Who can resist Indian food when it comes to having a wholesome, delicious meal? Indian Grill Room rides on that sentiment and gives ample temptation to try them out.
Whenever I go to review Indian cuisine restaurants, I am quite confident that they will turn out to be well, because, after all, we are in THE land of Indian food. How can anyone go wrong with it? So when I was going to review Indian Grill Room, I expected as much. But here, I have some mixed views.
Finding the restaurant was a tad bit difficult, especially for someone who doesn’t know Gurgaon more than its malls. After much driving around, we reached the business centre where the restaurant is located. Situated on the third floor, the restaurant instantly gave a look and feel of a luxury, fine dining restaurant.
An interior check
Walk past the reception, and you’ll enter the small, but tastefully appointed bar. With your heart soaring, you’ll notice all the best liquor brands at your service, including the Glenfiddichs and the Moëts. The bar has a separate menu with some light snacks to accompany your drink as well.
Opposite the bar is the open dining area. Spacious, beautifully done with a small water body and pebbles, and an open kitchen only for the open dining area, it could be used very well for private events. But since it was a harsh summer afternoon we were standing in, we decided to dine inside.
Entering the main dining area, we noticed it was furnished in neutral, monochromatic tones and quite sophisticatedly. What did damp my spirits was, first, the music. A fast, rock number was playing in the background. Not something I would expect in an Indian restaurant. Not at all. Secondly, although there was just the right amount of crowd – thankfully not empty – the noise level was quite loud. It didn’t have the ambience of a fine dining restaurant.
Toast to Indianness
The food, I am glad to report, made up for the lack of anything else. I had heard and read good things about their kebabs, and nor was I disappointed in that department. The restaurant follows the policy of a ‘set menu’, which changes every month, and offers 12 kinds of kebabs, 9-10 main course dishes, 3-4 desserts and five kinds of salads. Quite a huge spread for the miniscule price they were charging!
Grills being their specialty, I was quite looking forward to them. Subz Galawat was extremely soft and melt-in-the-mouth. So yielding, in fact, that it was crumbling all over as I tried to eat it with a fork and knife. Navrattan Seekh was a unique surprise as the pineapple was roasted and sprinkled with a little spice. A mix of sweet and mild hot, it was a pleasant one. Surkh Tawa Paneer was pliable too. My companion found that the Tabak Maaz had all its Kashmiri flavours intact and well-emulated, though it could be a little better done. Galina Cafreal was again soft and well-cooked to perfection. Giving a south Indian touch to the list, Urlai Roast was another winner on the menu due to its unique recipe. The Chef, it seems, had worked very hard on innovating the traditional kebab – and it shown through their grills menu!
The servers were bringing the kebabs one after the other, and more quickly than I wanted. Though I am not certain if it was because they knew we had come to review the restaurant, or because it’s their usual level of service. Or maybe, being housed in a corporate building, they are used to serving fast to the collared people who want to head back to their meetings promptly! Either ways, I wish they were a tad bit more relaxed.
The main course, which was a buffet, also had quite a well-balanced list of dishes. Palak Paneer and Dum Aloo had a familiar taste and recipe – nothing out of the ordinary – but still pleasing to the palate. Dal Handi, a thick dal actually served out from a huge cauldron, was well-cooked. Nasheli Raan Masala absolutely bowled over my companion’s heart. This dish, made of goat’s leg, is not an easy one to cook. Tradition dictates it to be spiced and roasted. But the Indian Grill Room version was boneless and the Chef had given it another twist with a unique preparation. My friend was powerless to describe what he found different, but all he could do was shake his head and say that “it’s awesome!” Both the vegetarian and non-vegetarian biryanis were perfectly cooked. Each grain of rice was flavourful. There were five kinds of salads and burani raita – which you could make on your own with the ingredients provided. The curd itself was whipped to an ideal fluff and thickness.
Sweet everythings
The desserts section offered Mango Kulfi, Zaike E Shahi, Gulab ki Kheer and Moong Dal Halwa. In Zaike E Shahi, you could couple small, hot, oozing gulab jamuns with cream. The result was wonderful. But the highest points in desserts went to the Gulab ki Kheer, both from me and my companion. The slight, not too overpowering hint of rose flavour, in the rice and milk preparation was ethereal. It ended our lunch like a dream.
That was not the end though. The servers then came with a dainty set of tea cups and served us Kahwa, a kind of tea indigenous to Kashmir. The warm tea did help to digest the food we had consumed, except it didn’t seem the traditional version of Kahwa, but rather normal herbal tea.
Food, especially kebabs, is the strong point and mainstay of this restaurant. A diner will get more than they bargained for when coming here. A good place to have a wholesome, large meal, Indian Grill Room scores high on our chart. Indeed, we did walk away with plump stomachs. We do, however, recommend a slight tweak to the ambience and classiness of this restaurant.
Coordinates: Indian Grill Room, 315, 3rd Floor, Suncity Business Tower, Sector – 54, Golf Course Road, Gurgaon
Ph: 0124 – 4477806/07/09/10
