Eight Delhi Restaurants to Watch

Review by Amit Dixit 

Monsoon by Café Lota

This is an absolute gem, possibly one of the best restaurants in Delhi right now but flying slightly under the radar. The Café Lota chain has a dedicated fan following, of course. But this offshoot tucked away in WorldMark Aerocity may have escaped your notice. I had a superlative meal with co-owner Vishwas Makhija here and came away dazzled. The cocktails are excellent, but the focus is really on the food. Each dish is a magical story and a labour of love, painstakingly researched and recreated with rare finesse. Among the small plates, the podi idli, palak patta chaat, buckwheat pancake, keema gujiya and lemon & ginger chicken (the last borrowed from a home chef) are excellent. In the large plates, pumpkin & spinach curry, broccoli makhana and the bhang mutton masala are not to be missed. I’m even told that their tinda mattar curry is a bestseller. Incidentally, kids get French fries/chicken nuggets and a colouring book on the house. Save the Signature Himachali Thali for a separate day though — it’s quite generous. It is the most authentic you will find in the capital, and the same goes for the Himachali Trout Fish Platter — the best I’ve ever had. And the Indian-style cheesecake is the perfect way to round off a meal at Delhi’s best restaurant you might not have been to — unless, of course, you’re already a devotee.

House of Ming

A bonafide Delhi institution, the beloved House of Ming at the Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi, is back after a stunning makeover. In its previous avatar, it was an Oriental den. Now it’s a contemporary, light-filled space, but with deft Asian nods in the décor (it’s perhaps fitting that Ming means ‘bright’). There are only the lightest of oriental touches in the interiors, like any contemporary restaurant in the great foodie cities of Asia — Singapore, Hong Kong or, say, Shanghai. The tale of the Ming Empress too is subtly referenced. Known for its Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine, the menu now includes dishes from Hunan as well. There are interesting new drinks. The Terracotta Negroni, for instance, references the terracotta army with the spirit being aged in a clay vessel, infusing it with a petrichor flavour.

House of Ming’s origin story is as riveting as the one associated with Larry’s China at The Ambassador and concerns a Ming princess who well in love with an Indian painter. This is the entire origin tale: “The restaurant is conceptualised around the story of a young Ming Empress who hailed from the mighty Ming Empire and a young Indian painter who caught a glimpse of this mysterious Ming Empress in the marketplace but never got the chance to have a look at her face. He got captivated by her beautifully tied hair bun decorated with the most intricate and enchanting pins. This obsession of the young painter led to a painting. The passionate artist called this painting, Princess of Ming. Over time, the painting got stolen multiple times for its beauty until it was lost in the sands of time only to be found by another young painter in a place called House of Ming. She was back home with a renewed perspective. The House of Ming became a celebration of unrequited love, transcending time and boundaries.”

It’s an extensive menu, so it’s best to let the staff do the directing. The meal I had would have been fit for any emperor of the Ming dynasty. I feel like I sampled the entire menu (but that’s not true). These were the standouts for me: Prawn truffle sui Mai, Crystal chicken dimsum, Lo mai gai, Scallop golden garlic, Butternut squash in Lotus leaf, Baked crabmeat, Chicken supreme with black pepper, Prawn Fried Rice and some absolutely stunning desserts — a rarity in a Chinese restaurant. My favourite among the desserts was the wild rice pudding.

There’s a fair bit of dinner theatre in the service to keep diners from slipping into a food coma. The staff are amazingly obliging and only stop short of stuffing the Peking duck pancake in your mouth. A definite highlight is the Tea Brewing Cart. All in all, a case study in how to reinvent a restaurant without sacrificing its essence.

OKO The-Lalit-Delhi

This good-looking restaurant has an even better view, making it one of Delhi’s best-kept secrets which has been hiding under our very noses all along. OKO, The Lalit’s culinary gem sits on the 28^th floor of the hotel, offering panoramic 360 degree views of Delhi. Very few vantage points can compare with this. The restaurant has stunning interiors with an Oriental theme and are lined with statues of Chinese gods like Lu, who stands for authority, power and wealth. The restaurant is a labour of love with an ambitious menu, executed to perfection. The dim sums are some of the best in Delhi — the broccoli almond dumpling is a standout as is the prawn har-gao. Along with the sushi, this is a great way to begin your meal, although the pomelo salad, shira ae salad, sashimi pizza and rock shrimp tempura are great starters too. For the vegetarians, the mapo silken tofu and stir-fried Asian greens are great ways to continue this culinary journey before stopping at the royal Thai green curry. The carnivores will love the roasted lamb in black bean sauce. The coconut caramel custard is a superlative dessert. Over the weekends, OKO assumes a livelier vibe by hosting some live gigs. Part of the restaurant can be sectioned off for private celebrations. It’s great to see that the restaurant has bounced back after the pandemic.

