In the lanes of Lajpat Nagar are plenty of options for Afghani, Iraqi and Iranian cuisines. They cater to the respective communities who visit or live in Delhi. Each place is meant to be cosy and unpretentious, where cooks of each country recreate the familiar tastes of home. Requests to Indianize/spice up the food may…
When Olive first opened its doors six years ago, it was known as the quintessential party place and was routinely slammed for its food. Now in its second innings, it is taking its food much more seriously. Does that mean that the old image of a party place will fade away? Even its name has…
One of the biggest restaurant openings that the city is likely to see this year is MEGU, the modern Japanese restaurant at the Leela Palace New Delhi. Every Japanese restaurant that sets up shop in the city raises the bar considerably for the competition. MEGU has raised the bar to an absurdly high extent: the…
The first time I went to the spruced up Thai High (earlier the roof-top restaurant was Thai Wok, owned by the present owner plus two partners who have since moved elsewhere) I was distinctly underwhelmed. There was a Thai chef in place, but the restaurant had too many teething troubles, food being just one of…
Claridges Suraj Kund has a singular distinction: it is the only five star deluxe hotel in and around Faridabad. Far from being smug about it, the hotel tries hard to walk the fine balance between keeping its standards high and catering to the local palate. Oasis, the all-day dining area of the hotel is a…
Most restaurants are just that: commercial establishments, where a manager escorts you to your seat and a disinterested waiter takes you through the menu. Real estate in the NCR being what it is, no individual with a flair for cooking can ever hope to open a restaurant. There are very few exceptions to this rule:…
“Never change a winning formula” goes the conventional wisdom and certainly the current formula at Zanotta seems to be working well for the Leela Kempinski Gurgaon. It is billed as an Italian restaurant, has its own wine library, is open only for dinner and was crowded to capacity on a Monday evening. On the other…
It was a Sunday night, the elegant restaurant in Ashok Hotel was packed to capacity. There were at least half a dozen five year olds on the premises and they were all making a beeline for my table because I was sitting near the fish pond that runs the length of the restaurant. The kids…
The best part about Delhi’s dining scene is the side of the road segment where you can dine like a king without leaving the comfort of your car. Usually two people can dine for a three figure sum. The Final Frontier is a take-off from that concept. It is on the side of a road:…
In a more civilized city, there would be plenty of places like Gunpowder. Small, advertised strictly through word of mouth and the redoubtable Facebook, bold enough to have an off-beat menu and stick to it and above all, chef-owner driven eatery that is focused on two things: food and customers. The good news is that…