Food Spot: Dish of bliss

December 12, 2014 03:44 pm | Updated 03:44 pm IST

A new restaurant called Amreli.

A new restaurant called Amreli.

When Delhi was a hick town, not so long ago, we were always on the lookout for places where we could have a good meal. There weren’t too many of those, and the few that were there either had Indian fare, or Chinese. But right next central Delhi was a quiet place that only foodies knew about. This was Hotel Diplomat in Chanakyapuri where you could get the most delicious steaks. But that was then.

Once Delhi opened up, you could throw a stone and hit a restaurant offering steaks. We all forgot about Hotel Diplomat’s steak corner, though some of us did nostalgically recall its juicy fare every now and then.

So here’s good news for those who went to the hotel then — and those who are still to go there. The hotel has opened a new restaurant called Amreli.

The publicists describe it as a cross between a London diner and a classic bistro. I describe it as a place which offers very, very good food.

Hotel Diplomat, as you all may know, is on Sardar Patel Marg. Amreli, the restaurant, is indoors and outdoors.

The outside area is nice and sunny, and the indoor restaurant has been tastefully done up, with the walls lined up with art. And that’s not surprising, for the owner, a young man called Sidhant Lamba, is also an interior designer.

I was happy to be sitting inside for another reason – outside sat a group of people with several miniature versions of Dennis the Menace.

But I forgot all about the noisy little imps when the food came. The menu, designed by celebrity chef Sabyasachi Gorai, is eclectic, and includes a wide variety of very interesting dishes.

I left the choice to Lamba – and he offered me a mix of cuisines. I had some Kerala dishes – appams (Rs.125), a very nice egg appam (Rs.195), meen moilee (Rs.695) and mutton stew (Rs.595). I enjoyed them all, especially the fish dish.

What I enjoyed even more were some of the other dishes that I was offered. One was a delicious take on eggs Benedict, called Keema eggs Benedict (Rs.325) – a poached egg placed on a bed of keema with pao on the side. I loved it, as I did the filo raan (Rs.595), which was meat from the leg of lamb wrapped in a filo pastry.

The meat melted in the mouth, while the envelope was crusty and crisp. I really enjoyed it and thought it was a wonderful way to present raan.

I also had a charcoal grilled boti kabab, which was nice to eat but not memorable.

There’s a large menu for vegetarians, too. I tasted their char grilled mushrooms (Rs.375).

The menu includes karela banana fry (Rs. 245), apple, amaranth and beetroot salad (Rs.425), Kerala veg stew (Rs.425), and all kinds of pastas and sandwiches. Amreli is a place that I need to go back to – this time with family and friends.

I can picture myself sitting there under the sun on a crisp winter’s day, biting into a filo raan.

That’s called bliss.

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