In a cosmopolitan city what can be more relaxing than a place with a touch of your native roots and finger licking treats. Desi Vibes, located in the posh market of Sector-18 Noida, lures the epicureans with mouth watering food and age-old refreshing beverages. A rich ambience topped with plush interiors, mellow lighting simply makes food lovers come back for more. A lot of attention has been paid to the décor highlighted by antique chairs of beaten wood and kancha and pebble flooring. A small well in the centre with a carved wooden tree give it the feel of a village but somehow I found the place overdone and congested.
One suggestion is that reserve your table in advance as even being a Tuesday, the local market’s weekly off, it was packed. I sat on the wooden sofa and went through the extensive menu straight away. Displaying Indian courtesy, the serving staff was dressed in dhoti kurta and served me a complimentary masala shikanji which was perfect. While I enjoyed my shikanji I was impressed by two things. One was the table and the other the menu card. Each and every table in Desi Vibes displayed something unique and antique – from 300 year old locks to the barood dani used in wars, from stamps of 18th Century to coins of Akbar era (1305), from priceless knives to beautiful supari cutters, I could see them all while enjoying my starters.
The vegetarian platter came with a wonderful veg galauti and some stuffed tandoori potato. Hara bhara kabab was quite flavourful and worth a try. But surprisingly the non-vegetarian was not better than the vegetarian one. The spices were quite robust, specially in the mutton delicacies. Chicken platter was tasty and really had a juicy seekh kabab in it. Malai tikka should have been creamier and tender. Not finding it too exciting, I moved to the main course. Bhuna gosht with garlic naan was delicious and was one of the eatable dishes. However, the much talked about rahra meat was not made to perfection on the day of review. Paneer delicacy, especially the paneer rogan josh was a nice attempt. Biryani was quite okay and went well with the accompanying ten-odd variants of pickles. Dessert section disappointed me as I had no option at all except the gulab jamun. I was expecting a couple of regional desserts
Meal for Two: Rs.1200
