le’ Shamrock at Connaught Place is designed like an Irish bar but some traditional Irish delicacies are still awaited on the menu. By Divya Kaushik
More than what they eat, it is what they drink that has been a rage with the world. We are talking about the Irish coffee and whiskey. So rather than looking at the food menu we anxiously ran our eyes across the drinks menu as soon as we took our seat in the corner graced by the painting depicting a scene from The last Supper. Our expectations were high from what we heard is the “first Irish café in Connaught Place.” But we soon realised that apart from the décor there are less things Irish at le’ Shamrock. The owners are still testing waters and therefore they have played safe initially. But it is a good beginning. They have converted the ground floor of the restaurant as per the Irish bar setting and are planning to introduce live music sessions soon. The first floor is maintained as the Indian fine-dining restaurant, for which the location was known before le’ Shamrock came into being.
The drinks menu well accommodates popular choices — from rum, gin, vodka to the famous Irish whiskey and coffee. Be it the whiskey or the non-alcoholic beverages like cocum and orange colada that comes with cream of coconut cocum and squeezed oranges, and pineapple sober with fresh pineapple, honey and ginger blend, the drinks are prepared as per the guests’ choice. That can be one of the reasons why the place in short time has got hit with evening revellers.
The most thoughtful part about the food menu is that it is not a mix. Keeping in mind its guests, it is divided into two parts — European and Indian menu. “Since we are still trying to establish our foundation, we can’t completely do away with Indian cuisine,” said executive chef Vishwajeet Saha. Each menu is carefully divided in sections. Indian begins with the soup section and includes variety like classic mulligatawny, tomato dahi or pudina ka shorba, lehsuni paya ka shorba and murg ka shorba. Then there are salads and appetisers with kebabs, jhinga Chettinad, rum wali nasheeli chaap — mutton chaap cooked with spices and tossed with rum and tikkas. There are popular platters to save you from digging deep in the menu and picking your meal. list all the Indian favourites and you have guessed right the main course choices. There is malai kofta, paneer tikka tamatari, classic murgh makhani and spicy keema dhaniya matar to name a few. “The idea is not to disappoint anyone. We offer various choices. I have also taken note that the authentic tastes are not tampered with, be in the Indian or European menu,” shared the chef and so right he was. We tried Indian starters as samplers and were left in awe with how well the chef has mixed the spices, too balanced and perfect.
A few popular Irish dishes are the traditional stew, soda bread loaded with raisins and caraway seeds, corned beef with cabbage and colcannon-potato and cabbage dish traditionally served on Halloween with a ring or lucky charm hidden in the center. Here in the European menu we found everything we have heard of but not these dishes. We tried fried mozzarella biscuits, bursting with cheese within, spinach and feta parcel and in the non-veg deep fried calamari and salmon and dill tartare. The preparations were perfect but it would have been great to have some Irish delicacies. There are sandwiches, lasagna, risotto, salmon steaks, jumbo prawn with cherry tomato and tarragon herb sauce and many other offerings to satiate your palate. End the meal with brownie, cheese cake, tiramisu and malai kulfi.