Restaurant review: The Square

For those who visited Rajarhat New Town in the last few months, you must have noticed how the world class semi-circular glass facade of the French Accor Group hotel Novotel has brightened the landscape of the desolate Action Area 1.
We decide to check out its 24 hours restaurant space, The Square. Our Saturday evening visit is adventurous, to say the least, with no signages on the semi-lit suburbia roads leading to the huge monolith structure in the dark.
Décor: Our entry into the hotel grounds is dramatic — with trickling ground lights guiding us to the main porch.But inside, the story changes altogether. The high ceilings and chic decor leads us through a maze to the coffee shop. It is a lavish square indeed. Spread-out seating in clusters, in a neutral colour palate, is interspersed with bright specks of red chairs and yellow table mats. The metal mesh partitions criss cross the layout, giving enough scope for privacy. At the far end, a wall art of delicate butterflies drops down to the live counters and rows of buffet —enlivening the food quotient of the space. We slip on to the sofa seating near the floor-to-ceiling windows, offering sweeping views of the grounds and beyond.
Food: The menu is comprehensive and a bit fancier than expected. But reality bites as we get down to order continental, skipping the Indian section altogether. Almost 50% of our choice from the menu is ruled out as ‘not available’ with an apologetic smile! Insalata caprese (`550) —not available, pan seared scallops (`750) — not available, coq au vin (`750) — not available, study in chocolate (`550) — not available. Now, a French chain that cannot serve coq au vin post two months of opening, is unacceptable. Finally, we settle for French onion soup (`425), croque monsieur (`650), stone pizza CF 11 (`750) and tenderloin steak (`950).
PLUS & MINUS: The French onion, soup to start with, is set right on second attempt. Served in a bright red enamelled bouillon bowl, it comes stone cold the first time around. On feedback, it comes back all warmed up with a familiar onion sweetness and zing, along with a cheesy crouton. The croque monsieur sandwich generates plenty of excitement on its arrival — slices of ham slapped between rustic sourdough slices and doused in melting Gruyere with a coleslaw and French fries side.
The signature CF 11 pizza is impressive — with pepperoni, chicken & pork sausage, minced lamb, ham and bacon topping with a bunch of romaine on top. It is any non-vegetarian’s dream. And the tenderloin steak comes in its full view glory of medium rare pink on being cut, served on a bed of mash, coloured peppers and velvety mushroom sauce as garnish. However, wish it was not chewy and the portion size was worth the hefty price tag. For desserts, we are offered a generous assortment from the buffet to make a satisfactory choice. The light and super creamy caramel walnut gateaux is actually yummy.
RATINGS:
FOOD: 3
SERVICE: 3
DECOR: 3