Tag: Places to Eat in Delhi

Niche- Good Food, Great Ambience , a Perfect Place to Hang Out..!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Niche is casual dining/lounge & bar located in the ever bustling outer circle of Connaught Place and as the name suggests , it has created a niche for itself. The moment you step in, the ambience and the interiors of the place bowl you over. Though the space is for casual dining, but every inch of it speaks of opulence, luxury and premiumness, which is class apart. We were a happy bunch of foodies dining together and hence we got to try a lot of things, taking bites from each other’s plates 🙂

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To begin with we ordered Palak Pasta Tartlets, Feta Ki Potli, Paneer Dum Ka Roll, French Onion Soup Rings in veg and Chicken Khurchan Tacos, Pappu Chicken, Asian Spiced Chicken, Pesto Fish Tikka, Achari Mutton & Bread and Lal Mirch Ka Chicken Tikka for non-veg. The Palak Patta Tartlets were just amazing, presented with some nitrogen smoke, and on a bed of grass, they looked awesome and tasted even better. Feta Ki Potli and French Onion Soup Rings too were good, but here the winner was Paneer Dum Ka Roll, it had a sweet and sour kind of a taste, but was very different and tasty. Surely one of those dishes which must be tried.


In non-veg section the Pesto Fish Tikka and Chicken Khurchan Tacos were the best for me, more especially the tacos, I just loved them. The Achari Mutton & Bread also needs a special mention as it was really a well prepared dish, pulled lamb in pickled spices served on a toasted bread, nice and flavoursome.


For the main course we tried Fish N Chips, the Lamb Burger and from the Indian Cuisine we settled for Butter Chicken, Mutton Rogan Josh and Dal Makhani. We also tried the Amritsari Kulchas and they were fab, very filling and delicious. A word of caution there, try sharing, its quite heavy for one person.

Fish N Chips and the Lamb Burger were both amazing, the fish was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside with perfectly balanced spices, the lamb burger was really juicy and delectable.

The Butter Chicken & Dal Makhani won us over, as they were perfectly done. The chicken was neither too sweet nor spicy, it had balanced flavours and the dal was creamy and the texture 7 consistency was perfect.

For desserts, Cheese Cake was a clear winner, there was Brownie as well, but somehow I did not find it gooey enough, but the cheesecake was fabulous, so much so that one of my friend in spite of feeling so full, ended up polishing off an entire piece all by herself ;).

I have a special mention for the drinks, I tried a drink called True Blood and all I can say is there can be nothing better than this one, it is a must must try for everyone, if you don’t like alcohol, go for the virgin version, its so refreshing and tasteful, that you will relish it like anything. The other drinks too looked very inviting as the presentations were really good.

I had a fantastic time at Niche, with my friends, and I am sure you too will love it, the live music added a lot of value to our experience as while enjoying great food we enjoyed some great music too!


{Niche} - Cafe & Bar Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Madaari- The New Hot & Happening Place in Model Town

Posted on by Ikreate Passions

Madaari is a new hot and happening place in the ever evolving Model Town and its a theme based bar and pub. So as the name suggests Madaari typically means a person who takes control of the monkeys and engages in a fun tamasha. So the moment you enter Madaari you are bound to see a lot of monkeys, also a monkey wearing a headphone at the DJ console, kidding, not the real ones though, but yes the theme reflects the rawness of that tamasha and is loud on music as well.

So its a generous 10/10 on the ambience and music.

They have an array of drinks and the bartenders surely know their jobs well as they swing around one after another great drink and not just the taste but even the presentation has been taken great care of. Each drink is presented in a unique way making it a visual delight as well.

Coming to food, we tried the Cumin Chicken, Malai Chicken Tikka, Galauti Kebabs, Kurkura Paneer Tikka and Multani Paneer Tikka. Cumin chicken, serve it in a small tandoor(very classy) and it tasted perfecto. Malai chicken tikka, soft and juicy, it just melts in your mouth. Galauti kebabs served on top of small parantha were amazingly delicious and this all comes in a truck, yes a very interesting truck shaped serving dish. The Kurkura paneer tikka and Multani Paneer Tikka were both yummylicious, especially the multani paneer tikka, creamy with multani masala.

Deep Fried Prawns with Sweet Chilli Sauce, I never had such perfectly cooked batter fried prawns but this place mastered it. Crispy Lotus Honey was another dish that I had not eaten before, its unique and a must try. Honey Chilli Potatoes were perfectly seasoned and had an interesting way of presentation. Also tried the Lemon Grilled Fish and I have just one word to describe it- Smooth.

