fusion bay

new town, unfamiliar territory, and no access to the internet suggestions (thanks to my broken phone screen). we were looking for a place for lunch near our hotel in fort kochi, when we came across fusion bay. it looked good from the outside, and the options in the menu seemed promising. having reviewed and rejected a couple of other restaurants in the vicinity, we decided to give this one a try.

fusion bay puts up a half-hearted effort to build up an ambience. the outdoor seating is well set-up, and as you enter, you come across a portion of the wall highlighted with a shade of green amidst the yellow, and decorated with a shelf full of cook-books among other things. but as you walk further on, their gusto seems to have disappeared. you still have some paintings on the walls, and a couple of chandeliers, but the difference is glaring.

we took our seating at the afore-mentioned green wall, and built up our collective appetite salivating over the photos in the cook-books while waiting for the food. for starters, weordereda plate of batter fried seafood and a round of beverages. it was pretty ordinary - the fries were neither hot, nor crispy. for the main course, i decided to try out the dutch style fish in banana leaf. it was accompanied by a serving of lemon rice, a salad, and a bowl of yoghurt. the fish was tasty, though it could have done with a little less sourness. i took bits from from my neighbours' plates, and the fish with fenugreek and dill seemed really tasty. the single serving of fish was quite filling, though, and we skipped desserts.

we went into fusion bay without any expectations, and came out with mixed feelings. it seems alright for a one-time visit, and given a chance to return to this part of the world, i would rather try out a different restaurant.

the first restaurant we cared to venture into when a friend and i visited kochi was fusion bay - dropped in for a late lunch, and we were not disappointed! the restaurant came well recommended by a few friends who are natives of kerala, so i knew that this is a trusted place.

the restaurant is easy to locate, and the directions on google maps are spot on. ambiance-wise, it is a small, quaint, and clean space, with simple interiors. the service was reasonably speedy, and our server was polite.

weorderedthree dishes - 
- coriander prawns - a light dish with generous portions of prawns in green coriander paste. this one is recommended for diners who cannot stomach spicy food.
- fish pappas - this dish is a meal in itself, and is quite filling. according to the menu, it is made using the chef's grandmother's recipe, in portuguese style, and is part of a syrian christian homely meal. the fish is cooked with fenugreek, tamarind, chilli powder, and mustard. the accompaniments include rice, roti, vegetables, pappad, and tapioca. this dish is well worth the money. please note that the fish is quite spicy.
- fresh masala fish pollichathu - when in kerala, have pollichathu (which means burnt)! another spicy dish, this one is a generous helping of fish marinated and cooked with fresh kerala masala, and grilled in a banana leaf.

our bill totaled inr 1,200 for two. i thoroughly enjoyed the food, although i was left in tears after the pollichathu and the fish pappas (i have low tolerance for spice).

we were told that fusion bay was the best place in fort kochi to find prawns. well iorderedsome prawns and this is all i was served--six shrimp and some tomatoes for 400 rupees. not impressed and i would not recommend it to anyone as it was also extremely hot inside and the bathroom was filthy.

i went in there because of the great reviews. but had a terrible experience. weordereda pomfret pollichath and squid fry with ghee rice. we waited for over half an hour for the food and then finally asked a waiter when we saw that others who had come after us were served before us. after another 10 minutes, he brought us a fish pollichath but my husband realized that it was karimeen. and thank god for that because i'm allergic to karimeen!!
when we asked the manager what was happening, he said that our order had gotten mixed up with another table who had accidentally eaten the food and they were preparing our order fresh.
such confusion is common in any crowded restaurant. what upset us was that they did not tell us this! they had clearly known about the mistake for some time. they could have come to our table and apologized for the error and asked us to wait for our food. instead they just kept us waiting until we asked out of frustration. and worse, gave us the wrong dish after knowing the issue. i could've been hospitalized if we hadn't realized it was the wrong fish!!
this is the most unprofessional behaviour i've ever encountered in a restaurant. the food may be good, but such behaviour makes it never worth returning to.

i searched for a good restaurant on zomato that served fish pollichathu in fort kochi. i liked reviews of fusion bay and hence decided to pay a visit. here is my review -

1. location - it is a small joint located just near santa cruz basilica which is a major tourist attraction, hence it is very easy to locate. you have to park your vehicle carefully on roadside a bit away from the place as there is no assigned parking space and road side infront of this restaurant is a taxi stand.

