A designer’s creations that are adventurous and appetising, though surprisingly affordable
Vijay Arora’s Gelato Vittorio has a brand new café upstairs. Attractive all-white interiors with huge glass windows, the café may be tiny, but the menu is large and ambitious. What it serves is a range of salads, imaginative sandwiches, pastas and noodles as well as light main courses from the western world and from South East Asia.
Strangely, though Greater Kailash I, M Block market has mithai and idli places, there’s no trendy place that sells good food. Saltz is set to change that.
The Club Salad (Rs 160) is a funky, unusual take-off on the classic club sandwich. It has iceberg lettuce, bacon and chicken chunks in it. The Parmesan cheese was, disappointingly, grated, shavings would have added more value. Vietnamese Salad Rolls (Rs 150) are the best I’ve had outside Blue Ginger, the Vietnamese restaurant at Taj West End, Bangalore. Thin-as-skin wrappers enclose a medley of rice noodles, bean sprouts and cucumber batons with a basil leaf. The Crispy Fish and Raw Mango Salad (Its 170) was a let-down, because the fish was anything but crisp and the wilting cucumber batons outnumbered the mango three to one.
Excuse the colour of Pho (Rs 105), the meal-in-a-bowl national soup 
of Vietnam. At Saltz, it is an unappealing grey, but its taste is fairly close to the original.
Where Saltz has taken too many liberties is with Bunny Chow, the South African meal in a bun that was sold by the Indian community to locals. It was a finger food, made by filling thick curry into a bun. The version here has Bolognese Meat Sauce with Cheese (Rs 195) poured over a sliced bun. It is filling and creative but it is not Bunny Chow.
Chicken Phad Thai is the ultimate in value for money at Rs 180, Seafood Laksa (Rs 325) is an interesting take on the Penang favourite: 
it is dry rather than soupy, but a treat nevertheless; Hainan Chicken Rice (Rs 250) wins because of its moist chicken and subtly flavoured rice, but the chilly-garlic sauce needs some tweaking, Chicken and Chips (Rs 250) is the old favourite: done superbly well.
If Braised Thai Noodles with Black Mushrooms and Greens (Rs 195) is any-thing to go by, Saltz takes care of its vegetarian offerings well indeed. It is served with a piquant lime and chilli powder dressing that perks up the subtle flavours of the noodles.
The finest dish on the menu is Vietnamese, Grilled Chicken with Sticky Rice and Chilli Paste (Rs 250). Not bad value for money, this is one dish that suits everybody, from the adventurous palate to the conservative eater.
VITAL STATS
Saltz: M 69 First Floor, Greater Kailash I Market
Tel: 46536233, 46536281
Open from 11 am to 11 pm
No alcohol served; all credit cards accepted
Average cost of a meal for two: Rs 1,000