Coming to main course, we settled for the regular dishes Dal Makhani, Butter Chicken and Rogan Josh with one exception of adding Pad Thai Noodles. The Dal Makhani was creamy and certainly appeared and tasted as if a slow cook. Butter Chicken was perfect, full of cream and neither too sweet nor too tangy and hence a perfect balance of flavours. As for Rogan Josh, I am a little touchy about mutton, sorry but if is mutton, it has to be no less than perfect, I found the gravy fine, but the mutton a little undercooked, may be it was a bad day for the Bakra 😛

As for the Thai Noodles, I would give them a 10/10 for presentation but just about 5/10 for taste, as I found them too cheesy.

For desserts we tried Brownie with Ice Cream which was nice and shexy.. and also the Moong Dal Halwa which was hot and delicious. Loved it.

Madaari definitely is a fun place to hang out with your family and friends and as I stay close by, I think I will be visiting again soon, you too must give it a try.

Review Credit- Shikhar Arora

Madaari Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Cafe Southall, The Raw and Real Foodie Experience

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Cafe Southall tucked away in the Tolstoy Lane, Janpath is just the place you need to unwind, with your family or friends. Its a lounge cum cafe with a very rustic and raw appeal and is yet extremely comforting and premium. Its an idle place for your sunny afternoon lunches or some vibrant and energetic evenings. They have live music events pretty often and offer some lip smacking North Indian, Continental, Italian and Asian food. One of the highlights of the place is that it is huge and spacious. The seating is very comfortable and a big bar is adequate enough to handle any kind of rush.

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I headed out here with a few friends on a Sunny Sunday afternoon and it was just perfect. We began by ordering Chicken Caesar Salad, Murg Malai Tikka, Pesto Fish Tikka and Corn & Fennel Tikki. Highlighting the best things first, the Pesto Fish Tikka was superb, thick pesto marinated coated over cubes of fish, grilled to perfection, this dish is surely a must have, I am sure you will enjoy it. Murg Malai Tikka for me is a staple, I have to kinda order it wherever I get it as I just love the creaminess of it and even here it was done fantastically. Very soft and tender chicken pieces with oodles of cream, loved it. I was a little apprehensive about the Corn & Fennel Tikki as I don’t like fennel’s taste as such, but surprisingly in this corn and fennel tikki, fennel’s taste wasn’t overpowering and the tikki was nice, corny and crispy. Chicken Caesar Salad was just about normal, it could have been a little more juicy and flavoursome.

Next we tried Multani Paneer Tikka, which was very soft and nice, it has a very mild taste and very easy on tongue. Andhra Style Prawns were something my friends praised a lot, but somehow I didn’t feel like eating prawns that day so gave it a miss. Amritsari Fish Tikka, was another delightful dish that we all enjoyed, fried fish in a crispy batter served with chutney, this was an amazing one and must be tried for sure, you will find it little different from how it is served at other places, at least I did. Chicken Dimsums that we tried were juicy and extremely well prepared. We were still hungry for some more tikkas, so we ordered a non-veg platter to satiate our greed 😉 and it was a beautiful platter indeed. Fish Tikka, Chicken Tikka, Malai Tikka and Seekh Kebab.. all in one platter, who would not want to have this one, sheer bliss for non-vegetarians!

Rajma Galauti Ke Sliders were the next dish that we tried as our first step towards the main course and it was really nice, especially the rajma galauti, I however found my bun a little stretchy but my friends begged to differ as theirs were all soft, so may be I was the chosen one, but nevertheless this is one dish that you must try, it was really good.

Before I talk about the main course, let me tell you something about the drinks, well I tried three different mocktails and all of them were simply wonderful. Strawberry Orange Slush, Pomegranate Mint Cooler and Green Apple and Chilli and I cant say one was better than the other, because all of them were equally good.

The main course included Butter Chicken, Dal Makhani, Rogan Josh, Methi Malai Mushroom and Kadhai Paneer. Every single dish was totally upto expectations, but for me the winner was the Rogan Josh. It was one of the most perfect Rogan Josh I have eaten in recent times. This is definitely a must try for all mutton lovers.

Bringing our culinary extravaganza to an end, we had Blueberry Cheese Cake and Hot Chocolate Sundae, both of which were amazing, especially the cheese cake.

Overall the experience was fantastic and we had a lot of fun enjoying good food and awesome drinks. Its surely a place one must visit. Enjoy!
Cafe Southall Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Nawabi Food Festival @Ardor2.1 with MasterClass by Chef Dinesh Patel

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Ardor 2.1 recently organised a Nawabi Food Festival, serving delicacies of Lucknow & Hyderabad and the highlight of the event was a masterclass conducted by none other than Master Chef India finalist Chef Dinesh Patel.

The Master Class started by the chef preparing Khubani Ka Meetha, which is an authentic Hyderabadi sweet dish. While preparing the dish, chef Dinesh freely interacted with an even more enthusiastic audience, who kept asking different questions to the chef.

