As you open the glass doors of Fullfills, the newest restaurant in town, you are greeted by an exquisite American diner-style restaurant. Large glass windows line the walls, making the restaurant feel both bright and airy. The colourful decor contrasts well with the wooden panels that line the walls and parts of the ceiling, and the whole place has a home-like charm to it. Located at Syndicate Circle, the Fullfills is also centrally located and easy to find.

On arrival, we were greeted with a well organised digital menu, consisting of a cast variety of cuisines to choose from. It’s got some truly unique dishes from around the world, as well as a lot of familiar ones. You can check out the rest of the menu here. The restaurant also boasts a vast open kitchen, where you can witness your food being prepared.

The attention to detail in everything at Fullfills is a nice touch. The interior, as mentioned above, is bright, open, and well done. In addition to this, our drinks were served in little glass bottles with metal straws which only added to the diner-like feel of the place. The plating of all our dishes was also very aesthetic.

Instead of ordering on our own, we decided to go with the Chef’s recommendations.

We started with Lemon Corriander Soup— it was packed with flavours and was spicy to the tongue. The citrus was refreshing, and it complemented the spicy broth. However, if you’ve got a low tolerance of spice, this dish might not be for you.

Next, we were served two salads. The Waldorf Veg Salad was a creamy white sauce salad, with walnuts for an added crunch. The apples and pineapples added a nice sweetness and tasted amazing with the mayonnaise dressing. The Santri Murg Salad was a cold chicken salad served with bell-peppers and orange. Garnished with fresh herbs, the chicken-tikka and tangy flavours from the orange went well together. We preferred the Santri Murg Salad over the Waldorf and, though they tasted good, both salads were surprisingly expensive.

For Starters, we were served African Chicken and Fish Fingers. The African Chicken was coated in a white sauce much like the one you’d have with an Alfredo Pasta sauce and tasted brilliant.

However, it was the Fish Fingers that stole the spotlight. Served with a mayonnaise dip, they didn’t taste like the cheap and oily fish fingers you’re probably accustomed to. The batter was just perfect, and the fish tasted fresh. Though the dish wasn’t as unique as some of the others on the menu, it was the best out of what we had, and an absolute must-have!

We were not served a main-course or any dessert, but it’s safe to say that the starters, the two salads and the soup, satisfied our appetite.

In addition to the excellent food, it’s important to note that Fullfills is making a conscious effort to cut down on plastic. Right from the cutlery used, to the metal straws used in drinks instead of plastic ones, they’ve made an effort to minimise plastic and swap them with reusable alternatives as much as possible. The staff and chefs all wore protective gear as well as masks and gloves, which means that, despite the pandemic, it is a safe place to visit.

On talking to the owner, we were told that they chose to open a branch in Manipal over Bangalore due to the large population of locals and students. The lack of fine-dining restaurants, especially ones targetted at families, definitely helped. The pricing of the restaurant is undeniably higher than many other Manipal favourites. However, from the array of dishes that we tasted, we’d argue that the prices make sense. The food was, simply put, incredible.

Fullfills definitely won’t be a daily hangout spot, but we do think it would be more reasonable if you visit in a large group. With the current prices though, it’s the kind of place you can visit once or twice a semester on special occasions or days when you don’t mind spending that little bit extra. The food, as mentioned above, is definitely worth it and there’s certainly enough variety for you to experiment and order something entirely new on each visit.

At the end of the day, though the prices may be high Fullfills is definitely a place we’d go to again, and we’d recommend it for you too!

Written by Alankriti Singh and Naintara Singh for MTTN

Images by Sathvik Kamath for MTTN