Restaurant review: Chili’s American Grill and bar

In India, Chili’s American Grill & Bar arrived in style with outlets in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune. Now the chain has entered namma Chennai and opened its first outlet in the Express Avenue mall recently. While the bar is only serving mocktails, iced teas and juices at the moment, the menu has plenty to offer. 

After a long day at work, we decided to head to Chili’s to engage in gastronomical adventures. We were offered refreshing glasses of their signature drinks — watermelon margarita, minty melon and Long Island mango tea. The drinks were mildly sweet, full of fruity flavours and pepped us up. Soon, we decided to dig into appetisers. From the vegetarian section we ordered southwestern rolls and chipotle quesadilla bites. The crispy flour tortilla rolls were filled with black beans, mushroom, corn, cheese, red peppers and spinach in a deliciously rich avocado ranch dressing. They were light, the veggies had the right amount of dressing and were a delight. 

The quesadilla bites were batter fried and sinful, but the filling was slightly dry and bordered on blandness, making it impossible to have more than one. This was followed by Country calamari rings, which stayed crunchy even after going a bit cold, which was a plus. The succulent boneless chicken wings were absolutely appetising coming along with a honey mustard and ranch dip. 

Even as the appetisers set the mood, the main course only made our day. We completely lost count of the calories consumed over that one meal and went all out with smoked chicken quesadilla, their signature baby back ribs in original barbeque sauce and a vegetarian fajita. Of the lot, we loved the super tender rack with extremely soft meat cooked in delicious barbeque sauce and served with corn cob and fries on the side. 

The vegetarian fajita is a filling option for vegetarians with sautéed mushrooms, veggies, rice, fresh Mexican salad and black beans. They are served with onions colourful bell peppers. And among the lighter options, do not miss the mango chilli basa. It is perfect for fish lovers. The basa is grilled with pepper, drizzled with spicy Habanero mango glaze and topped with chopped mango, cilantro, freshly diced avocado and Mexican salad. The tanginess of mango, the hint of chilli and the dash of pepper make for a heady combination.

And after all these, if you have even an inch of space left in your tummy, do try the molten chocolate cake from their dessert section. It is a sinful warm chocolate cake with fudge filling, topped with vanilla ice cream under crunchy chocolate shell. Rich and blissful!

Cuisine: Tex Mex 

Must try: Southwestern rolls, calamari rings, baby back ribs, mango chilli basa, long island mango tea 

Contact: 04428464168