The South Delhi restaurant scores on location but needs to work on its flavours, says Saimi Sattar
A place that offers Mughlai and Punjabi variants of kebabs and platters as well as a sprinkling of fusion and other cuisines, is large enough to function as a party place and is in the heart of south Delhi — sounds fantastic, rightIJ The House of Tigers tick marks all of the above, but fails to rise above it, thanks to an average fare. For a good restaurant is not just about the ambience and location — the mainstay is and always should be the food, which apart from a few dishes, is far from spectacular.
The partners behind the venture, Rohit Sahni and Deepak Datwani have 16 pubs and clubs including Club Y, Club Westend, Club Utopia, Goolbees Cafe, Fat lulu’s, Republic of Noodles around Delhi and Goa. They decided to introduce a place where anyone could go to party where the food was akin to what the North Indian palate is used to.
The restaurant in Greater Kailash 1 is spread over two levels and has 120 covers. The day that I dined here, a party was on in full swing at the lower level, so we proceeded to the second floor. The area which greeted us was beautifully laid out — a combination of wooden seating areas, comfortable chairs and cushions. The seating areas were partitioned from each other by sheer curtains which added to the look of the place.
A vegetarian and a non vegetarian platter were the first ones to land on our tables. There was an assortment of chicken and mutton dishes. It was the galauti kebab, with its melt in the mouth texture which scored. The rest, though not bad, wasn’t exceptional or different from what I have eaten before.
For the main course, we ordered a Spicy bean slider, a Margherita naanza and a Desi bento meal. What was interesting was that the concept of a Bento box, a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal, was taken from Japanese cuisine and tweaked to Indian cuisine.
Another fusion was the Naanza — a naan with the flavours of a pizza. It is also available in flavours that are completely Indian. There was three cheese BBQ paneer and Chicken tikka masala Naanzas as well.
Of the three that we ordered, it was the desi fare that scored better than the fusion mixes. The Bento box had Paneer tikka and a creamy Dal makhni. The Margherita naanza, though a different concept needed more of an Italian touch, a little bit more of cheese might have done the trick. The sliders were good, but not really spectacular.
But surprise, surprise, it was one of the dips which was the show-stealer at the restaurant. Served with the platter as well as the slider, the flavours of the dip with a tomato base had a great balance of tart and sweet.
Another thing that can certainly be said in its favour is that the outdoor rooftop is great to dine in. That particular night, the rain gods, which had been displaying their might throughout the day were kind enough to put the show on hold, for the time being. The breeze that followed rains certainly made it a pleasant evening. Now only if they could work on the food a bit, it would certainly make the outing worthwhile.