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Bright colours, bold art work and plates full of flavoursome food provides a hearty combination at Hue, an artsy lounge serving intercontinental cuisine with a twist, in a relaxed atmosphere.
The two-floor bistro, which can sit 50 diners comfortably, opened its doors to connoisseurs of fine food and artists in the kingdom earlier this month at Riffa Views’ retail and dining destination, Riffa Palms.
Upon walking into the lounge, guests are met with a burst of energy reflected from the different colours, pop-up prints, murals and arty pieces on the ground floor. Comfortable sofas and chairs, along with jazzy tunes, further enhance the ambiance which is inviting and pleasing to the eye.
The beauty of Hue is that visitors can sip a steaming cup of coffee or feast on a gourmet meal on the ground floor, while art lovers can admire abstract or modern art paintings in the gallery on the first floor.
The eatery is the brainchild of Kanika Subberwal, the owner of Art and Spice in Bahrain as well as a Dubai- based art advisory company, Art Select. Being an avid art collector herself and having a flair for food, combining the two was inevitable.
She said: “The reason I called the lounge Hue is because it means colour which is associated with art and the restaurant needed to have the flavour of art. The logo represents the rising sun making its mark on the world so I based all the colours of my décor around the shades of a sunrise.
“I knew I had to start Hue in Bahrain because I love it here. I want people to come to the lounge to enjoy the food, soak in the environment and if they are interested in art then visit the gallery.”
When Mrs Subberwal isn’t busy making rounds and meeting diners, her executive chef Vinod Radhakrishnan is stepping forward for customer feedback.
Chef Vinod has more than 17 years’ culinary experience under his belt, with Italian cuisine being his specialty. He said: “The food at Hue is basically all about colour and freshness. We are serving intercontinental cuisine, keeping the food as traditional as we can but with a fusion of Italian, French, Thai and even Indian for good measure.”
There was a huge variety of fare to choose from with surprising ingredient combinations leaving much food for thought. While waiting for the salad to arrive, I was greeted with a complimentary treat which, according to restaurant manager Dinesh Shetty, is different every day. He added: “Instead of our customers just waiting for their orders we like to give them something to munch on.”
The table filled up with two salads, the Waldrof ala Hue at BD3.5 and Hue salad priced at BD4. The Waldrof was refreshing, like a summer breeze with apples, celery, walnuts and raisins while the Hue salad had the perfect mix of arugula, peaches and goat cheese in balsamic reduction.
A spicy shrimp in lemongrass Thai-inspired dish priced at BD3.8 then appeared, packing a punch but too good to resist. The pièce de résistance though was the pumpkin, ricotta and spinach cannelloni that was saucy and delicious. The meal ended with a devilishly rich molten lava cake at BD3 and a sweet carrot cake at the same price.
I also sampled the battered fish and chips at BD4, a juicy veal in mushroom sauce at BD5, linguine pesto for BD3.5 and a savoury butter chicken at BD4.4.
Diner Mariam Al Umran, 27, from Riffa Views, an artist and owner of retail Meemo Space in A’ali Shopping Complex, said: “I really like Hue. I think it has a good mixture of being a relaxed lounge that is also uplifting and lively and the food is great.
“It’s a lot different to many of the places I’ve recently visited and ideal for people interested in art, because they have a great gallery upstairs. I will definitely come back again and bring my family.”
Art pieces on display downstairs are not for sale. However, the gallery features a variety of canvases starting from $1,500 (BD 560). Local artists may soon be able to stage exhibitions in the gallery.
Hue is open from 11am to 11pm during the week and 8am to 11pm on weekends. For more information contact 17217611 or visit their Facebook page Hue-Food-Lounge-Art.
