New hangout in T Nagar offers all veg BBQ from farm to fork

CHENNAI: A big wall of art hiding behind the branches of lush green trees gives a serene feeling. In contrast, it is located on one of the bustling streets of T Nagar. The art portrays the transformation of a farmer’s produce into delicious dishes by a chef, signifying the farm-to-fork concept. We entered the spacious and aesthetically appealing The Greenhouse Barbeque, which has opened its new branch in T Nagar recently.

Health Minister Ma Subramanian launched the new branch by cutting a ribbon. Ramadas Rao, honorary president of Chennai Hotel Association, state president of Chennai’s Traders Association Vikramaraja, chef-hotelier Venkatesh Bhat and filmmaker Adhik Ravichandran graced the occasion with their presence.

“It has been six years since the commencement of the Kilpauk branch. We thank one of our partners, the late chef Soundararajan sir for igniting the idea of setting up a veg barbeque in Chennai. We are carrying forward his legacy and the knowledge he instilled in us,” starts Sai Kashyap, managing director of The Greenhouse Barbecue. Akshaya Murali, one of the partners, states, “Apart from the initial menu curation, he has also taught us a lot about successfully building a brand and expanding it.”

A notable aspect of this diner is that it offers something new, and customers might not get bored of the menu. “Our menu keeps changing each week. In this branch, we have various live counters like sushi, dosa, pasta, chaat and coldstone ice creams,” says Sai. Adding to that, Akshaya points out that they conduct food festivals often to offer vegetarian versions of different global cuisines to people in Chennai.

For the past couple of years, there has been a significant growth in veganism and vegetarianism. Many restaurants are trying their hand at innovating veg dishes. “Five years ago, our footfalls were mostly the family crowd. But now, we see a lot of youngsters coming in. People have become health conscious,” shares the managing director. “It’s a win-win situation for restaurateurs and customers as well,” adds Akshaya.To add their part to the path of sustainability, the barbeque house doesn’t use artificial colours and preservatives. They use cold press oil to add more value to the customers. “We try to build ourselves as a green brand and one cannot find plastics here,” Sai shares.

Coming to their dishes, we tried the creamy broccoli soup. The live barbeques at the table with super-soft paneer, pineapple with a tinge of sweetness and spicy mushroom aced the list. The crispy sweet corn is a great quick bite. From the live counter, the mushroom sushi was nice, however, more mushrooms could have been good.

In the main course, the hawker-style veg noodles was appetising and the biryani flavour was unique. Among the desserts, the rasamalai will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth and the coldstone ice cream was also delicious. Brownie was a bit hard. Overall, the dining experience was truly worthy at The Greenhouse Barbecue.