Fisherman's Fare, Egmore, Chennai

I have been to this place a couple of times. The names makes it seem like it only serves seafood. Well, it does predominantly serve seafood, but i guess the demand of people who simply want to eat biryani and the likes of panneer butter masala are too much to keep it of the menu.

The place is nothing much to write about. Its not jazzy and it would appear from the name. The road it is situated on is one of the more crowded ones, but there is decent parking (for about 6 cars) right in front of the restaurant. In any case these cant be held against the restaurant. But the inside appearance must surely be something, that they can do a better job off.

The most recent visit was during lunch on a working day. A colleague and i walked into an almost empty restaurant, though it was early for the usual lunch hours, which would have started an hour later at about 1pm. The place did get crowded and almost full, by the time we finished and walked out at about 2pm. Since we were early we had a choice of the entire restaurant to sit, but we were dissuaded from sitting at the one place we sought, because of some electric work possible. The person who seated us was friendly, so one cant take offense to this simple request. But it is still a bit difficult to comprehend how restaurants showcase something, only to deny you later. This happens more when it comes to items on the menu, to hear the all too frequent apology, "sorry sir, this item is not available today"!!

After a protracted view of the menu, we chose to order the combos. I chose the chicken tikka combo (well, i am not a great fan of seafood. I eat only some kinds of fish, and absolutely no shell-fish and other stuff the ocean). My colleague chose a fish tikka combo. We also got some hot pepper chicken soup, only when it arrived, it was made the chinese style, with egg-drop and all. It was good, steaming hot and helped my cold, but would have been rather ridiculous on a hot afternoon in madras. The timing of the soup was right, and we got our food just after the soup bowl was cleaned up. The combo platter was perfect for lunch. Two dishes of chicken, one dry and one with gravy, some rice, one dhal, some rotis, a bit of salad. The other combo had two dishes of fish. But i noticed that one of it was strips of fish, deep fried with batter, something i wouldnt have been too excited about. The food was good, and there was nothing to complain. Although people wanting to know about prawns, crab, squid and other seafood stuff on their menu, will have to search elsewhere.

The combo also came with a drink. Since i had a bit of cold, i asked for something warm. All their bottled softdrinks were stored cold and so not an option. The guy (waiter, server) said they have appy or frooti (both of which come in a tetra-pack). I chose the appy, only to specify that he brings it in a glass and not in the pack itself. Well, he did, only he that he brought the empty glass and tetra-pack to my table and insisted on doing the magic in front of me. I first requested him to go do it somewhere else, since we were in a serious conversation. He did a small walk and came back to the table to do it again. I again, requested but now without the please, and also showed actions, in case he didnt quite understand. He now proceeded to walk around the table, and attempted to do this, on the opposite side. I lost my cool and told him, please take it away from the table, go to the kitchen and do this. I dont think he did that, but he did take it away from my table and bring it back in a glass soon.

Overall, it was a pleasant experience. The food was good. The service was friendly to the usual nonchalant (which is pretty much common in any restaurant in the country). I guess its part of the 'it feels like home' mantra, many people try to follow. I must consider this place again, probably with a larger group, so a better choice of orders can be tried.