Mix by Brewmaster - Marryam H Reshii

Blurb: It has all the trappings of a beer brewery; all that is awaited is the licence.

Intro: one of the few restaurants, that too in a mall, that has its own banquet hall attached, Mix by Brewmaster caters effortlessly to parties as well as to families who just want to visit a restaurant. One group does not get disturbed by the other. Indeed, both groups never get to sense each other’s presence.

Atmospherics: There is a regular bar, restaurant seating, a (too long) menu comprising western, oriental and Indian, as well as a small space where the beer brewery will be put into place after the revised licensing laws come into effect. Between Kirti Nagar and Pitampura, Moments Mall is the most happening mall in the vicinity. Though the restaurant is a trifle dimly lit, it is rather popular.

Table Talk: Vodka marinated grilled fish fingers (Rs 395) was pleasant enough: basa fish was used and though the vodka didn’t come through in the marination, I felt that it could have been used to greater effect in the mayonnaise. Murgh salakein kebab (Rs 345) was the etymological puzzle that I never did solve. I still have no idea what salakein means (neither, it would appear, do the staff) but the chicken tikkas were spicy, tasty and succulent. Even better were the paneer tikka kali mirch (Rs 295) which were expertly spiced with coarsely pounded black pepper and just a faint trace of other spices in a whisper light marinade of cream that softened the paneer to a cloud-like consistency.

By comparison, the murgh makhanwala (Rs 345) was brown in colour and the tomato and cream cancelled each other instead of bringing out each other’s characteristics. It is my opinion that in the capital of butter chicken land, if a restaurant cannot get their butter chicken and dal makhni right, they are on shaky ground. This is because these two dishes are the most often ordered items on any menu and they had better be the stars of the show.

Plus and minus: doubtless when Mix by Brewmaster does become a beer brewery, all the attention of the customer will be focussed on beverages rather than food and the menu will be shortened by half. Right now, it is a travesty that appears like a banquet hall menu.

Must try: mushroom in Sichuan pepper, stir fried prawns and chicken Stroganoff

2nd floor, Moments Mall, Kirti Nagar (200 metres from Kirti Nagar Metro Station)
Ph: 9650855222
Open from 12 noon -12 midnight