For a light work lunch
Bagels Café in Meharchand is an underdog. Serving good
food made with good quality ingredients in a slightly utilitarian
space it seems to be an awkward fit in a market filled with overdesigned foof.
There are no cutesy, hand painted tea sets strewn around and not a single bird
cage draped with fairy lights and flowers. I’m not sure how this place will
survive.
In an ideal world the fact they’re selling you a
filling bagel, giving you a heap of options for what you can put inside it and
efficient service would be enough. In the real world Chez Nini is packed every
weekend because they’ve managed to delude people into believing a Prawn Burger
is French food. Poor poor Bagels Café.
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| Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Bagel |
LOOKS LIKE
The place is mostly white with the occasional pop of
colour and a wall with seriously high def photos of bagels. It’s tasteful though
far from exciting. The designer missed adding that one defining quirk or theme
that would make the establishment memorable (like the anime at Mamagoto
or the movie posters at Big Chill).
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| Lamb Burger Bagel |
TASTES LIKE
When you think about it, anything can be
sandwiched into a bagel. Apparently the owners of Bagels Café think the same
way. They’re offering you Pizza Bagels, Omelet Bagels, Sweet Bagels, Bagel sandwiches
for fish lovers and on and on. No skimping on the range of bread either – plain
white or wheat, sesame, onion garlic, cheddar cheese, multigrain, cinnamon
raisin and the rather dubious sounding “everything.” There are also pastas,
desserts and quiches on the menu but I really don’t see the sense in ordering
salads or soup from a place called Bagels Café.
The Smoked
Salmon on multigrain (French Plain Cream Cheese, Smoked Salmon, Capers and
Onion Rings) is ample in portion size. An intimidatingly thick layer of cream
cheese topped with salty, pink folds of soft smoked salmon dotted with fuzzy
green capers served with a side of potato chips and cold potato salad. This
meal may look compact but it is really filling.
Even heavier is the Lamb Bagel Burger (Grilled
Lamb flavoured with Basil, Lettuce, Onion and Mayonnaise). I don’t know if it’s
fair for me to go on about a delicious slab of lamb slathered in mayo. Lamb
burgers are my go to comfort food and in the darkest of times a spicy lamb
burger has put a smile on my face. Unfortunately the burger wasn’t as well
seasoned as I would have liked and the staff didn’t think to offer ketchup or
mustard.
The drinks could use some work – the Mint Fizz was
too sweet, the sugar drowning out the mint leaves and the Tropical Sunrise will
make your hair curl with sour.
I’m excited about trying out their home delivery.
They also sell plain bagels, fresh homemade cream cheese, hummus, pesto,
stroopwafers and gouda. If there had been one closer to my office I’d be
ordering bagels and a share of the week’s groceries in regularly.
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| Mint Fizz and Tropical Sunrise |
FEELS LIKE
The staff is efficient but we were the only ones
there so I’m not sure how well they’d stand under pressure. Also their card
machine wasn’t working when we turned up forcing us to leave a sweatshirt as
security and go hunting for ATMs.
THINGS YOU
NEED TO KNOW
Should you go: Definitely!
Vegetarian Options: Yes
Liquor License: No
Smoking Area: No
Address: 8 Meharchand Market, Lodhi Colony, New Delhi
Phone: +91 7838302646, 011 49051192
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