Zomato calls Tres a fine-dining European restaurant, but that’s the sort of seemingly stiff image that the three chefs here hope to dispel. The promise is of food that’s generous (large portions for the mains and the option of ‘one-by-two’), complex (each dish has multiple elements and many ingredients), informal (you can come in your shorts), and personal (the chef will attend to preferences and allergies). Tres delivers on all that’s bready and meaty. Plus, there’s the gin. The menu is a collaboration with The Botanist Islay Dry Gin, with Tres using about 10 ingredients from 31 of the beverage.
The vibe: Grey and green upholstered dining chairs against a white marble floor with brass grouting, and black wall art; it’s an intimate space you bring loved ones to. It’s hard to imagine an office party here. On the Sunday I went, there were couples, extended families with children (yes, there are high chairs), women doing lunch. Everyone stayed for at least two hours.
Do try: The breads, in all their avatars. If you skip these, it’s like going to Paris and avoiding a croissant because you’re on a diet. They’ll give you a bread basket, with burnt butter and a vegetable chutney. Everything is baked fresh (they do two rounds a day), and there’s a gluten-free option as well (just ask). If there’s one must-eat, it’s the croissant, flaky and buttery, followed by the crispy-on-top, light, airy ciabatta.
Absolutely do the Chicken Liver Ice Cream, Caramalised Shallot Tart Tatin, Preserved Walnut Apple Dressing. Created accidentally when someone put the liver pat e into the freezer, the team freshly churns it to make this creamy savoury ice cream, offset by sweet onions.
The eggs too. I tried Iberico Ham Benedict with Whisky Pancetta Jam, Rocket, Pickled Mustard, Poached Eggs, and Hollandaise. All this on Hokaido Milk Bread (that uses a roux in its dough). It’s just the right balance of runny and crisp, sweet and salty.
And the desserts. The Black Forest Brioche Toast (Hokaido bread is repeated, with a coating of almond flour, regular flour, sugar and butter, and baked) with Chocolate Ganache, Homemade Cherry Compote, Mascaporne Cremeaux and smoked vanilla ice cream, is familiar and sweet; but what really stood out with its tart-sweet flavours, and crunchy-soft textures, was the Mango and Cream Cheese Bavaroise, Mango-Lime Jelly, Toasted Coconut Ice Cream and charred Fresh Mango.
Skip: The Salad of Lump Crab, Green Apple, Fish Roe, Sweet Peppers, Tender Coconut Veil and Kokum Gel. There could have been just a dribble more of kokum; the coconut could have been a little more tender, and there was really enough bite from the apple salad. It’s pretty, though.
I’m not sure whether vegetarians will have a good time here, though the chef assures me that several people will just go for the artichoke hearts or lightly-done veg.
Go with: Family or close friends — preferably a group of four (no more), so you can split everything and try more. The music is low enough for conversation, and there’s barely a mobile phone signal.
Space bar: 48 covers over 1,000 sq ft
How much? ₹4,000 for two (sans alcohol)
Reach: Block 13, Lodi Colony, Delhi; noon to 4 p.m. There’s ample parking, and public transport is scarce
