It’s nice to see CP humming. I avoid shopping areas, but Connaught Place is different. For one, it’s a place that I am always nostalgic about – some of the first restaurants that I went to as a kid were in CP (after all these years, I can still vividly recall the tea shop above Wenger’s). And second, I like the way CP has come back to life with a host of new restaurants.
Having said that, I must also add that I don’t often go there. But I did go for a meal to a new place called Uzzuri deli and bar a few days ago. The menu sounded interesting, and I thought – after two successive weeks of kormas – I needed to eat something vastly different. And what could be more different than some juicy pork belly?
But let me first tell you about the location of the restaurant. It’s next to Tribhuvandas Jewellers on the Janpath Road (address: 1/3, Scindia House, Ph: 011- 43656516/17). It’s open from 8 a.m. – they do a nice breakfast there – and shuts well after midnight.
It’s a cheerful place and, according to its dashing young owner, Gaurav, can seat some 100 people on its two floors (though it didn’t seem that big to me). The first floor is a bar, and the ground floor a dining space, with a small lounge.
I went through the menu and found that it had all kinds of interesting dishes such as Creole salmon (Rs. 495), grilled chicken skewers (Rs. 295) and baked red and yellow peppers (Rs. 395).
But we were in a mood for pork. So we decided on barbecued pork belly (Rs. 495) and an Old Classic pizza with chorizo, pepperoni, pesto drizzle and rocket leaves (Rs. 395). And since the World Health Organisation wants us to eat vegetables, we asked for a plate of crisp bruschetta with vegetable toppings (Rs. 275). I was tempted to order the chicken burger shorties (Rs. 295) from the appetisers’ list – but a quick look at the table next to us told me that they were too big to be had as an appetiser.
The bruschettas were excellent – the bread was crisp, and the toppings were nicely varied. One slice came topped with mushroom and feta cheese, another with roasted peppers and the third with warm tomato mozzarella. My pork belly was simply superb – the meat was soft, juicy and thick, and the barbeque sauce gave it a nice peppery kick. The pizza was thin crusted, but sadly lacked the rocket leaves the menu promised. The friendly waiter brought us a bowl of iceberg and other lettuce leaves in place of the missing rocket leaves.
We did want to end with a sweet dish, but this was not to be. I wanted the lemon meringue but it wasn’t there on the menu that day. The other desserts – toffee tarts et al – seemed a bit too heavy. The waiter suggested a lemon cheesecake. Ah, that sounds good, we said. He came back a minute later to confess that they didn’t have that either.
But even without dessert, it was a nice meal. Gaurav tells us that they will add various kinds of gourmet burgers shortly to the menu. But meanwhile you could have some fun with pork, prawns and lamb. To say nothing of vegetables!
(The writer is a seasoned street food connoisseur)
