It is just a little over a year since the Executive Court Hotel commenced operations in what used to be the Lazarus Bungalow - once a landmark in Vizag. The one big advantage that this hotel has is location. There are two restaurants - the 24-hour coffee shop 'Any Time' and the bar/restaurant 'Royal Palate'. The name 'Any Time' is a bit of a misnomer as they are closed from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. but we won't hold that against them; Vizag is a city that sleeps and even if food is given away for free, there would be few takers at those hours anyway.

Service : An order for iced tea (Rs. 30/-) at the beginning of the meal arrived almost at the end of it! To be fair to them, however, we must state that they had the grace not to charge us for it and that it was delicious! The Hostess and the Captains seem to be reasonably well trained but the junior waiters seem to be novices learning on the job (how else can you explain a waiter trying to clear away the plates halfway through your meal?). Lack of training / experience apart, there can be no mistaking the enthusiasm. We were informed that the person-in-charge of the restaurant was one Mr. Sarkar and that were four Captains who worked in shifts.

Ambience : The loud clatter of cutlery on crockery may make some people feel at home but we found it jarring. This apart, the settings are fairly comfortable even if quite basic.

Food : 

The Breakfast menu (served from 0600 to 1100) contains staples such as Continental Breakfast (Rs. 45/-), Cereals (porridge, corn flakes, Rs. 22/-) and something called the Executive Court Special breakfast (Bacon/Sausages - Rs. 55/-).

There is something called an Executive Lunch containing fixed items available for vegetarians (Rs. 40/-) and for non-vegetarians (Rs. 60/-).

This apart there is an à la carte menu under Lunch / Dinner. This again consists of Starters - such as 'Chilli Loose Prawns' (Batter fried - Rs. 75/-), 'Flake fried chicken' (drumsticks covered with corn flakes and seasoned with Chinese salt - Rs. 80/-) and Soups - reasonably priced at about Rs. 20/-

Main courses - The Main Course section has items listed under :

Continental - Chicken à la Kiev (Rs. 90/-), Veg. Mixed grille (Rs. 55/-)
Indian - Shrimp ka Salan (Rs. 90/-)
'Tandoori Khazana' - Kababs (Rs. 85/-)
Indian Bread - Different kinds of 'rotis' priced around Rs. 15/-
Chinese - Fish Hoy Soy (Rs. 75/-)
Biryanis - Dum Biryani (Rs. 75/-)

Sweet Temptations - Kesari Rasmalai (Rs. 18/-)

Then there is the mandatory section Beverages, which has the afore mentioned iced-tea, among others.

We were in the mood for Biryani but were dissuaded by the Captain Mr. N.S. Reddy. He said that they only had 'dum' biryani, which was when the meat (chicken, in this case) was boiled and added to biryani rice and not cooked along with the rice and consequently didn't taste like the real thing. We took his word for it and settled for Chicken Fried Rice and Goan Fish Curry with steamed rice.

We have some idea of what Goan Fish Curry ought to be like - reddish orange in colour, an emulsion-like texture (from coconut?) and hints of 'coccum' in the taste. This was more of an Andhraized version - dark red, lots of chillies. Not the real thing, but it agreed with our Andhra palates very well. Properly prepared steamed rice is something that one takes for granted here in Visakhapatnam, so we won't go into that. The Chicken Fried Rice ? It tasted like shredded chicken had been just added to plain fried rice before serving it to us!

Credit cards : Yes
Liquor : No
Timings : 0600 to 0300

Our Ratings :

Food (Preparation/Variety) : 6/10
Service : 6/10
Ambience : 5/10
Value for money : 7/10

Category : 'Down-to-earth coffee shop'.

Discounts : Daspalla Privilege Card holders
Address : Lazarus Road, Opposite Apollo Hospital
Telephone : 2717300 Extn : 501

Date reviewed : Sept. 5th 2001.

Our recommendation : 'Any time' you are hungry and happen to be passing by. 

Back