Right across the road from the all-American Subway fast food joint Subway,on Wallace Garden Road, is a restaurant that is it’s exact opposite: Very European,very calm and semi-snobbish. It’s CEDARS. Kotturpuram’s loss is Wallace Garden’s gain.

We happened to go Cedar’s last Sunday for their popular Sunday Brunch. Cedars is billed as a Mediterranean and Lebanese restaurant. It’s all that and then some.

The ambience is serene and understated. The place is for those who relish fine food. It is quiet and noise free and not too many laptop wielding samurai’s here!

The Cedar’s Sunday Brunch is a good way to spend Sunday and inexpensive too ( Charges are Rs. 450+ tax for adults and Rs.250+ tax for kids).

The meal starts with fresh juice and iced tea and an assortment of mezzes, salads and breads. The soft pita bread is sent hot to your table and the hummuus and garlic cream are the best in Chennai. The Waldorf salad is generous with walnuts and is creamy.

While the Mushroom Fritters and Fusilly are passable, the vegetable au gratin is very good. There are veggies in BBQ sauce and pesto grilled chicken (good) and stifedo (cubesof beef cooked with shallots and wine) and a lebanese style chicken dejaje bil laban.

The brunch includes waffles and pancakes(Sundays only and very good! They are definitely the highlight of the meal)), pizzas made to order (good), felefel pita pockets (very good), and chicken shawarma pita pockets (very good).

For dessert, we had fruit salad, and vanilla ice cream, with chocolate sauce and nuts. The chocolate mousse was very tasty, though some might find it a tad too sweet. There was plum cake and something called nammoura (a lebanese style semolina cake).

The entire experience is overseen by Selvam, a well mannered and unobtrusive maitre d’. All the waiters are courteous and efficient.

All in all, a lazy, de-stressing and exclusive way to spend your Sunday.