Must say that the presentation of the dish was fabulous, and it looked so very tempting that we found it hard to wait, trying it.

After the master class, we all settled for relishing the Nawabi dishes with live Ghazals being performed in front of us, there was an elaborate spread of food and some specially curated cocktails and mocktails to go along with the cuisine.

Laal Mirch Bhuna Chooza and Lucknawi Chaamp were amazing. The mutton chop especially was one of the highlight dishes. Mutton Ki Gilafi Seekh and Mahi Ka Tukda too were amazing, the mutton seekh was tender and juicy and the fish tikka was very well prepared. Mutton Galauti though could have been better. There were options for vegetarians as well like Paneer Tikka Tilla, Chutney Bharwa Aaloo, Hyderabadi Khumb and Nawabi Broccoli.

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Even the main course was delectable. I tried the Nawabi Murg Korma and Tawa Subz, then there was Paneer Lababdar and Dal Sahi Makhmali. The food for sure was good, but I wish the service was a little better, but I give it to Ardor still because I have been there otherwise also and they have never disappointed me. In desserts I had the Dal Halwa and Rabdi and both of them were nice, but I liked the Halwa more.

Drinks were good too and I specially loved the Jaljeera based mocktail, though the original menu had a jaljeera cocktail but I got myself without alcohol and it was fabulous. Aampana and Thandai were good too.

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Like I mentioned though service was a little disappointment this time around, but Suveet’s (the owner) hospitality made up for it and I am sure it will be looked into with immediate effect. We were also given a Sweet Nawabi Gift as a kind gesture by him and I wish him and the entire Ardor team all the best for their future endeavours. I would also like to thank Sachin Sahni and Sonal Mahendru, who organised the event with Ardor, for inviting me to be a part of such an event.

And in the end all I can say is Nawabi Food Festival or No Nawabi Festival, you can surely head to Ardor 2.1 for some lip smacking food anytime during the month and you won’t be disappointed.

Masala Library- Not just food, but an experience beyond words..!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Some places are not just about food, but the wholesome experience you get in terms of food, presentation, drinks, service, ambience, hospitality and everything else. I have been thinking since long of visiting Masala Library but somehow it never worked out. But recently during Shivratri holiday, me and my son headed out to ML to experience the best.

The ambience is as classy as it can be, totally top notch and a perfect fine dining place.

We decided to settle for the Chef’s tasting menu because we felt that way we would get to try a variety of things and I think it was one of the best decisions we made.

Our culinary extravaganza of 19 course meal began with Amuse Bouche, which had mango pulp with coconut water and was supposed to be gulped down in one shot, and it was really nice, but more intriguing was the way it was presented, like yolk in eggs that too on a nest.

Up next was Madur Vada with Clear Rasam, an absolute delight, both in presentation and taste, loved the miniature vada and the way rasam was supposed to be drunk. Just wonderful!

The next set of snacks included Pirada Cheese Poee, Deconstructed Samosa, Charcoal Bhajiya, Nadir Churma and Farmer’s Staple. Out of these minus the cheese, which I didn’t like too much, everything else was fantabulous. The Deconstructed Samosa went to become one of the best things I have tasted ever. Charcoal Bhajiya was great too, and because of its charcoal black colour my son ended up eating an onion bhajiya which he normally doesn’t. Nadir Chruma was another dish, which he polished off because he didn’t come to know its made of lotus stem and had a spread of hung curd with raddish. The Farmer’s Staple was a millet paratha stuffed with caramelised onions and it was truly mind blowing. Not just the taste and presentation, but the whole experience of the way these dishes are served and one of the team members comes and explains the dishes, its just amazing. It feels everytime a new cultural story is unfolding.

The next set of dishes intrigued me even more, as the presentation and textures were superlative. It included a Mushroom Chai, Galauti Kebab and Sheermal, Curry Leaf Prawns with Thayir Satham and Cubed Chicken Tikka. The Mushroom Chai was simply fabulous and so was the Curry Leaf Prawn, these both tasted awesome. The Cubed Chicken in three different textures, a chicken tikka, a chicken papad and chicken crumble was great, but the winner here was the Galauti Kebab, which didn’t look like a kebab at all, in fact it appeared as a spread of small noodles on the bed of a fluffy sheermal. This truly was an outstanding preparation.

Up next was a Lamb Champ with maple and kokum glaze and it was amazing, the sweetness of maple was perfectly balanced with sourness of kokum, which made this champ sweet, sour, tangy and extremely tasteful. After this Tawa Keema with Pickled Bitter Gourd was served, very tasty and amusing to find bitter gourd that wasn’t so bitter, but tangy.

