Wolfgang & Company, the new kid on the block, raises a toast to the alphas of the city seeking a cult status among them. By Devi Singh
The woods and leather here are not banal even though they have been done to death. The lED screen, modular stage or even the bar, everything has a sub rosa vibe to it which is what sets this tenderfoot apart from the restaurants in Connaught Place. The concept of the place is to bring like-minded discerning individuals together much like a secret society. Even the playlist has been chosen well to suit the no-balderdash tastes of the apparent alphas. Half of the space is adorned with gamut of objet d’art ranging from a pair of binoculars to books on Nostradamus which again hints at their well travelled, mature and refined clientele. With a much thought over target group of learned souls, the owner has set his assertion right. “We are very clear in our head as to what we want. We don’t want this place to be like any other bar out there with college kids. That’s one of the reasons we don’t even have hookah,” said Kuldeep Chabbra, owner Wolfgang & Co.
The menu has been kept deliberately restricted and meanders around cuisines from world over with enough doses of fusion. “We want to get the feedback on everything we have on our menu. We are ready to make changes according to the preferences of the people,” added Chabbra. That was quite evident with the complimentary four mocktail tester shots from where people can make their choices. Moving on to the real deal, we sampled one of their signature cocktails, chocolate man which was whisky with chocolate and milk shavings served with caramalised marshmallow. Although the idea of a sweet whisky puts us off somehow the traditional combination of whisky and chocolate really fared well. The drink not only scored high on exciting gustatory cells but was a visual treat as well with a skull inside the glass.
Along with that we had quesadillas made of flour tortilla and basic veggies stuffed inside with mild flavours melting in mouth. The salsa served with it was a little on the sweeter side though. Next came another signature, mushroom galouti which should be rechristened to mushroom velvet because of its gooeyness. The silken mush came from the cashew paste blended well with smoky mushrooms. The good thing was smoke and the spice was intact even though the entire texture of mushrooms was changed. We washed it down with dancing queen, a vodka based cocktail with pretty familiar taste to a summer punch, refreshing and breezy. Moving on we sampled Hyderabadi risotto, quite an interesting take on Arborio rice but for some reason it couldn’t incorporate Andhra style tempering well, ending up very sweet on the palate.
This was served with Passion Beer, yet another quirky looking cocktail which came in a brass mug with knuckle-rings reminding us of those sprightly beer shop boards strewn across Punjab. Besides the quirks they have also managed to get the classics right. We tried Old Fashioned which was neatly done, well balanced because of ice rocks, no dilution or change of taste whatsoever. To keep Delhi in high spirits and with much concerns for alphas who can’t do without Indian food, we were asked to sample the staple Dal Makhani with some good old naan. Dal was well really basic, nothing overboard so earthy that we could even taste the rajma.
This we had with Bloody Mary which came filled in a yellow bell pepper making for a pretty picture. It was a variation of the original recipe in terms of colour and taste. For desserts we had chocolate coconut gateau which wasn’t too soft. Maybe they should pull off something they hacked for the velvety galoutis. The second one was basic Tiramisu which was extremely mushy and amazingly balanced with coffee. This we paired with Espresso Martini which is the best pairing for Tiramisu. We were suggested to wrap it up all with a paan shot making sure the mood remains uplifted even after stepping out. Wolfgang & Co. definitely comes as a nice alternative at a time when there is so much clutter with homogeneous options everywhere. The place sure will lure all the wolves, jackals and even hyenas of the capital for that certain private space to spend some good time at.