Café Tesu

Not only did the legendary Café Tesu of Essex Farms open an outpost in DLF Commons, it underwent a massive revamp itself and came back even more beautiful. Think olive hues, vintage bohemian chandeliers, luxurious embellishments, indoor plants and stunning conversational interiors. That makeover didn’t go unnoticed by Delhi’s beautiful people, who now flock at the restaurant morning, noon and night. Café Tesu is the kind of place you can start breakfast at, have a leisurely lunch and in the evening party till the wee hours (there’s an excellent bar). No restaurant, however pretty, can succeed without food to match. Chef Aman Jaiswal has conjured up a delicious menu (also at the DLF outlet where no-flame cooking threw up some interesting challenges) and new standout dishes at Café Tesu Refresh include Asian Fish & Chips, Pork popcorn, Mushroom croquettes and an array of freshly baked desserts. But my favourite item on the menu remains their Basque Cheesecake served with homemade berry compote. That berry compote is so good they should start selling it on its own.

Chica

I kid you not. This is the hottest party spot in Delhi right now and you will have a hard time getting standing room on a weekend, let alone a table. The immersive, rebellious, postcard-perfect and luxurious Chica, at One Golden Mile, is spread over a lavish 10,000 square feet. With both indoor and outdoor spaces and shisha on call, it’s all about letting your hair down and having some fun. The best part is the menu, focussing on both Asian and Mediterranean cuisines. They call this rebellious fusion MediterAsian! Expect familiar dishes with clever tweaks, comfort food served with sophistication, tableside theatrics and an experience for all the senses. The bar menu is equally ambitious. I recommend the prawn mango gazpacho; Thai-style betel leaf, spinach and kale salad; picante orange sole; any of the sourdough pides; sushi and dim sums; and the five-spiced apple tart. The drinks have deeply interesting names, and I fell for Clarify Her Intentions and Smoke and Dagger.

Cho

Chef Vaibhav Bhargav, who was previously with Viet:Nom, has poured his heart and soul into the menu at Cho, his Vietnamese restaurant in Mehrauli’s Ambawatta One which occupies the same space where Lavash by Saby once was. The name derives from Cho Nha, which means ‘cottage’ in Vietnamese. The food is anything but rustic though — this is pure gourmet fare, with some chef flair thrown in for good measure. Since its opening Cho has rapidly risen to become one of Delhi’s leading Vietnamese restaurants. The excellent bar supports the food offerings well. The dim sums and summer rolls in particular are stunning and you’ll be tempted to keep going back for more.

Green Mantis

The clue is in the name. This stunning pan-Asian restaurant in tony Khan Market is completely vegetarian. And yet when I had a meal there, I did not miss meat at all. The menu has been curated by Chef Honey Mishra, after which the line chefs took over. They’re doing a stellar job of maintaining consistency in the dishes. I will recommend the jackfruit rendang, laksa bao (interesting, no?), glass noodles salad, pumpkin gyoza, Sri Lankan pumpkin stew, morning glory fried rice, and, for dessert, hotteok (Korean pancakes).

Nineteen78

From Neha Gupta, Co-Founder of Delhi-based leading luxury furniture, home accessories and interiors solutions brand, Beyond Designs, comes this restaurant in Select City Walk named for the year of her birth. That’s her subtle way of hinting that the restaurant is targeted at a more mature audience. She already runs the highly successful Beyond Designs Bistro at her interiors store. While the bistro is casual, 1978 is pegged as more formal (but not overly so). As can be expected, the interiors are absolutely stunning. The food is excellent too, focussed on comfort offerings, but they do need to work on plating it more attractively. There’s a competent bar attached. And now they have a new one in a glasshouse at Kota House.