Food Review: 70 Degrees East

We Amdavadis are talented lot. I’ve heard the name of ‘70 Degrees East’ so many times, yet I could hardly find any mention on the virtual web. No Zomato reviews, nothing on Facebook, and yet everybody knew about it.

That’s when I realised the power of ‘Amdavadi’ word of mouth; defying powers of the Internet world yet again. 70 Degrees East is clearly a child raised by word of mouth. It is situated in one of the less crowded New Thaltej area and hasn’t peaked at popularity, so it is a blessing for the impatient lot.

The front hall has a huge Buddha statue, which is there just because. No, it does not go with the theme (if there is any), so we just behold it for a moment and move on. The main hall is humungous. It is so spacious; you might just see the horizon. The interiors are sharp and clean, mostly dark finished wood, far seated tables and bright spot lights. The place is spick and span which makes it all the more attractive. Keeping a see-through kitchen is enough to win confidence of the guests as far as quality is concerned, and I must say, it is up to the mark.

The menu matches the same clarity, albeit with an overpowering North Indian section. The dishes have fancy names and we were pretty hungry, so we cut the chase and ordered the populars.

We started off with Falafel Crostini was a delightful cross between Mediterranean and Italian, and kept me hooked to the dish. However the Jamaican Fried Dumplings were disappointing as an expectation of authentic Caribbean cuisine turned out to be just another version of fried momos. (And they say, “What’s in a name?”)

The main course was Vegetables in Tian, which was a smooth and tangy rice-and-gravy along with the conventional paneer sabzi and roti routine; cautiously avoiding any more deceptive dishes. The chefs had made a sincere and laudable effort in keeping the North Indian original and true to the heart. The paneer slipped through my tongue, and I’m sure it was of an excellent quality.

We topped off our experience with dessert and hit the Bull’s Eye. Literally. Yes, that’s the name of the desert. It was a standard Brownie cake (sans the nuts) and dollops of vanilla ice cream perfect to fill the heart, once the gut doors are sealed.

To sum up, I’d like to compare 70 Degrees East to a school girl with two oiled tightly braided ponytails and a perfectly white uniform, clean socks, polished shoes; fidgeting to keep her stuff in place. She was so ordered that she somehow lost her playful innocence. The restaurant is an ideal place for peaceful fine dine, which can achieve a lot more if they bring in some novelty.

70 Degrees East Ahmedabad address: E-201, Second Floor, Ozone Desire, Adjacent Columbia Asia Hospital, Hebatpur Road, Thaltej, Ahmedabad