Butler House is a new bar cum restaurant in town which combines two extremes, Awadhi cuisine and Irish pub. Does it work, asks Arjita Mishra
As we entered the Butler House, we heard rock music playing in the dimly-lighted restaurant. On the ceilings, we found words inscribed. The interior was inspired from an Irish bar which was quite fascinating. The restaurant was divided into two sections among which, one was for family while the other was the space where DJ nights and celebrity performances are organised. “We try to invite at least one celebrity guest in a month to entertain our guests,” said the owner of the restaurant.
The menu at the restaurant is curated by the chef Manish which includes Awadhi, Chinese, continental, oriental and Italian cuisine but we found favour and flavour with Awadhi food.
The very first dish which we tasted was soya tikka. It was made by layering chapattis and soya enriched with Indian spices. As we took a bite we found it crispy from the outside.
Rajme ki khaas galauti was another starter which we had from the vegetarian options. It was a tikki made from rajma, rich with Indian spices that was kept atop a small parantha, “It is called as ulte tawe ka parantha which is made on the ulta tawa,” said the chef.
In the non-vegetarian category, we were served the murgh dakhani mirch tikka made using boneless chicken that was marinated in curd cream and spices and then cooked in the tandoor. As the pieces melted in our mouth, we found the punch of real desi flavours and it is definitely a must try for the chicken lovers.
The next two cuisines from the Chinese category were wasabi prawns and chilli garlic prawns. The chilli garlic prawns were more flavoursome than wasabi prawn which failed to deliver the fiery kick.
We tried out their wood-fried pizza next. It was thin crust pizza with regular vegetable toppings but a little generous amount of cheese would have been better.
Our next dish was a burger — a red burger. It kind of looked like a giant tomato. We were told that the red colour of the bun came from beetroot extracts. “We don’t prefer artificial colours in our dishes, we use natural colours from the fruits so that it may also add a flavour to it,” said chef Manish. The burger was stuffed with the mashed and spicy vegetables. The chef shared, “Each vegetable is cooked together so that you may savour the flavour of each veggie equally.” We can say that it was an Indianised version of a burger and we really appreciate the chef as he not only tried something new, but also kept it in mind to give it a better taste.
While coming to the main course, the very first cuisine which we were presented from the non-vegetarian section was mutton korma and chicken dum biryani accompanied by burani raita. The taste of garlic in raita overpowered the dish. As one takes the first bite of the mutton korma, you will relate the taste with the cuisine which we get to eat in old Delhi. According to the chef, “We had tried to reunite the old Delhi recipe in our menu as it was rich in Indian spices and taste as well.”
From the vegetarian section, the dish which was presented to us was soya korma along with lachcha parantha. “The dish is enriched in Indian spices as we tried to give desi tadka to it,” shared the chef with us. The soya korma was very soft and spicy and those who are very fond of the Awadhi cuisine must definitely try it.
Next in this section, we were offered tofu with rice. For the gravy of tofu, the base was made using blackberry, ginger and garlic. The tofu was so soft that as soon as we took a bite of it, it melted in our mouth. Chef Manish said, “We use silken tofu because it is very soft as compared to the local one.”
Homemade mama noodles with assorted mushroom and Chinese greens was then plated before us. The chowmein gave us the ultimate ghar ki chowmein taste as the chef wanted his customers to remember the taste of homemade noodles.
For dessert, we got sheer korma which was beautifully presented to us with a generous topping of dry fruits. The cardamom flavour made it even more delicious and was a perfect ending to our hearty meal.