La Piazza, Hyatt Regency
La Piazza, Yellow Brick Road, Sagar Ratna and Imperial Garden.
This is a restaurant that draws its repeat clientele because it understands and appreciates authentic Italian gourmet fare. Thus simple, understated classics such as carpaccio (marinated shavings of raw veal), penne arabiatta (macaroni in rich tomato sauce) and spaghetti tossed in garlic and chilli oil are the highest-selling items, while the ubiquitous pizza, lasagne and spaghetti bolognese play a low-key role. The ambience is warm and Mediterranean with slatted windows, wooden beams on the ceiling and a cracked tiled floor. Service is friendly.
Meal for two: Rs 2,000
Yellow Brick Road, Ambassador Hotel
Walk into this 24-hour coffee shop and settle into a wooden chair with a patchwork cushion, and a feeling of warmth flows through you. Even if it’s not sunny outside, the yellow walls and bright kitchen counter make you feel happy. The yellow-shirted stewards more than welcome you and bring up the food in a matter of minutes. An eclectic fare peppers the menu (presented as a newsy tabloid), ranging from Anglo-Indian dishes to Thai, Continental and good old desi. Helpings are large. However, this is not a place for discerning eaters. The jumbo prawns are rubbery, the pork chops aren’t succulent to say the least and the apple crumble has a cold heart.
So, what makes this a popular restaurant? It’s probably the convenience (down-to-earth prices, quick service and central location) and the good-will of the Ambassador Hotel. Here, Lodhi Park joggers drop in for breakfast, hungry souls such as shoppers, tourists, executives and mediapersons seek sustenance throughout the day and bleary disco-goers wind up in the wee hours with a meal and drink.
Meal for two: Rs 500
Sagar Ratna, Lodhi Hotel
Apart from the die-hard dosa fans, an average day attracts foreign tourists, traditional families (who would normally never eat at restaurants) out for a treat, busy executives and ladies lunching after a shopping trip. Prices are reasonable and helpings generous, making it a worthwhile option compared to the spiralling prices of Delhi’s extremely ordinary eating options. A word of warning against the all-engulfing "punjabification" of food everywhere—when ordering buttermilk, specify that you want the South Indian variety (deliciously laced with ginger, mustard and curry leaves), or you will get a bland glass of semi solid lasi.
Meal for two : Rs 200-250
Imperial Garden
Baba Ling presides like a laughing Buddha at the doorstep of Imperial Garden, the newest Chinese restaurant in Delhi. In 18 months he has created a phenomenon—Delhiites have forsaken Punjabi Chinese for pure Cantonese.
According to Baba, the stewards at his restaurant urge every client to try unusual (read authentic) dishes and, if necessary, cancel the order if it’s too exotic for the uninitiated palate. But by doing this they have popularised lightly steamed mushrooms in crab sauce, crisp green vegetables sweet with their own juices and fillet of fish with a just a dash of garlic and red chillis. A generation of experience in running successful Chinese restaurants (his father began the famous Nanking of Bombay) gave Baba the confidence to simply land in Delhi, identify the ideal location and launch his food with unabashed panache.
Meal for two: Rs 800
Seema Mookherjee has recently co-authored Lonely Planet's Word Food : India