Overview
- Signature Dishes: Fish pollichathu (wrapped in banana leaf)
- Opening Times & Days: 9am to 11pm, daily
- Address: Elphinstone Residency, Elphinstone Road, Fort Kochi, Kochi, Kerala, India
- Contact: 484 221 8222
- Reservation: No
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Summary
As part of the Elphinstone Residency Hotel in Fort Kochi, Oceanos Restaurant is set up like a European Bistro or casual dining restaurant. Specialising in seafood, with a strong influence of Mediterranean flavours, their Indian dishes have an almost unique place in culinary India. After dining at this fine establishment, we rate Oceanos Restaurant as one of the best restaurants in Kochi, if not the best.
Best Restaurants in Kochi: Oceanos Restaurant
As part of the Elphinstone Residency Hotel in Fort Kochi, Oceanos Restaurant is set up like a European Bistro or casual dining restaurant. Specialising in seafood, with a strong influence of Mediterranean flavours, their Indian dishes have an almost unique place in culinary India. After dining at this fine establishment, we rate Oceanos Restaurant as one of the best restaurants in Kochi, if not the best.
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The decor inside was classy and professional. The restaurant had their walls decorated in a nautical theme to match their seafood menu. The service was reasonably quick and the staff friendly. The clientele were a mixture of business people as well as Western and Indian tourists.
We decided to order two mains: the King Fish in Banana Leaf & Syrian Catholic Fish Curry, accompanied with Coconut Rice.
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King Fish in Banana Leaf is a variation of the traditional Keralan seafood dish better known as ‘Meen Pollichathu’. It is usually prepared with karimeen or pearl spot which is easily found in Keralan waters, basted in spices and cooked in a banana leaf.
This dish was made with king fish which is a more exotic fish with stronger flavours. The sauce was a mild coconut curry sauce rather than the strong spicy sauce that is normally used in pollichathu. The flavours were mild and delicate and suited to western palates.
The king fish was presented beautifully wrapped inside a banana leaf. The banana leaf appeared fresh with a slightly chared surface and still closed, keeping the moisture and heat inside. After opening the leaf, we could smell the beautiful aroma of the spices and see the steam escaping.
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The king fish cutlet was cooked perfectly, with the flesh easily separating from the backbone. The coconut sauce was rich, flavoursome, smoothly textured and spicy but not too hot (mild-medium). The fish was beautifully cooked, immersed in the coconut sauce which was finely balanced and went really well with the fish.
I enjoyed this dish and debated going back the following night to have this dish again.
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The Syrian Catholic Fish Curry looked fantastic and the smell of coconut oil and spices which wafted from the dish suggested the chef could really cook. The presentation of this dish was about the only thing that let it down. The combination of spices was completely different to the King Fish in Banana Leaf; it had stronger flavours and it was slightly spicier.
It has been weeks after we ate these fish dishes, yet we are still talking about the flavours and comparing new dishes we have eaten since to these higher standards of flavour.
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The Coconut Rice was fresh and was different to how we normally have it in Melbourne, Australia. The rice was fluffier than usual but it lacked the strong coconut flavour I associate with coconut rice. It was still tasty and preferable to plain rice; however, it was nowhere near the high standards of the fish curries.
The only complaint I have about Oceanos Restaurant is that the dishes did not come out at the same time so we had to wait a bit longer. Other than that, I loved everything about this restaurant, especially the seafood dishes. It is clearly one of the best restaurants in Kochi. I would definetely visit Oceanos Restaurant the next time we’re Kochi, and I hope that my second meal will be as good as the first.
