The place is undeniably chic. “Indian hipster” as a friend calls it, with its grey floors, exposed brick walls, a glassed-off open kitchen, coloured pipes on the ceiling, blackboards with witty comments (“Exercise? I thought you said extra fries”) and slatted wooden folding chairs. Situated off Cenotaph Road, Double Roti is the city’s newest burger place.
Started in Gurgaon in December 2013 by Japtej Ahluwalia with a friend who was also interested in starting up a food enterprise, the restaurant focuses on serving various types of bread-based dishes, including burgers, hot dogs, panini, pita and tortillas. “At some point in their lives, everyone wants to do something on their own, so we decided to take the plunge,” he says. While he does not have any chef-based training, he comes from a food and beverage background that helps in the management. It also helps that he is a big foodie himself, and so knows what the average diner would like when they are dining out.
With his dad serving in the Indian Army, Japtej says, “I’m not from any particular city as we kept moving a lot, but I guess you can say I am from Delhi as I have stayed there the longest.” He also worked in Chennai for six years and hence the decision to launch their second restaurant here.
A lot of people who move to the city take time to adjust and some never really settle in, but with 28-year-old Japtej, the opposite is true. “It was both an emotional and a sound business decision to launch our second branch here. Emotional, because I really love Chennai. And everyone here loves to eat out; take even the various bhavans, they are always full of people. There is a good market for cafes here, and we have been very fortunate with the location.”
“The basic idea behind the generic name was to be inclusive of all types of breads and add on more like pizzas and kati rolls later if we had a mind to. It helps that it is catchy as well,” Japtej laughs. “Sandwiches and burgers are treated as a meal, rather than a snack, just like dosai is considered a meal here. And apart from Subway, there is nothing new or exciting in the sandwich section. We have picked up flavours from four regions — India, USA, Europe and Asia — and have worked on several flavour combinations as well as having classic flavours like pork and mustard, and chilli beef and caramelised onions.”
The menu is extensive and includes hot beverages, traditional drinks, salads and cheese toasties apart from a wide range of interesting burgers, hotdogs and sandwiches. They started off with 25 items on the menu, and this has now grown to over 100. One thing they do not do themselves are desserts. “It is not our speciality, and I don’t want to give a substandard product. So we have a supplier for desserts,” he says.
“We have tweaked the menu, decor and serving style for our Chennai outlet,” he says. And so the fries with sour cream and salsa arrive in a miniature chutney bucket. The Madras Milkshake has a distinct flavour of filter coffee that could have been stronger, and is served in a humongous glass jar. The refreshing peach and passion fruit iced tea comes in a tall glass milk bottle. The aubergine and feta melt burger comes with a generous helping of feta and really fresh and flavourful pesto. The aubergines are grilled to perfection and the seasoning does not overpower the flavour of the main ingredients.
Their signature burger is the Area 69, which has lemon aioli, ground beef, bacon, melted cheese, caramelised onions with a Jack Daniel's steak sauce. “There are no tomatoes, lettuce or cucumbers to distract the palate from the flavour of the meat itself, and the recipe for the patty is a secret,” says Japtej. All the breads are made locally by Winners Bakery, according to the specifications and recipes given by the restaurant.
The outlet is on an extended soft launch that extends till April. “Often, restaurants are launched, and in the euphoria of experiencing a new place, people flock to it in large numbers. The management and kitchens are clearly not able to handle it. I did not want to take that risk, and hence the long trial period,” he says. The target audience is anyone from the age of 10 to 45, and they have already had requests for birthday celebrations and kitty parties. “We are not restricting ourselves from anything,” Japtej grins.
