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This counter marks the Mumbai-based chain of restaurants’ first venture down south, and judging by the number of food court foragers milling around it, it’s quite a success. They proffer authentic Arabic cuisine, and favourites like shawarma and hummus are the most in demand. We tried their manakeesh with cheese (Rs 95; Rs 75 on Wednesdays) – for the uninitiated, this is sort of an Arabic take on pizza (they have pizza too, except it’s called manosha). The quartered flat bread is oven-baked for around ten minutes, or till the golden cheesy layer, garnished with herbs, begins to bubble. The more traditional version, topped with za’tar (thyme) and olive oil, is also available here. The manakeesh is served with pickled vegetables on the side and a smooth, garlic tahina dip. Make sure you get the laban (Rs 40) to wash it down. It’s a frothy, chilled spinoff on buttermilk that’s flecked with dried mint, and is exceedingly refreshing. Bistro Grill also undertakes free home delivery; call 90354-77655 to place an order.

All the kitchen staff here call Kolkata their home, and are rather nostalgic about it, as you’ll find out while you wait for your Bengali meal to be prepared. You can’t go wrong with the simple combination of radhaballavi and aloor dum (combo 2; Rs 40), although it’s not as substantial as other traditional dishes on their menu, such as shorshe mach and mutton chops. Radhaballavis are kachuris stuffed with gram paste – they’re perfect to mop up the thick potato gravy with. A pleasant addition to the tray is a small Styrofoam cup of steaming hot, milky sweet cha – if you must wait for it to cool down, be prepared to contend with layers of cream forming rapidly on top.
Fourth Floor, Bangalore Central-2, Mantri Junction, near Ragigudda Temple, Jayanagar 9th Block (4207-5129). Daily 11am-10.30pm. All major cards.

If it’s a light lunch you’re after, ask for the savoury Italian summer crepe (Rs 80): it’s a nice alternative to the paninis here. The staff at Crepe Connection will pour the smooth batter on the griddle right in front of you, and once the wafer-thin crepe turns honey brown, they fold in the filling. This one’s got chicken and capsicum in a tangy tomato and garlic sauce stuffed into the crepe, which is then cut into bite-sized pieces. For a sweet treat, try the crisp-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside Belgian waffles (Rs 60). You can choose to have each spongy square filled with caramelised bananas or strawberries; both options come with a scoop of vanilla ice cream laced with chocolate sauce. If you ask nicely enough, they’ll add an extra cup of sauce to your tray. And you should – you’ll definitely want to double dip.

You can choose from their list of “cocktails” (blended mocktails, really) and smoothie, but you don’t get to pick the fruits that go into the concoctions, even though there’s an actual market stall behind the counter. We tried. Luckily, this didn’t pose a problem for our butter fruit juice (Rs 49; regular size) – its mild, sweet flavour without a hint of pulp could come only from perfectly ripened avocados. With its creamy consistency, the chilled drink is as filling as a milkshake. They also offer sugar free juices and juices made with sweetener.
Third Floor, Garuda Mall, Magrath Road, Ashok Nagar (6664-1100). Daily 11am-11pm. All major cards.

You don’t stop at Starke’s for their batter-fried “krunchy chicken”: it’s soggy and eminently avoidable. They’ve got halal burgers and hot dogs on their menu too, but it’s the “wing-o-grill” flame-grilled chicken wings (Rs 112) you should order here. If you aren’t in a rush, these exquisitely succulent nibbles are worth the wait. After ten minutes, they come off the barbeque crisscrossed with char lines that add crunch and smokiness to the fatty outer layer, and just a nudge with your teeth is enough to coax the meat off the bone. The spicy wings are served with a big bowl of golden, perfectly salted fries – almost unrecognisable to those accustomed to the usual fare of too-soggy-or-too-crisp junk food

This kiosk is parked right outside the Kool Kidz supervised play area, but on any given day, it isn’t just kids queuing up for these brownies. Their menu features over 30 types of brownies, which includes the regular “ ultimate gooey” varieties, the fusion kind (made using chocolates like Ferrero Rocher and 5 Star), toffee brownies as well as eggless ones. Try the dense double square brownie with Nutella (Rs 95) – it has a layer of the sweet hazelnut spread on its crumbly top crust. The more compact Belgian truffle brownie (Rs 55) is a rich, fudgy option – it retains its moist gooeyness by being just a little undercooked at its centre (the undoing for those who can’t resist the batter stage when attempting to bake at home). The brownies are served warm, and you can add to the decadence by asking for a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side, and a drizzle of chocolate sauce on top.
To get your brownies home-delivered call 98840-75276.

This little tea stall features the usual suspects: Earl Grey, masala chai and lemon tea, but it also has quite a few unusual options. The intriguingly named apple pie flavour is a black tea blended with real apple bits and pieces of cinnamon, and it’s flavoured with natural brown sugar. Amazingly, in the unsteeped leaves they offer up for a sniff at the counter, and in the chilled coral-coloured brew that is handed to you, this combination smells exactly like apple pie. The iced tea (Rs 60) is sweet and fruity, and unlike the ones you get in several food courts, there’s nothing synthetic about this one. For a sharper, more astringent beverage, try the warm berry blossom exotic tea (Rs 25). Made using hibiscus flowers, this strongly flavoured tea looks like red wine in a cup. We think it’s best consumed hot and without any sugar. If you want to brew a favourite at home, they sell 75g packs too (Assam tea Rs 30; jasmine tea Rs 80; berry blossom hibiscus tea Rs 90).

