A newly-opened restaurant at CP has great ambience but not the best food. Try their water fish but stick to the drinks and hookah, says Iknoor Kaur
Next time you plan to slip out of your workplace in Connaught Place to grab a glass of chilled beer and unwind you can consider Excuse Me Boss. Set in a dingy bylane in CP, the newly-opened place is a café during the day, a canteen in the evening and a pub by night. This lends a distinct character to the place.
Still awaiting its liquor license, the restaurant relies heavily on food and that area is unfortunately their weakest point at the moment. Their décor is dimly lit and neat with a live station and a sleek bar. They have a separate smoking section within the restaurant and bricked walls lend it a basement look.
However, nothing inside the restaurant has anything to do with its name. Owner Sanjeev Goswami informed that the name is only to grab attention. “We wanted to keep away from the market trend and create something different. Being in CP we cater to corporate clients. During lunch hours many people visit us to grab a glass of beer or to just unwind and when they see a restaurant named Excuse Me Boss, it sounds fun,” he said.
The multi-cuisine restaurant offers Indian, Chinese, Continental and Thai. According to Sanjeev, there is a different chef for each to maintain quality. “These days, people want to go to a place that offers them variety without sacrificing quality. Thus, we have a Chinese chef who makes special dishes from China and an Indian chef who prepares contemporary as well as traditional Indian dishes,” he shared.
On advice, we started our meal with mutton seekh kebab and pita bread with hummus. While the seekh kebab was good on spices, low on heat, the hummus was oily and the flavour of garlic was extremely overpowering. The pita, too, was not fresh.
We tried the chicken satay with peanut butter sauce, which was marinated well, but overcooked. However, one dish saved the starters menu from being a misfire — lamb kibbeh. Though the accompanying pink sauce did not look appealing, it tasted good and the kebab was soft and melted in the mouth.
The main course was a saver. We went for their signature dish, water fish, and it didn’t disappoint. It was prepared in a traditional Chinese manner and was light. “It is sole fillet, put in hot oil with a bed of lettuce and Chinese veggies, schezwan, pepper and dry red chillis,” explained Sanjeev. Apart from the water fish, the menu seemed dull and dessert was much anticipated. The blueberry cheesecake is their only serving in the section at the moment and it was rather too sweet.
Overall, with dim lighting, live music, hookah and bricked walls, the place has the perfect ambience to grab drinks, but not a meal.