Winning Moves @ Dice N Dine

Sometimes a place beckons you with its catchy name and being in the popular food destination “Koramangala” in Bangalore definitely adds to the curiosity.

Though I have been to many restaurants in and around Jyothi Nivas College, I have never given Dice N Dine an opportunity though I have visited their neighbouring restaurants many a time.

From the outside, the place seems quite similar to other cafes though with a welcoming feel to it. Being in a very crowded and popular street most restaurants do not provide any parking space but luckily this cafe does have some parking space in front of their cafe.

The decor is simplistic with white and wooden shades keeping in mind comfort as well as the cafe needs to host some of their all day gaming events.

Coming to their main draw which quite obviously is their humongous option of board games which is very prominently displayed as you walk in. I have been to many such places but most of them have only one set of every game and normally it is a wait to get a hold of the game you wish to play.

I love games of any kind and thereby a self proclaimed geek hence my eyes light up at the spread of games here and I couldnt wait to get my hands on them. They do have an awesome package of Rs.200 per hour where you can order your food and beverages within that amount.

Since I was one of the first in my group to arrive, I had enough time to get to chat with a pleasant gentleman who approached me as I was busy clicking away pictures which is the norm for me nowadays. The gentleman turned out to be the new owner and thats when I realized that Dice N Dine is an old cafe revamped under new ownership. Although the cafe has been popular for their game and eat concept, the new owner wanted to ensure the patrons gets unique and of course easy to eat dishes (so they can play and eat) which tingled their taste buds to come back for more.

Keeping that thought in mind, my friends and I decided to order some nice sounding drinks since most of them came in from the harsh heat outside.

Our choices of Mango Mojito, Mint & Lime Mojito and Water Litchi Mocktail were real thirst quenchers. However I personally loved the Mint & Lime Mojito so did many of my friends and we had a few more of this drink. Definitely a must have here.

As usual, our group loves to gorge on starters and we ordered too many to keep count.

CRISPY FRIED BABY CORN: A simple starter to begin our meal which was deep fried just right and surprisingly not oily in the least.

CHEESE STUFFED ONION RINGS: Everyone’s evening snack onion rings is not easy to pass off as a starter even though its a cafe. But add a bit of cheese and fry to perfection then you definitely have a winner on your hands. A must try here.

EMPANADAS : 

VEG/ NON – VEG –  Very similar looking veg and non veg empanadas though being a non vegetarian I really enjoyed the filling used in the non veg and the outer pastry shell was light on the palate. I can definitely have this anytime of the day. A great Latin American addition to the menu.

MOZZARELLA GARLIC LOAF:  I have not come across many restaurants or cafes in Bangalore serving a loaf similar to this and I was not too keen till a friend pulled out a piece and the gooey cheese made me dig in.

BBQ CHICKEN WINGS: One of those dishes that I generally avoid as I tend to be lazy to use my hands. I did try a piece and the marination was spot on and finger licking delicious.

ARANCINI:  I have eaten similar looking and tasting fried balls in Italy though I had no idea that this was the exact same dish. It is more of snack sold in the market food stalls. It is heart warming to see many different dishes on this cafe’s menu which tasted quite good too.

DICE N DINE PIZZA: Keeping in mind a gamer’s mindset this pizza was evolved thereby making it easy to dig in and keeping playing at the same time. It may not looking very interesting but hands down one of the tastiest pizzas with the simplest of ingredients used.

MINCED MEAT LOAF:  Very similar to the mozarella garlic loaf however with delicious shredded meat inside and of course loads of cheese too.

In between all this food, we tried our hand at Jenga which was a lot of fun since it was the Truth or Dare kind.

SALADS: Since we felt overly stuffed after these starters we decided to order some light food in the form of salads.

CITRUS BURST: Just the right dish after a lot of non veg food and the mild citrus flavours were perfect for the moment.

GRILLED PINEAPPLE WITH CHEESE AND MEXICAN SHOTS: A very interesting looking dish though it was just pineapple slices and some green colour shots. However the “just pineapple” turned out to be the show stopper with the slices loaded in between with cheese, cinnamon, miniscule bits of ginger all of it just oozing into your mouth on the first bite.

The shots were a perfect addition to the grilled pineapple and though non alcoholic all the good food put us in a mood for a toast!

COUSCOUS WITH LAMB SALAD:  This salad though looked a handful was not too much to my liking. Being a bit health conscious the couscous definitely was a must try for me but the lamb was a bit disappointing being cooked a little too much.

BROCCOLI AND SHRIMP SALAD: A simple seafood salad with a dressing which leaves a lingering taste long after.

MAIN COURSE: Though we were a large group, we decided to just order 3 dishes for the main course and on the recommendation of the staff went for the below.

PANEER SHASHLIK: One for the vegetarians in the group though it was equally dug in by us non vegetarians.

THAI CHICKEN CURRY:  A lover of thai curries, this was my best dish with the flavours bang on the buck. Of course, there is always some difference from the original thai curry but I really felt this dish tasted very good.

SEER FISH WITH RICE AND POTATO MASH: Though from the regions where fish is considered everyday food, I was not too enamoured by this dish. I did like the mash and dressing provided and the grilled prawns.

DESSERTS:

Though we were dessert lovers, most of us were too stuffed to order any particular dessert and hence was lucky enough to get a taste of all their desserts in one platter. We tried the Fried ice cream, Brownie, Blueberry cheesecake, almond and caramel granola, Death by Chocolate cake. I really enjoyed the fried ice cream and definitely trying a normal serving of this one on my next visit.

I have never given much thought to cafes and the quality as well as taste of the food served as my visits are always a stop gap measure in between errands or shopping. I am glad to managed to make it here for lunch and it truly turned out to be a memorable experience worth repeating again.

I definitely recommend Dice N Dine for their excellent food, varied choices and of course the loads of games available to while away your time.

Ambiance – 4/5 

Service/Hospitality – 4/5

Food Taste – 4.5/5

Beverages– 4.5/5 

Quantity/Quality – 4.5/5

Value for Money – 4/5