continuing our food adventures, avni, gayatri, and i hit up smally’s resto cafe in ulsoor for dinner last week. i had only recently heard about smally’s, and it had received good reviews, so we decided to make it the next stop on our food tour of bangalore. and once i heard that they had burgers – proper beef burgers – and shakes, i was sold.

the space itself is small and cozy, with just four or five tables downstairs and a terrace level upstairs. it’s got low ceilings and is very narrow, and it brought to mind what i imagine it would feel like in the burrow. it was empty when i arrived a little before 8pm, so i had my choice of where to sit. i loved the big windows, so i chose a table overlooking the street to watch the traffic as it passed by.

the menu is very eclectic, with dishes ranging from mangalorean style ghee roast to burgers and hot dogs to pizza and pasta. avni and i were both pretty stoked to try their ghee roast, but they sadly did not have it when we visited. instead we opted for the disco chicken, the mozzarella sticks, and the smally’s fried chicken as our starters. the mozzarella sticks had hardly and cheese in them, and the fried chicken were pretty much glorified chicken nuggets, but the disco chicken was so delicious i forgot about the other two. it had a great kick to it, and we polished it off in no time; if we hadn’t been in a restaurant, i would likely have licked the plate.

i knew going in that i wanted a burger, so even though the pizza and pasta options were tempting, i was set on my burger. i went with the trucker, the double patty, and it was great. the two patties were a little ambitious for me, and it needed a tomato, but otherwise it was very enjoyable. avni had the original chicken burger, which she said was really good. i think the only real disappointment was gayatri’s pitbull hot dog, which she wasn’t too thrilled about, but otherwise we were pretty happy with our food selection.

i think probably the highlight for me was the smally’s brownie shake i ordered. served in a mason jar with a straw, it was a delicious shake that was just the right size. i sometimes stay away from ordering shakes because they’re so filling, so i was very excited when i saw the portion size for this shake. this one comes highly recommended.

the food was good, the shake was great, and i really liked the space. the only downside for me was that the service wasn’t really great — we had to keep catching the attention of our server, and he didn’t seem very enthusiastic or excited about answering our questions regarding the menu. other than that, however, it was a fun dinner and i am looking forward to trying some of that pizza and pasta in the future.

the details:

location: skywalk 5/1, assaye road, pulikeshi nagar, ulsoor. bangalore – 560008.

landmark: next to watson’s in ulsoor.

serves non-veg: yes.

serves drinks: no.

wifi available? there was a network, but i forgot to ask for the password. my bad.

what we ordered: disco chicken; mozzarella sticks; smally’s fried chicken [starters]. smally’s brownie shake; lemon soda; guava juice [drinks]. the trucker burger; the classic chicken burger; gayatri’s hot dog [mains].

our bill: rs 1,500 in total, which we split three ways. pretty affordable considering the amount of food we ordered.

my zomato rating: 4 out of 5 // average rating is 4.1

fun facts: they have another location on church street, and both deliver up to a 5km radius from their locations. i’m looking forward to ordering a pizza one night to see how they are.

to keep in mind: there is not a restroom inside the restaurant; instead, smally’s shares a common restroom with some of the other shops in the complex. i didn’t check it out, but it’s something to keep in mind.

will i go back? yeah, probably. the service wasn’t phenomenal, but the food was pretty good. and i want to try that goan sausage burger.

xx