Review: Forty4 Restaurant

Today my review is dedicated to Forty4 restaurant - a much hyped about upscale eatery in Clifton Block 4 offering continental fusion cuisine. I went for dinner over on the weekend and considering that we were walk-ins and had made no reservation beforehand, it was a pleasant surprise to find that a table was available.

Upon entering we were promptly and pleasantly greeted by the staff and queried whether we would like to dine indoors or outdoors on the patio. Even though the patio looked very inviting we chose to dine indoors given the warm weather. I am glad we chose the former as the ambiance inside is beautiful. The dim lights and the simple yet sleek furniture give warmth and a low-toned and serene vibe to the place. Such an ambiance makes Forty4 ideal for a romantic dinner or a one-on-one with friends where one can relax, talk and enjoy oneself. 

Forty4 Restaurant Ground Floor

The only thing which did not go well with the environment was the music. For one, they kept stopping and restarting the system which broke the flow and was unsettling. Two, the records being played were very outdated, for example “The Reason” from the Smallville soundtrack. On a personal note, I love that song but it seemed out of place in a restaurant styled along contemporary and modernistic lines.

While we were going over the menu, the complimentary bread basket arrived. Now I have been to many restaurants and I can easily say that the serving of the basket was one of the nicest I have seen. For starters we ordered the Assortment of Tempura (Rs. 694 exclusive of tax). The dish was a mix of fried prawns and eggplant and had a helping enough for two people. In terms of taste it was nothing mind blowing as it was quite bland and too oily. All I could taste was the egg batter in which the assortment had been fried in. Even the ginger soya sauce served with it couldn’t help improve matters.

Assortment of Tempura

Assortment of Tempura

For the main course, on the recommendation of the staff we ordered Pasta Forty4 (Rs. 644) with grilled chicken, sun dried tomatoes, mushroom, basil and spinach topped with Parmesan as well as Prime Beef Tenderloin (Rs. 894) with herb epices and chardonnay cream sauce. 

The pasta was a total disappointment. It had no distinct taste except for the basil which had been used with too heavy a hand. It was surprising that for a dish that contained such a diverse range of ingredients, the pasta was flavorless and lacked oomph in a big way. I had to request for some ground black pepper and tomato ketchup which thankfully livened things up a little. 

From an aesthetic point of view, I was also disappointed with the way the pasta looked. The plating lacked imagination and the dish looked like a blob of melted cheese. It might have looked better if a thicker type of pasta had been used which would have stood its ground and not been smothered by such a heavy sauce. My point is that when a dish is the namesake of a restaurant then it is presumed to be a shining star on the menu. Sadly this wasn’t the case here. 

Pasta Forty4

On the other hand, the beef tenderloin was a bit better than the pasta but it had the same blandness and a general lack of flavor that had dominated our entire meal. Here also a little fresh ground pepper went a long way to improving the taste. Another thing which I noticed about the main course was that the portions were on the smaller side. 

Prime Beef Tenderloin

For drinks we ordered White Lady and Lusty Lime both priced at Rs. 294 each. White Lady, a concoction of pineapple, lychee and lemon juice, was quite sweet and tasted solely of lychee. I could pick out neither the pineapple nor the lemon juice. Lusty Lime on the other hand tasted like the average mint lemonade that almost all restaurants offer these days. It tasted better than White Lady but was nothing special even though the menu described it to contain cola, orange juice and mint - out of which we could only taste a lot of mint and a little orange juice. The servings of the juices were good though and the presentation was also nice.

White Lady

Lusty Lime

Since we are discussing drinks, I must share something here which struck me as rather odd. Our drinks were served on coasters that were not branded with the restaurant’s name and logo. That is not unusual for some places. After all, not everyone believes in 360 degree marketing but what struck me as strange was the CONDITION of the coasters. They were old, stained and worn out over the edges and looked like something that shouldn’t be used at a high end restaurant. I have taken pictures so you can make up your own mind about it :). 

Coaster Front

Coaster Back

All in all, the service and the staff were the better part of our experience at Forty4. The food was brought quickly and was served hot. Our waiter was a thorough professional and seemed well trained. The manager was very courteous and everyone seemed eager to please. Sadly the food which is the mainstay of any restaurant was the most disappointing aspect of our visit. It was below average, mundane and was overpriced with a total bill of Rs. 3000 plus. 

Go for it if you:

1. Prefer a quiet and calm ambiance 

Don’t go for it if you:

1. Like your food to taste good
2. Prefer an extensive menu with a lot of choice
3. Are a big eater
4. Find the cost per head of Rs. 1000 to Rs. 1700 unreasonable

Hit or miss? Unfortunately a miss! Forty4 had been on my go-to list for a long time but sadly my experience there did not live up to my expectations.

My rating for Forty4 Restaurant is 2/5.

Have you been to Forty4 yet? 

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