When it comes to cuisines, chances are you aren’t yet jaded with Japanese or frustrated with French, and the two, separately, suit you just fine. But this is one of those times when you don’t need to leave well enough alone – as it turns out, two goods do make a great.
Two Olive Group restaurants, Guppy by ai and Le Bistro du Parc, have come together to launch Tokyo Mon Amour, a Franco-Japanese pop-up nestled inside Guppy by ai’s Lodhi Colony premises. Conceptualised by Olive Group’s AD Singh and Le Bistro du Parc’s co-founder, Naina de Bois, along with Guppy’s Chef Vikram Khatri, the pop-up offers a select but pretty impressive selection of Franco-Japanese cuisine.
The first striking thing about the pop-up is in its design itself. It uses Guppy’s existing space well, so that while the larger courtyard has been left intact, one part of the indoor lounge, which boasts a bar and a wide corridor like space, has been transformed. Sweet paper hearts on the wall that pause just short of cloying, bistro-like just minimalistic enough to suggest a Japanese influence, and soft ambient lighting— Tokyo Mon Amour gets its interiors almost entirely right. The only slightly uncomfortable part was the backless benches for chairs. High backless benches work as bar stools, but make for questionable seating during meals.
Now for the food, which is, really, the highlight. The menu isn’t all new, and does include a few existing favourites from both Guppy by ai and Le Bisto du Parc, like the former’s signature pork belly and the latter’s signature pan-fried calamari. While these sounds both delicious and promising, it is the new choices that will grab your attention. As I expected them to, the names and descriptions of the dishes sound intricate, and boast several elements on one plate. The list though, isn’t too expansive, and I pick my way through it fast enough. Before long, the first dish of the day is in front of me, accompanied by a delicious looking Wasabi Mimosa. A sip of the cocktail and a taste of the salad assure me I have ordered right. The mimosa is fresh, strong with flavours that sit well together – the citrusy sweetness of fresh orange and the punch of the wasabi infused vodka. Everything is topped off with sparkling wine, and the result is just what you need on a warm evening. And then there is the Niçoise Salad-inspired Tuna Tataki with Wasabi-soya Vinaigrette, which becomes an instant favourite. A cold salad almost too delicious to eat slowly, it is a combination of textures, flavours and tastes that come together to create a thing of beauty. Apart from the juicy, seared tuna, the tamagoyaki (Japanese omelette), is the other element in the salad that really stands out.
Another point in the salad’s favour is how light it is, so that the next round of preparations doesn’t have to face an already full stomach. First comes the Bacon Wrapped In-House Chicken Sausages with chives, soya honey and soy glaze, which is the right mix of meaty and tangy, and in bite sized rolls, addictively easy to get through. It is the next dish though, which really becomes the hero of the evening. The creamy, cold, absolutely delicious Salmon Tartare is made up of “Sashimi salmon, diced and marinated, paired with fresh avocado, served on cucumber slivers with tobikko roe (fish roe) and bonito mayo”. The entire thing comes together to strike the perfect balance of texture and taste, so that each bite is a new experience.
While the highest note has been struck, the rest of the evening continues to please, and the home-smoked Brie, served with fresh figs, rice cracker and greens is perhaps the best way to end the meal. The brie is smoky and soft, and paired with the wafer thin crackers and the sweet figs, it becomes even better.
Address: Courtyard and the lounge at Guppy by ai, 28, Lodhi Colony, Main Market, New Delhi
