Tucked away in the corner of a Vasant Kunj food court, F Café could do more by stepping out with conviction, says S Choudhary
With no focus on any specific cuisine, F Café in Vasant Kunj brings to you a diverse but tested menu, from the well-known honey chili potatoes to good old butter chicken and crispy naan. Using the combination of black, gold and silver, the ambience complements the glass door setting. But that’s as far as creativity goes.
The drinks menu had the season’s favourite kiwi and mint “green garden.” But we must commend the presence of kiwi pulp and freshly-cut mint leaves. The “apple jack” was another drink with a lingering aftertaste. The combination of apple cider with ginger made for a tingling surprise.
The slow service of the café set our teeth on the edge but once the starters began, the scales tipped in their favour. While serving high quality food with excellent presentation, we noticed that the portions were not so generous. The barbecued chicken with barbecue sauce came well-rounded. Marinated in different spices, the taste had penetrated to the inner layers and hence every bite was savoured.
The crispy vegetables seemed to be the best out of everything that we had. Tempted to take second helpings, it had a well-balanced flavour palate. Even after trying the fried fish with mashed potatoes, which was just about alright, we went back to nibbling the vegetables till we cleared the plate. The almond mutton kebab seemed like a fiasco of its own. Normally you would expect almond paste to be smoothed into the kebab mix for a seamless, silken feel. But here the almonds seemed hand-pounded or split unevenly and intervened with the very concept of a kebab, distracting us with their separateness.
The achari chicken stole our hearts though with its tangerine flavour. The crispy balls of chicken with the spicy outer layer just crumbled into the juicy interiors.
For the main course, we were served the mutton rogan josh and mixed vegetables along with naan and lachcha paranthas. According to chef Ashish, “It takes around four to five hours to cook rogan josh. We make no compromise on the taste and the authenticity of the dish.” However, we did not feel that the rogan josh was done to perffection. The mutton pieces were too small and the gravy a tad too thick.
As usual the saving grace of every restaurant is its dessert section. We were served the usual chocolate brownie with ice cream, sprinkled with chocolate sauce. No great innovation here. Even though F Café has miles to go, it seems to be doing pretty well as a tuck-away in the corner of the food court at Ambience Mall.