Restaurateur Priyank Sukhija has added The lord of the Drinks to his existing 16 restaurants in town. Neeti Nigam finds out the USP of this property lies in its grand ambience
We know Delhi’s nightlife is labelled unsafe. But there are some women who are comfortable doing manager jobs during late evening hours in the male dominated hospitality industry. We met Anna Nain, general manager of the newly-opened The lord of the Drinks. This half Punjabi-half German girl doesn’t allow anybody to take her innocent face for granted. Her simple theory of life is: Deal with the bad mentality and take language advantage.
Indeed, her fluent Hindi and Punjabi surprised us when we went to the outlet to review it. We were amazed with the medieval European interiors that complemented the beautiful façade of Connaught Place. The shields, swords and warrior gears were parked at every nook and corner of the restaurant, as if some epic war was in the making. We did not find it surprising as the eatery is located at a place which is considered a hub of food connoisseur and therefore, a place of fierce competition.
But that doesn’t bother owner Priyank Sukhija, who already owns six restaurants in the same zone. “This place has huge potential. If you serve quality food and know your target customers, you’ll definitely sell,” says he.
The most striking part of the restaurant lay in its grand interiors that have private dining rooms, community tables where six to eight people can chill out. Those looking for experience can enjoy billiard. The restaurant is spread across two floors with a terrace. As the name suggests, The lord of the Drinks has ample cocktails and mocktails to get you hooked up.
We started with a glass of whiskey and mojito with a nacho grande, creamy olive chicken and fish tikka. The nachos were smeared with cheese while the tikkas were succulent and filling. luckily we met chef Dinesh Bharani, who was planning to return to his hometown Mumbai. He treated us with his specialty keema pav and pao bhaji. While the former was a little salty, the latter can serve as a good starter.
Although Bharani is a specialist in European cuisine, he kept a simple menu of global comfort food. “You cannot sell if you don’t have tandoori and dal makhni in the menu. We did not put oodles of cream and therefore got a positive feedback that our dishes are light on the stomach and pocket too,” he says adding that he tried a little Continental by introducing chilli chicken sandwich. We were treated with chicken and mushroom croissant that we found a little average.
While we were completely filled with the starters, the main course’s combination platter is definitely worth giving a try. In this section, you can opt for one dish that will be accompanied with daal, chapatti / rice and salad. The cost is between `395-`475 (depending upon the dish).
While most restaurants either offer a gravy dish, daal with chapattis that are good enough for two-three people, this combination platter focusses on a single customer. “We are giving a platter within `500 to one customer. The idea is to provide a complete meal. What we are noticing is that some customers want to order the same two dishes with daal and chapattis, like they normally do in other eateries. If this combination platter doesn’t work, we will discontinue it,” says chef.
We loved their kadai paneer and chicken curry. The daal wasn’t heavy either. What annoyed us, however, was that there were no sweeter options. “We are just a month old, so we are taking a little time but we promise to get some amazing desserts for our customers in the future,” says Anna.