The new Cafe Yell takes us on a nostalgic ride with soothing interiors and good food. By Team Viva
Bang in the middle of the bustling market of Defence Colony, we stood outside Café Yell, where a man was playing Rawan Hatta, a Rajasthani folk instrument. He welcomed the guest for the Rajasthani restaurant right next to it which is also the property of Vipul and Divya Gupta, founders of Café Yell. It is situated right above its parent, Yell, a fashion label, and the interiors give you the hints of the same from the point you step intothe place.
As we took our seats in the cozy cafe, we couldn’t help but smile noticing the interiors. The spools and darns, tailors’ scissor, big colourful buttons and old sewing machines gave a wave of nostalgia and reminded of the times when tailoring was customised and the retail revolution had not set in.
Even though the place was small, the well arranged seating left ample space for one to walk around. While we were appreciating the subtlety of the place, low-volumed Bryan Adams’ Summer of 69 played in the background.
Coming over to the food, we started off with Chicken wings and Jalapeno Mozzarella Bombs. The chicken wings with the ‘Yell’ sauce are a must-have from this place. The meat on the bone was soft and with the coating of the in-house sauce, the dish got simply better, clearly marinated with a lot of thought. The Yell sauce was a combination of chilli and red marinade, tad sweet and smoky, but made the starters look good. The cheese balls came on a wooden platter with a mayo dip and Yell sauce (yes, again). The fried mozzarella cheese balls with jalapenos were crispy outside and had a moist heart.
The spiciness of the dish was, however, not much. But, the chef had his reasons behind that. “This is a dish that is mostly ordered by the kids. So we keep the spiciness of jalapenos less and rather serve it with the sauce which is spicy,” he explained. Fair enough, as the Yell sauce was a perfect accompaniment to the cheesy sinfulness.
For the main course, we asked for chicken stuffed with mushroom and cheese. The chicken breast with mushroom and cheese in pepper sauce was marinated in mild spices and though safe, sat well on the palate. Accompanying the dish were sautéed vegetables and potato mash.
For the desserts, we decided to settle for Yell cookie blast. The big wedge with the layering of chocolate, cookies, cream and crust was served in the form of a cheesecake.
The dessert was aptly sweet and the various layers gave us a perfect end to our meal. If you want simple comfort food, you could step in at the end of a
busy day.