The Sorbet which came as a refreshing palette cleanser, was like a deja vu to childhood, as it had the flavours of anardana, hajmola, kala-khatta etc., it was really nice.

Mizo Stew, followed by Tawa Boti, Curry, Breads and Fermented Pakodi Dal made for the last set of main course dishes. By the time I reached this stage I was already so full, eating bite sized foods one doesn’t even realise they would be so filling, but they indeed are. Out of this entire course I loved the stew and the tawa boti the most.

 

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And now an elaborate dessert menu awaited us, and it truly was a treat. Dense Dark Chocolate Mousse, Bhappa Doi, Chenna Payesh, Ashen Kulfi and Jalebi Caviar, doesn’t your mouth starts watering just reading these names.. I am sure it does.. at least mine does..No words can explain the taste of these desserts as you can only savour them and let your taste buds linger, all I can say is that each one of them was better than the other. The final touch was given with a dark chocolate truffle presented with a magnetic levitation, which was great to watch and greater to taste.

Last but not the least a candied orange tree for mouth freshener brought our amazing culinary journey to an end. It truly was the most unique fooding experience I have ever had.

A wide variety of Wine can enhance your meal experience at Masala Library as they have a full fledged Wine Cellar and an in house expert to help you with the selection of wines. As for me I gave wines a skip and settled for a Cherry Cobbler to go with my food.

It was an overwhelming experience for me and I loved it every bit. This is one of those places that has to come in anyone and everyones must visit, so please do go and give yourself a culinary treat!
Masala Library Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Dilli BC- Keeps your taste buds lingering for long..!!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Very few times, we come across places where the food is so perfect, that one cant help licking the fingers off. One such place is this tiny tiny take away/delivery outlet Dilli BC tucked away in the Malviya Nagar Market, right next to Aurobindo College. Though its primarily a take away and delivery outlet, but if you are a small group of friends who don’t mind standing across a table and indulge in some great food while you converse, then they are perfect in that regards too.

So on a windy afternoon, I with a bunch of friends decided to stop by this place and grab a quick lunch, but lest we knew that it will turn out to be an extravagant indulgence in food and conversations.

Our culinary journey began by tasting one of the best dishes they have to offer, the Bhatti Chicken, followed by Anari Chicken Tikka. Both these dishes are a must try and not to be missed at all. The Bhatti Chicken, coated with a secret black masala and perfectly roasted is a delight. Its so juicy and nice that you can’t stop at just one piece. Chicken Anari Tikka on the other hand was very different, with a sense of tanginess, but extremely tasty. Loved it.

Next we tried Chicken Lehsuni Tikka and Chicken Seekh Kebab, and both of them though regular but were amazing.

Up next we tried the Stuffed Tangri Kebab and Chicken Nawabi, both them very unusual and tasteful. The Stuffed Tangri was a double treat, tandoori chicken leg with minced chicken stuffing, simply outstanding. Chicken Nawabi topped with gooey cheese was another delightful preparation, the flavours of cheese with roasted tikka tasted really nice.

We were all bunch of hardcore non-vegetarians with just one exceptional friend who was a pure vegetarian, but he proved to be the most important person in our group, we realised this once he placed his orders and we tasted the vegetarian dishes. The Vegetarian items were a level above the non-vegetarian ones, each and every thing we tasted was simply mind-blowing.

Paneer Anari Tikka, Kali Mirch Paneer Tikka, Achari Soya Chaap, Dahi Ke Sholey, pick any item and I am sure you will love it. I mean we all loved it so much so that our tasting became a full-fledged meal, where in we again ordered the entire set of vegetarian starters for ourselves and our veg friend still got the least portion 🙂

Coming to main course, Dilli BC again proved a notch above the rest. The Butter Chicken was of superlative quality, much better than the well known so called leaders of Butter Chicken in Delhi and so was the Dal Makhani, a perfect 10/10. Chicken Rara and Rogan BC (Mutton) were another flavoursome dishes to savour. Try these awesome delicacies with their assorted breads and don’t forget to order a mirchi parantha, its not to be missed.

Now let me tell you about one of the highlight dishes from our entire meal, it was the Tandoori Chicken Roll, a roll not just made of tandoori chicken but also rolled in a tandoori roti and served with a rocking smokey dip, this is definitely a must try and I am sure you will become a fan.

After having this hearty lunch at Dilli BC, I am very sure that this is gonna be on my speed dial to order food whenever I am taking a break from cooking or feeling lazy or simply craving their food. Also happened to bump into Apurv Kansal who owns the place, and must say his suggestions, his hospitality and insightful plus light hearted conversations added a lot of value to the overall experience.

What are you waiting for, pick up your phone and dial now, they serve currently from 3 outlets, GK2, Malviya Nagar and Dwarka, go ahead, have a feast!

Dilli BC Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato