Despite the many new restaurants that have been springing up in Trivandrum in the recent past, one that eluded the food enthusiasts here was a good restaurant serving grills and kebabs. For someone who is a fan of Barbeque Nation and similar places, I yearned for something like that while at Trivandrum.
I was in for a pleasant surprise when, I visited the city last time, people around me were raving about the recently opened Skyye Grill. Plans were made to go for dinner and I was excited.
Situated on the rooftop of the popular hotel, South Park, it is a pleasant deviation from the usual dine-out options, in terms of food and ambience. The open air setting looking out to the ever vibrant Palayam road, the wooden deck flooring and the décor all added to the charm. Although we were a big group, the place looked perfect for a date night or an intimate dinner too.
Starters are the speciality here, and they are served unlimited. There is also a buffet spread to try out, but well, I am sure people like would agree to side-line it when you have an unlimited option of savouring hot grills and kebabs. The menu for the day consisted of Murgh Malai Kebab, Mutton Jahani Kebab, Fish Satay and Thai Grilled Fish as non-vegetarian options, and Paneer Tikka, Bharwan Aloo, Arabic Subzi Tikki and Vegetable Cheese Roll as vegetarian options.
The starters are served on the table as per your choice and it was a delight munching on these grilled delicacies. The Murgh Malai Kebab, Fish Satay, Bharwan Aloo and Arabic Subzi Tikki were clearly the favourites. The Murgh Malai Kebab was marinated well with fresh cream, curd and seasoning, resulting in soft and succulent chicken pieces and nobody could resist a second helping. The Fish Satay, cubes of fish marinated and cooked in an Asian spices and peanut sauce, served on skewers was also very popular amongst everyone in the table. Fresh fish, sweet and spicy flavour, and a refreshing taste – what more do you need!
The vegetarian options were a mini heaven in itself. The Paneer Tikka was soft and had a melt-in-mouth consistency. The light char from the grill just added to the flavour. That said, what stood out in the vegetarian options was definitely the Bharwan Aloo and Arabic Subzi Tikki- things you rarely come across in a restaurant in Trivandrum. I fell in love with the Tandoori Grilled Potato with a spicy paneer filling that had a slight tinge of sweetness as you take a bite, could easily result in you gorging on more pieces than one. I loved how the potato was well-grilled, retaining its firmness yet crumbling smoothly to the touch and blending well with the filling, leaving you with a burst of flavours in your mouth. I loved the Arabic Subzi Tikki slightly more in comparison to the Vegetable Cheese Roll, which was more popular with everyone else on the table. The spicy mixed vegetable tikkis were perfect quick bites.
We were too full by the time we were done with the starters, not realising how much we had eaten amidst some good conversations and laughter that we really weren’t too keen to check out the buffet range. Nevertheless, we still walked to the buffet counter that had some amazing array of dishes including Vegetable Pulav, Paneer Butter Masala, Rotis, Chicken Curry, Stir Fried Vegetables in White Sauce and Curd Rice. I was way too tempted to try a few but considering how stuffed I was, I settled for a spoonful of Curd Rice and pickle to conclude the dinner.
We had a lovely evening, that day. However, the only let down was the grills and kebabs going cold as soon as it is served because of the open air setting. If that could be taken care, this place, hands down, is your place for some amazing grills and kebabs.