Weave your way to the end of this food court (that’s where the tables with the views are located, albeit of nothing more than bustling traffic and harried pedestrians). Once you get the attention of the guys behind the counter – they’re usually engrossed in whatever’s playing on the telly – order a plate of “the world’s best nachos”; Rs 125. We can’t say we agree with their claim, but they are a quick fix for severe deep-fried carb cravings. Warm cheese sauce is ladled generously over the papad-inspired nachos, flavoured with cumin seeds and chilli powder, and because they’re served on a plate rather than in a bowl, none of the nachos suffer the ignominy of going bare without topping. The snack is garnished with slivers of bell pepper, and comes with a little pot of chilled salsa on the side. You’re meant to get your fingers dirty with this one, but don’t take your time about it; the cheese tends to congeal and get the nachos soggy as well.

At Fire Wok, you get to decide what goes in your wok (Rs 139) and what doesn’t. That’s because you’re the one who puts it there. Equipped with tongs and a bowl, you make your way around the salad bar. First, you choose whether you want flat noodles, rice noodles or the regular kind. Then, there are lots of vegetables you can throw in – we kept it simple with pak choi, spring onions, mushrooms and bean sprouts. Remember to heap your bowl high (all those greens lose volume after cooking). You specify which sauce (we chose spicy coriander) and condiments (garlic and green chilli) you want the chef to use. They can add shrimp (Rs 39) or chicken (Rs 29) before tossing it all together for a quick stir-fry on high heat. This ensures that when your steaming hot bowl is returned to you, you’ll find that individual flavours shine through because the sauce isn’t overpowering, the meat is juicy and veggies retain their nutrients and crunch.

If the idea of DIY at a food court appeals to you, you can also head straight to this sandwich and salad bar. You’ll be provided with just a plastic bowl and a pair of tongs, then it’s up to you to “pile up your salad” as high as you like. For Rs 149, you get to combine up to 14 different kinds of fresh salad in your bowl. Options include broccoli and cauliflower, sprouts, cucumber cubes in yoghurt, sautéed mushrooms and carrots with zucchini. Regulars here stick to large helpings of their favourites, while first-timers sample a bit of everything. Either way, be sure to try the cold pasta tossed with mustard, the grilled chicken with coleslaw and their fruit salad. Don’t shy away from the peas and corn; the guys behind the counter are unfazed if you’re clumsy with your tongs. For dressing, there’s mayonnaise and Thousand Island sauce, but we liked it best with the French vinaigrette. You get to be as sparing or as generous with it as you want.

Sanskriti offers typical UP and Marwari specialties, and they use no onions or garlic in their cooking. The full thali (Rs 119) gets you three phulkas, two sabzis of your choice, a serving of either khichdi or rice, the option of dal or kadi, and it comes with raita, pickle and salad. Try the karela here; bitter gourd might not be everyone’s favourite, but its pungent flavours are a pleasing contrast to the smooth yoghurt tang of both the gatte ki sabzi and kadi. For dessert, pick the freshly prepared moong dal halwa, which is laden with ghee, instead of the gulab jamuns.
Fifth Floor, Oasis Center, Intermediate Ring Road, Koramangala (4166-6660). Daily 11am-11pm. All major cards.

Fish curry comes in three varieties here: Thai, Goan or Kerala (Rs 85); and they’re all served with a bowl of fluffy, fragrant white rice. It’s the Kerala dish that they’ll offer you if you’re hankering after something spicy. The thin curry contains melt-in-the-mouth cubes of boneless seer fish and is as fiery as promised, but surprisingly isn’t coconut- or pepper-based. Seafood Bay’s version, tasty though it is, seems inspired by quite another coast: its strong mustard flavour suggests Bengali cuisine. Also, a good option to tide you over between meals is fish fingers served with tartare sauce (Rs 85). They don’t need any dabbing with a tissue to soak up excess oil, and you bite into the crunchy crumb-fried coating to reveal flaky, fresh fish within.

The signboard proclaims this kitchen specialises in Hyderabadi and Andhra cuisine, but it has appams on the menu, its biryani seems to elicit a lukewarm response amongst Transit regulars, and on the day we visited, the guys behind the counter recommended the chicken Chettinad (Rs 99) over the 65. This turned out to be fortuitous: the thick aromatic gravy dish was swimming with lethal dried red chillies and juicy pieces of chicken, and was redolent of the cumin, ginger and garlic it’s heavily spiced with. It’s best eaten with their buttery soft, speckled maida parota (Rs 20 each). The sweetness of the dough offsets the pungent curry well.
Third Floor, The Forum, 21, Hosur Road, Koramangala (2206-7676). Daily 11am-11pm. All major cards.