When it comes to casual and comfort dining I still prefer Hauz Khas village. Though it has lost its charm but a couple of places still replicate the essence of the area.
The recently opened Rumbar bistro is one such place which has really worked hard in keeping the place casual where people can come with a free mind and enjoy good food with some great music. It’s unlike other restaurants that mainly fill in the numbers by giving free booze to ladies or by hosting an expat night to attract people.
Rumbar’s owner Francois Servant is an honest man who believes that by cutting prices or unnecessary promotions a place cannot be run, it has to be the food which should attract people. Somehow I second Francois’s opinion.
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The day I went there, it was windy and cold so I started with a piping hot bowl of Creole tomato soup with grilled cheese puffs. The soup was excellent but the accompanying cheese puffs were too good to resist. The quality of the freshly baked in-house breads at Rumbar is fine. Following it with Caribbean chicken salad which was good but needed a rub of the Caribbean spices on the chicken as it was a very flat salad.
I tried a couple of starters but the one I would like to first write about is their green papaya gratin. Inspired by Francois’ stay in the West Indies gratin was exceptionally good. I never imagined a raw papaya dish to taste so good and to be a dish which will suit the global palate and attract people of every age group. Grated cheese and a light brown crust on top made it taste even better.
From the sandwiches and burgers on offer I opted to try one from each category. Shrimp po boy a classic bayou Louisiana sandwich with fried shrimps tossed in spicy sauce and remoulade was really worth every bite. Shrimps were crunchy and gave a nice body and taste to the sandwich.
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For the burger it had to be a good red meat Jamaican jerk burger. With orange chipotle mayonnaise and spicy jerk sauce it had typical West Indian flavours and was juicy to the core. I really liked the burger for its rough look and distinct taste. My burger craving didn’t end at the main course. I ordered a dessert which was a classic called fruit burger. Caramelized and marinated fruits stuffed in between two crunchy biscuits.
Meal for two:
Rs.700 plus taxes