RESTAURANT REVIEW: THE EMBASSY, CONNAUGHT PLACE

For a blast from the past.

 

It's not a door. It's a kind of teleportation device.

Walking into this place is like being transported back in time to the mid 80s. Or at least what I imagine the mid 80s to be like since I was only born in the late 80s myself. At 12:30 on Friday afternoon the place is packed and there’s nobody here under the age of 55. Maybe not mid 80s - mid 70s? Deep fried snacks and endless cups of tea are being served up by the kilogram and retired bureaucrats are stuffing their faces with abandon.
 

I have (as usual) missed breakfast so I’m in the mood for a heavy, Indian lunch.

 

And a heavy Indian meal is what I got.

Looks Like

 

The place clearly has not been renovated in the recent past since no designer has acknowledged this aesthetic in the last 25 years. Don’t get me wrong, it is crazy outdated but clean and perfectly well maintained. The design scheme is pretty much just plain walls and wooden furniture so I guess there was little havoc time could wreck. On the other hand the place makes me feel nostalgic which is more than good enough if the food is good. And the food is good.

 



Retired bureaucrats. Got to love them.



 Tastes Like

 

The menu (along with everything else about the place) is a relic of the past. Meat and butter explosions like the Bombe de Moscowa and Chicken a la Kiev are served along side equally indulgent Indian foods like the classic Butter Chicken and the rich, spicy Rara Meat. I imagine the chef is an old man who’s been handling this menu for years, it’s not up scale and he knows little subtlety but if you like this kind of food, you’re not going to be disappointed.
 

The Amritsari Macchi and Tangdi Kebabs make perfect appetizers and the quirky, retro pineapple raita works as a soothing side. I can imagine a lot of people wouldn’t be interested in a place so stolid but I find that sometimes I’m just not in the mood for HKV cuteness or ginormous mall cupidity. I don’t always want to look at little adornments, chalkboard menus and silly berry fizzers to drink ( I’m looking at you Edward’s and your ilk at HKV).

Sometimes I just want to nail a creamy Butter Chicken with hot Garlic Naan with a very cold bottle of Coke. And they have the old glass bottles! Something about the seemingly unimaginative Embassy makes me feel vaguely patriotic, sort of proud of what we were before we became a culture reconciling How I Met Your Mother with Arnab Goswami.

 

Hot Naan. And the perverse Pineapple Raita

Feels Like

The staff are pros – efficient, very capable and be prepared for your food to turn up quickly. There’s old fashioned cutlery made out the kind of metal that sits heavy in your hands, thick white plates, finger bowls and very reasonable prices.

 

Look at that perfect char, a little crispness on the outside, melt in the mouth on the inside. That's years of culinary experience on a plate.

 

 

Should you go:  Yes!

Vegetarian Options: Yes

Liquor License: Yes

Smoking Area: No

Address:  11D Connaught Place, New Delhi

Phone: 011 23416434, +91 9311085132