Chennai Dining Guide: What to Experience at Gossip Fusion Bistro and Dessert Bar

Creamy tender coconut mousse for dessert. (Image: Ruksana Hussain)

One of my fave spots to dine in Chennai on East Coast Road is Gossip Fusion Bistro and Dessert Bar. Never visited and been disappointed in any way – from food to service to staff to décor – they do it right and consistently so, which is probably why they are one of the mainstays in the restaurant business in the area. The regular menu has its classics, but they also offer special menus for different occasions that are equally fabulous. 

Part of the new year lunch spread. (Image: Ruksana Hussain)

My most recent visit was New Year’s Day lunch, and it was as heavenly as ever. We opted for an early lunch hour to beat the crowds but apparently everyone else had the same plans. The good part was being able to find parking right in front of the restaurants, the not so good was waiting on the maze of cars behind us to be moved after from their tandem spots to get ours out!
 
Lovely to hear staff wishing everyone a happy new year and welcoming us in right from the female staff up front who were adding some decorative elements to the entrance to the manager who went on to take great care of us (keep reading) and the rest of the service staff as well. Despite being plenty busy thanks to the crowds starting to flow in for lunch, staff were attentive and pleasant checking in on us for water and additions to our order.
 
We did a mix from the regular menu and the special menu they had for the first day of the year. Started with a light and lemony chicken soup and a beef dish accompanied by plantain fritters. These are not the names they had on the menu for these dishes but if you cannot tell, some people (me!) were too busy indulging and not paying attention. 
 
For entrees, a rice and prawn curry from the usual menu and a chicken and berry roast – cranberry spinach goat cheese stuffed chicken – from their festive menu were our choices and they were good choices too. The crispy roast duck caught my eye but wasn’t available that day. All said, this was a fantastic meal. 
 
Halfway through the meal, the manger visited us and realized that the chef had sent us the wrong style of prawn curry. While we were perfectly happy with the version we had and continued our meal, he was kind enough to have chef bring us a portion of the actual prawn curry we should have been served. Unnecessary given the busy flow of guests they had that morning but appreciated, nonetheless.
 
Ended it all with their signature dessert – creamy tender coconut mousse served in the coconut shell itself. I challenge you to order this and not leave tempted to have more. Of course, if coconut isn’t an ingredient you favor, then stay away from it because that’s pretty much all that’s in it other than some caramelized sugar on top. I’d like to try some of the other dessert offerings but default to this one every single time. Just means I'll have to keep going back!

Beef and plantain fritters anyone? (Image: Ruksana Hussain)

Author

Ruksana Hussain is the publisher and editor of Traveler and Tourist digital magazine, author of Around the World in Los Angeles, and award-winning journalist and writer at RH Media Consulting. Connect with her on Instagram and Facebook or through the Contact Form.