After a long hectic week, singles, couples or groups of people want to chill out and have fun. Bars and restaurants give them the perfect environment in which to have a couple of glasses of wine and enjoy your favourite cuisine. Although bars and restaurants have customers every day, the major influx of customers occurs on Friday nights and the weekends. Some of the major New Delhi restaurants and bars are as under:
New Delhi Bars:
24/7: It is The LaLit Hotel bar in Connaught place, and its main selling point is that it is open all day. The ambience is romantic, the bartending is top-notch and they serve a mean cocktail called the ‘LaLit’, that is concoction of peach schnapps, cointreau and Grey Goose vodka. There is also a midnight buffet and a round the clock pastry shop you can take advantage of, if you have a sweet tooth.
Agni: This bar is a part of The Park Hotel at Connaught place. It is famous for its varied assortment of cocktails. The bar is trendy and a rage in New Delhi, and serves popular drinks like rose martini. ‘Love junk’ and seasonal fruit margaritas. The bar keeps things interesting with different DJs and their heart thumping music.
Cafe Morrison: If you are a rock music enthusiast, Cafe Morrison will be your favourite bar. As the name suggests, the cafe is dedicated to Jim Morrison and has a line-up of many top Indian bands of indie music on Sundays that draws in a lot of crowd. A variety of food is available along with themed cocktails like ‘LA Woman’ and ‘Light my Fire’.
Shalom: One of New Delhi’s top bars, it is so busy that if you want a table you need to book it before going there. It is the forerunner of lounge bars with rustic wooden furniture and Mediterranean influenced decor. There is a wide collection of drinks-be it cocktails or single malts. It is proud to Mediterranean and Lebanese inspired cuisine made especially for your palate.
The Living Room Cafe: Also known as the TLR cafe, it is full of surprises. Unpretentious, with a put-your-feet-up-and-enjoy vibe, this establishment is for the weary souls that are in need of lightening up. It has live music and the biggest selling point in that it offers breakfast, and evening drinks, and an eclectic mix of dishes for dinner including sumptuous steaks. Overall, it is the perfect package.
New Delhi Restaurants:
Bukhara: If you want to eat here, you will have to book a few days in advance. This is a celebrity cookhouse. This restaurant has catered to the likes of Hillary Clinton, Enrique Iglesias, Vladimir Putin and Mick Jagger. It is located in the ITC-Maurya New Delhi Hotel, and is an institution unto itself. The menu has been the same for the last 30 years and it is not surprising when you taste their rich dishes. They mostly consist of meat and are creamy and spicy.
Lodi-The Garden Restaurant: The setting is divine, with wrought iron furniture under the boughs of trees made heavy with lanterns, and the sun playing hide and seek. The food is Mediterranean with a dash of Middle Eastern zing. This particular restaurant is perfect in the summer evenings, when romance is in the air.
Machan: Situated in The Taj Mahal Hotel, this restaurant differs from its brethren in that it is open 24 hours a day. The food ranges from the Victorian sea bass to Thai curry, from Southeast Asian delicacies to French fare, and some very succulent, delectable Indian dishes. The restaurant is chic and posh and takes quality to a completely new dimension.
Mamagoto: Located in Khan Market, here the Oriental flavors from China, Thailand and Vietnam meet Japanese cuisine with great aplomb, and most of the dishes are noodles, wraps and soups. A restaurant lifts your mood and is healthy to boot! When you get there make sure to try rock shrimp tempura with ponzu pepper and chilli mayonnaise. As the name suggests, ‘Go play with your food.’
The Great Kabab Factory: To kabab lovers, this restaurant is like a refuge, a harbour, or it feels like stepping on cloud nine. TGKF boasts 450 different types of kababs and a buffet dinner where you get roasted veggies along with roasted skewered meat. Even if your plate is full of 10 different kababs, make space for the ‘galouti kabab’, because if you miss it, you will regret it. New Delhi boasts of several TGKF outlets but the one at the Radisson hotel is always full and the most talked about.
