The old five hundred and one thousand rupee notes have now ceased to be legal tender. But, at Café Dalal Street in Connaught Place, it is business as usual. The restaurant recently launched new menu on the completion of its one year in the food market. The year saw plenty of new options in the famed Connaught Circus, but Cafe Dalal Street has managed to tide over the inflation of culinary options in the area. So, the foodie in me accepted the invitation and went for a gastronomic journey to this vibrant restaurant. One of the owners and my host Himanshu Gupta was there to guide me. He said, “We are celebrating one year of our restaurant through introducing some new options to our menu.” Himanshu suggested me to try and start the evening with lamb brisket. The soft and tender delicacy won my heart. The breast of lamb was cooked to perfection. I liked the taste of light spices in it. This lamb dish and DJs music set the evening and my mood.
Chef Jiten and chef Hemant are behind the new menu of the restaurant. They said, “We have created new menu with 19 different dishes.” When they came to know about my love for prawns, they suggested tempura prawns. So my second serve of the evening was crispy and sweet tempura prawns cooked with Italian herbs. Hard to achieve, the crispiness of prawns was almost perfect.
As the evening progressed, one could feel the young vibe in the restaurant. Himanshu said, “This is the right place for people who want to come with their friends and enjoy different cuisines, drinks and music.” I picked dahi kabab from the new menu. I liked the taste of spices (garam masala) and the aroma of green coriander. My virgin mojito mocktail was going well with food.
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After a pause, I moved to the Moroccan roast lamb. This lamb was cooked in harissa paste with different spices and I loved both the presentation and taste of this delicacy.
Himanshu said, “Our new menu is the result of the appreciation we get from our customers. Good food and customer satisfaction inspired us to bring something new.” The restaurant serves European, Asian and Indian cuisine. On Himanshu’s suggestion, I tried grilled fish. The fillet of sole fish was grilled with lemon mustard sauce. I liked and enjoyed the tanginess of mustard sauce. I also tried burnt chilli crispy chicken and chicken mushroom tacos. And then moved on to something absolutely desi – Amritsari chur chur naan with chhole. They had the earthy flavours that I was looking for. The authentic taste of this North Indian food almost completed my evening. But there was more. A sizzling brownie with vanilla ice cream proved to be a rich finale to a fulfilling experience.
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Meal for two: Rs. 1600 plus taxes