If grungy, dark spaces with thumping music are your favourite, then Club Rhino is perfect for you, says Divya Kaushik
Post ten in the night on the second day of the week, we expected only a few to be keeping us company at this restro lounge, located at the South Point Mall, DlF Golf Course Road, Gurgaon. But seems Rhino in less time has managed to be a favourite with corporates, who can catch up a drink or chill out with friends even late after work. So the place had sufficient number of people, some nibbling and sipping in the terrace area and others chatting and gorging in the interiors, that bear a grungy look. The best thing about the place is the space it offers. You don’t feel like you are sitting in some clustered area with smoke from the kitchen and mixed aroma of different kinds of food making you nauseous.
We chose to sit on the terrace and were soon joined by the executive chef of the Rhino, Pankaj Rana. The chef proudly shared that one of the reasons the place has become a hit is that they offer variety and they paid special attention to the popular choices while crafting the menu. “We have offices around and we are thronged by young corporates in the evening. Then our other regulars are college students, so rather than paying a special attention to any one cuisine in particular we have come up with a mix, and that is working fine with our guests so far,” said chef Rana. The starters section offers a lot of options and the portions, we discovered, are so big that even if you are a group of four, two starters with drinks would be sufficient for you. But we suggest, do not just go for the starters, everything in the menu is worth sampling. The chef has not tampered with the authenticity of the dishes.
Special parts of the starter section were orange infused grilled prawns-char grilled prawns with orange zest cooked in extra virgin olive oil and garlic, served with asparagus. Cajun spiced chicken tenders are lean chicken tenders marinated with Cajun spices served with spicy pineapple salsa. Pecan stuffed mushroom was our pick of the evening and it is definitely a must try. The crunchy coating and the cheesy stuffing that just melts in the mouth with the lingering flavour of jalapenos, it is a rare preparation with mushrooms. Falafel and pita bread, fried corn and potatoes and prawns salt and pepper are the common items listed on the menu. Duck salad with poached pears-oven roasted duck with red wine, poached pears served with seasonal fresh herbs is the highlight from the salad section. There are steaks, roast duck with plum sauce, beef fillet steak, wraps and chicken morsels in the main course list. Braised Spanish artichoke heart and homemade crepes, came as a chef’s recommendation. “Crepes are pancakes stuffed with ricotta cheese and mushroom and are served with tomato sauce on one side and cheese sauce on the other to maintain the balance of the spices,” said chef Rana.
If you don’t believe in experimenting with your food, then there are safe options listed in the menu. You can choose from the variety of pastas, pizzas, risotto, burgers and sandwiches. For those who love their dal makhani and butter chicken, there are tikkas, biryanis, different kind of breads and we were told by the chef that dal makhani is his speciality in the Indian section. We appreciate that dal was not just a creamy broth with overcooked lentils but the flavours were somewhere lost because of the addition of too much of butter.
No matter how much stuffed you are, don’t leave the place without trying their cheese cakes. It is an art to come up with a perfect cheese cake and chef is perfect at it. If not a cheese cake you can surely go for chocolate fondant.