from one or two dishes tasted in multi-cuisine restaurants, the rest of our knowledge came from watching movies like ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ and reading ‘Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants’. To sum it up, we knew next to nothing. So walking into a Greek restaurant was more of an initiation into its cuisine and not exclaiming “that’s Greek to me” anymore. A bad pun aside, Kryptos by Willi onKhader Nawaz Khan Roadwas where we headed.

Tasteful minimalist décor welcomes you at the basement restaurant and the community table right in the middle had our curious eyes and ears perk up. Neha Agarwal, the PR and Marketing Manager who joined us, explained that it was a way of promoting the Greek tradition of communal eating. This table has at many times borne witness to random groups of people sharing a meal and bonding over food and conversation, adds Brand Consultant, Jyoti Agarwal. The point of a meal – to feel a sense of togetherness – finally gets its due.

Unfortunately for us, we were two vegetarians out to experiment a new lunch buffet menu at Kryptos along

with trying out a few old regulars. Thankfully, the buffet was balanced and for a change, even as vegetarians we felt it was good value for money. There was a cold salad counter with servings of chickpeas, potato, spinach and cabbage salad. But what caught our fancy were the Meze-Dolmades. The dish was made from vine leaves marinated in brine and wrapped around a stuffing of rice tossed in olive oil. Moving from soft and chewy leaves to the mildly crunchy rice, the textures that this dish offers you can only be experienced and not written about. A must try, we declare!

There was also yummy mozzarella cheese floating in a bowl, looking like cottony clouds, so appetising that you cannot resist but put them on your plate (only a short pit stop for the cheese, hah!). The haricot beans were well cooked and were a light and healthy eat. The pasta salad was not up to the mark. However the capers, black olives, green olives and Kalamata olives pretty much mentally transported us to the Greek countryside. Another item that deserves mention was the Imam Bayildi (slow baked brinjal with tomato sauce). The brinjal tasted smoked on the outside and was soft and tender inside; the mixture of the two making for an excellent dish.

We attacked the mixed meze platter with gusto. The bourekia-mushroom pastry (pastry parcels filled with mushroom, leek and cheese) was overwhelmingly good. The mushrooms especially were tender and oh-so-yummy! The tiropitakiaor cheese pastry saw the cheese filling oozing into our mouths from the phyllo pastry triangles they were nestled in, taking us on a sinfully good ride on the gourmand highway. The kremidopita-tomato tartlets had Greek onion and tomato baked in crunchy tartlets with feta cheese. There was then the Cypriothalloumi cheese served with buttered potatoes, broccoli and herbs. The Cypriothalloumi cheese is by nature layered in appearance and salty to taste and the one we were served with, lived up to our expectations.

We stuffed our mixed vege stick (minced vegetable patties filled with mozzarella and sundried tomatoes) burger-style in between the layers of our phyllo bread, spread some hummus and dug into it. A definite healthy and tasty impromptu Greek fix we were proud of. The paneer skewer, although good to taste was a killer to the Greek spirit the rest of the menu provided. To us, it was the clear black sheep in the flock and we are ready to argue hours to make them take it off the menu!

The usual suspects lined up in the dips. The tzatziki was pretty much the Indian raita, with the garlic and olive oil adding the Greek touch to it. The skordila or the garlic-based dip and the quintessential Meditteranean favourite, the hummus made out of chickpeas, were also present, egging us to bring in more flavours to our food.

There was then the star of the evening  – the Domates Piperies. Braised red and yellow sweet peppers with their delicate outer skins stuffed with tomatoes, pine nuts, mint and basmati rice tossed in olive oil, this dish had us asking for more. The crunchy pine nuts contrasted the soft peppers and rice, and the olive oil let us slip it all in smoothly. Aromatic and absolutely delicious, even if you attribute every superlative in the book of descriptions to this, you’ll feel like you haven’t done justice to it. So take our advice, just dig in for more and eat away, instead of finding words!

The svingi – melting chocolate puffs – looked like chocolate dim sums/modaks and of course, tasted good. The baklava was as it should be – true in spirit and taste. The Greek frappe coffee was a purist’s delight – bitter unsweetened coffee shaken to froth and served cold.

Despite hogging on such a spread, thanks to the simple fresh and healthy Greek cooking style, we left with the feeling of having had a hearty wholesome meal. Kryptos is definitely a restaurant one should visit once. You are sure to go back. For you just don’t get acquainted with Greek food, you fall in love, head over heels – on first bite and for life.

Must try: Domates Piperies, Meze-Dolmades, Greek Frappe Coffee
Buffet available from Monday to Friday: Rs.  550 per head