Spread across two floors with an obligatory terrace catering to those who sweat over modish al fresco option in the heart of city, Niche has sure gone the extra mile to get it right but lacks novelty. By Devi Singh
The place has all the typical quirks one can think of while accommodating the area, be it a stage for live performance, a 20-seater long Island-style bar or a cigar corner. Out of many terrace dining options available in Connaught Place this one seems to be no different, although they have gone the whole hog offering you different views of the city with three different angles which doesn’t make much difference as the backdrop is anything but charming. The inside seating area is replete with hackneyed leather and wooden interiors making up for a jaded sight
You can also experience lazy brunch or lunch with natural light permeating through the glass just above the main stage area. Coming to food, flipping through not so elaborate but neatly done, concise menu, we make our choices. The cuisine is mostly progressive contemporary potpourri of eclectic flavours from around the world. Starting with appetizers we go for Borek which is filo pastry filled with feta, raisins and dates served with amla relish which tastes like murabba.
We washed it down with their signature cocktail, Daisy which came in a perfume bottle. Nice and creamy, frothy because of egg white, this was as refreshing as some smoothie. The next came Pulled jackfruit tacos which turned out to be way too sweet so much so that even the kasundi served with it couldn’t save the dish. Oh and they also had the uncooked cousin of salsa, pico de gallo to go with. Next we went for Polenta with mushroom soil, by this time we had inkling that there’s definitely some cues taken from molecular gastronomy in the food we are being served.
The original polenta was average and its twisted beetroot version was although nice didn’t do much for us. Though the dish boasted of trio of polenta with mushrooms, asparagus, and baby carrots, we wondered if the asparagus suddenly developed wings and flew away somewhere as it was really hard to find any. We also kept wondering the use of enokitake mushrooms in an Italian classic.
One of the things that sets Niche apart is its portion size. All the dishes come in smaller than normal versions. Maybe there’s reasoning to it, Chef Arvind Bharti told us, “We basically want our customers to order different dishes and taste more of our food. That’s why we have kept the portions small.”
Moving on from an Italian classic to Japanese next came Prawn styx dipped in tempura coated with panko. This had to be crispy because of panko and the prawns were surprisingly fresh. The edamame hummus, a variation from the usual chick pea turned out to be good or should we say better than the original. The balsamic powder and the soy ginger gel were worth their taste and enticing presentation.
Next came Beets and goats cheese which was basically beetroot in various shapes and styles and we must say it was spot on. The chef surely has played well with both the palate and the platter with shavings and textures of beet with a hint of cheese and rocket leaves going in.
Considering every other thing on the menu is a varied or deconstructed form of a classic or the usual suspects it’s an aberration when the chef contests the huge role molecular gastronomy has played in his menu. “I would rather call it a progressive take on things we know of. I think molecular gastronomy is something very scientific and extremely hard to crack. Of course I’ve incorporated a few techniques from molecular but calling it as one is ridiculous,” says he.
Building our appetite for the mains, in between round of cocktails, we first tried Spinach and corn Fettucini with corn air which had subtle taste and whiff of corn foamed nicely with a siphon bottle. Next, was Green Pea Risotto with kale which wasn’t too crispy nonetheless turned out to be delicious.
What really stood out was Hari Saag which is a superb deconstruct of humble makke ki roti and saag. The white butter soil, polenta crusted fried yoghurt ball, corn bread and jaggery chips won hands down in both innovation and taste. We washed it with Bird in the hand, another signature with apple and cinnamon smoke infused with abbott bitters. This one was spicy but not to strong on palate.
Out of the few striking things about Niche is its overpriced cocktails but the good thing is they have got their classics right both in food and beverages with a few hits and misses. As for after thoughts are concerned Niche, is any other spiffy new bar, another entrant to the existing ones in the city but with their own ‘trying too hard’ take on things, rather everything which is a little good and not too bad.