It’s difficult to be everything to everybody, and Tappa doesn’t pretend to, which is a relief. It reaches out to anyone who grew up in the ‘90s. Beginning with its ‘stappoo’ on the ground and neon lights (remember Madonna’s videos?), to the music from George Michael, and the drinking games, after which you stagger home and fall into bed (because the 40s aren’t the new 20s). The menu tells the story straight up: “We revisit the world of Campa bottles, the tring tring of the bicycle bell, lattoos, hopscotch, gully cricket, old board games, and reinterpret them.”
The surprise, located as it is, in this airport-city area (which makes you imagine airport fare) is its food. We began with the salad. The chicken salad (guacamole, arugula, red onion, tomato) is cooked to succulence, with the sous vide machine coaxing out its flavourful fat. My dinner companion, a vegetarian, felt hers (red quinoa, kale, couscous, charred veg, berries, goat cheese) swore hers was excellent. Digging into her bowl (portions are generous), with the disbelief of a meat-eater, the bite surprised, as did the flavours. Salad can be monotonous, but you don’t have to chomp your way through this.
The interiors of the eatery
You can do an early dinner catch-up with a friend, grab a glass of Talli Botanist (gin, jamun, black salt) and Malgudi (Tequila, mango, chilli), and end the evening at 10 on a weekday. I’d say this is the best way to do it, because the staff threatens to raise the volume of the music later to ‘fun’ levels. Scary.
But if you like to party (or are forced into an office one), like the table next to us, the beer pong and cards with dares might ‘encourage’ the boss to cut short his monologue. The Jodhpuri Chilli Poppers, stuffed with potato and goat-cheese mousse (served with jaggery chutney) are more drama than taste, but work as a decent ice-breaker.
What’ll make you go back is the food, but also the service, and the great thing about Tappa (meaning bounce in Punjabi), is that the staff seems to have been briefed to be little Tiggers, very enthusiastic, but also, thankfully, knowledgeable about they’re serving you.
Next up were the Tawa Tiger Prawns with Pickled Yuzu Glaze, dripping its juices and making me wonder why I hadn’t just skipped lunch. And that’s another way to do Tappa: Get together with a bunch of friends, do the small plates, try all the cocktails on the menu, because, as Kushagra Nagrath, VP, operations for Lite Bite Foods, says, “This is global comfort food, with a touch of desi.”
There were the dimsums, the pizza, and finally the main course: The Water Buffalo Chilli Fry, Rice Pancake, Lemon Podi Aioli felt like home. The Haak Saag, Bajra Missi Roti, Masala Gur, Makhan (they tend to call a spade a spade) was the surprise. Since we couldn’t eat anymore, we did a doggy bag and I brought it home for my son, who ate it for two meals and wanted more. It was the only time I’d won the veggie battle.
₹2,500 for two; Ground floor, Worldmark 1, Aerocity, New Delhi, daily, 12 noon to 12:30 a.m.