2. ambiance - this place is chic and cozy. although there was a cacophony of talking and eating, we good seats at a side where we were content. interiors are tastefully done, with many photographs highlighting history of fort kochi. there were a lot of local artwork adorning the walls.

3. food - now comes the highlight of our visit. weorderedgrandma fish pollichathu and chicken roast along with appam. i never had the opportunity to eat pollichathu and it was such a delight. fish was perfectly cooked, spices were perfectly balanced and overall outcome was that i had an unforgettable experience as a tourist. chicken roast was also good and quantity was sufficient.

4. price - as compared to the places that we had food earlier, this place was pretty cheap. pollichathu was 450 rs and chicken roast was 150 rs, so i guess it was quite light on our pocket

5. service - there was a bit of communication problem with staff which is quite understandable as we cant speak malayalam and staff cant speak hindi and was not well versed in conversational english. but servers were quick and attentive and tried best to make us choose our dishes.

all in all, i was very happy with my selection. will definitely visit again if i get a chance to visit fort kochi

weorderedfrom this restaurant several times before lock down,and the food was very good both in quality and quantity. but this time everything changed. food quality lowered horribly. parotta has even sourness in it! very much disappointed.😡😬

i love the food but your service is pathetic. the staff is lazy and seemed reluctant to do the work. worst part of it, i justorderedtwo appams online and made the payments through swiggy but received only one. you have great food but if you keep with this attitude your restaurant will closed done soon. we love your food and don't want this to happen. please take care✌

this was the first time me trying authentic kerala cuisine. and oh boy!!! it blew my mind.😍😍😍 i hate coconut butorderedcoconut rice and loved it till the last grain. the fish masala was great with appams.the best of the food i have had yet in kochi

a quaint restaurant where i had the best sea food in fort kochi. weorderedgrandma's spicy meen polichadhu, prawn moily, meen mango curry, appam, rice and fresh lime soda. they served us pumpkin soup for an appetizer which was too good. we loved the food there and it was worth every penny. a must-try in fort kochi for all!
food-5/5
ambience-5/5
service-4/5

weorderedbeef curry accompanied by the kerala thali and prawns in green mango curry. the food was delicious and the ambience was beautiful. the service was equally pleasant however it could have been a little fast but otherwise this is a must visit if you're in fort kochi.

very good. food tasted well. one advise here they take orders in the beginning. we wasted food as weorderedand later couldn't have it as we were full. so they should take one order and a take and then ask customer for their next order

good food but there is a bit bad communication. when we asked our fish grilled they told us its just grilled nothing added thats why weorderedbut when it arrived there was souce on it which we didnt want and like.
loved the salad, best salad so far.

last time i went there , the food served was hot and the description matched that in the menu. i had given 5 stars. now editing it to give them 1 star. last night i went again , they gave cold dish. iorderedfor fish peralan and they gave kerala fish curry.

this is a small place at fort kochi but serves the best cuisine. all dishes in the menu are freshly prepared and hence the serving takes some time.
hadorderedmushroom meal and jewish pepper chicken.
this place is known for seafood.

the first thing to talk about our experience is the lobg waiting time. for the simplest of dishes like ginger soda also ,we had to remind thrice before it came after 25mins. french fries which weorderedto kill hunger pang due to long waiting period took more than 15mins. main courses took 40mins+. and the food that arrived after that was over priced and less tasty .they dint seem so considerate also when we told them it's getting very late. starters were ok to taste but very less in quantity with respect to the price. weorderedsquid and prawns. main course had mediocre taste where weorderedfish perlan meals and beaf meals. its a small place with lot of foreign crowd and they serve mainly kerala and jew cuisine. customer service is first thing they need to learn .