Where do Gurgaon’s CEOs, investors and bankers dine?
Gurugram is a separate entity from
Delhi; a difference that food writers and
restaurateurs often forget to their own peril.
TFTA Insiders and trusted gourmands arrive
at their definitive restaurant picks — hidden
gems to national powerhouses — and
identify where their communities eat
By Priyanka Chaudhery,
Dr Apurva Chamaria
1. Comorin, Horizon Centre
It kick-started the emergence of Gurgaon as a food destination
worthy of an iconic brand and continues to hold sway in a
city where trends and tastes change faster than in other more
traditional cities. This is peak regional Indian food done with
sophistication. “Comorin has unapologetic honesty towards
bold Indian flavours with just the right amount of ‘modern
Indian’ twist. Their food has been consistently delicious,
cocktails always on point and service, warm. The communal
tables are cool and reflect a culture where people like to share
dishes and anecdotes. Definite favourites like the butter laden
seekhs, gongura chicken, gunpowder idli and cheeni toast are
what you keep coming back for. It is delectable soul food,”
says our Gurugram jury member Priyanka Chaudhery
2. Whispers of The Wok @Maison Maiya
The Grand Hyatt in Gurgaon, run like clockwork by its
dynamic general manager Tarun Seth, has cultivated a
reputation for being the only hotel that can be a food destination in its own right. The all-day diner Maison
Maiya has some excellent Asian, courtesy veteran Chef
Vikramjit Roy who has joined the hotel’s team and as can
be expected from a chef of his experience cooking some
impeccable food. There are excellent appetisers such as
the Chongqing chicken, beautiful and impeccable sushi
rolls as is only to be expected from Vikram, imaginative
and uber popular dim sum, including the prawn hargao
with tobiko and black garlic and fish, Malaysian noodles,
donburi and our top pick – a delicately cooked seabass in
tamari glaze. The hotel is enabling top quality produce
so over all, this is a sophisticated experience – and it is
very well priced too, which has resulted in the weekend
brunches becoming extremely popular including with
the expats.
Then, there is also Cena Pranzo, the hotel’s Italian
restaurant which is also on top of this list with dishes that let
ingredients shine. Apurva Chamaria reccos the vegetarian
Italian fare with his favourites including the Ortolana Pizza,
topped with roasted vegetables and bubbling mozzarella
on a crisp wood-fired base, Mushroom Tagliatelle, rich
with earthy porcini and finished in a silky cream sauce.
“I’ve hosted business partners here and seen them go from
formal to smiling in minutes,” says Chamaria, Google’s
global head of Venture Capital and Start ups
3. Peng You Quan (Friend’s restaurant)
We didn’t even know about the existence of this
restaurant—and suspect most people outside Gurgaon’s
foodie circles don’t—till TFTA friend and jury member
for this list restaurant and hospitality veteran Ashish
Kapur reccoed it. This is an “authentic”, no-frills Chinese
restaurant with hot pot at the tables, a meal for two that
can be as less as Rs 1000, and chefs who are from Mainland
China. Peng You Quan has mostly an expat clientele too,
evidenced by the menu card in Chinese and dishes such
as string beans stir fried, fish in chilli oil and of course the
hot pot enabled by induction tops embedded in the tables.
4. Vellam, The Kitchens
The Kitchens in Gurgaon has recently emerged as a high
quality dining destination, and Vellum is its crown jewel,
even though most people outside Gurgaon have never
heard of it. A space where you feel the chef’s respect for
technique and ingredients in equal measure. South Indian
food steps into the spotlight with elegance and imagination.
This isn’t your usual idli-dosa fare —dishes from all over
south India rooted in tradition have been contemporarised.
Soulful, but with polish
5. Hosa, Horizon Centre
The original OG of “imaginative south Indian” has
recently arrived at One Horizon Centre from Goa. And by
all accounts is an instant hit with its hearty, imaginative
but spot-on Peninsular Indian fare. The growing tribe
of vegetarians in Gurgaon are equally pleased by the
inventive plates—green plantain, tender coconut et al
adeptly stepping up as much as the falling-off-the-bone
shanks and scallops in spicy gravies.
6. Mjöl Bakehouse
There is a distinct bakery culture in the Gram which is
quite sophisticated and high quality. “An ode to simpler
times”, this is an ode to Gurgaon’s taste for great desserts
and bakes. Japanese and Scandinavian design come
together as do cider chicken puff pies and Basque cheese
cake
7. Evoo, The Kitchens
This underrated but stunningly delicious Shivalik diner
opened in Gurgaon some time ago with a wine list in
place. Safe to say that there is hardly a better place—not
just in Gurugram but perhaps all over India for some
seriously spot-on pizza, pasta and prosecco. That’s high
praise, we admit. But meet Sachin Grover, the passionate
chef and restaurateur behind this restaurant and you
will understand why. A hobby cook turned professional,
Sachin learned how to cook Italian food in Italy and this is
his labour of love. It’s hard to believe that this restaurant
does not get talked about on (other) national lists.
8. Niko
A modern Asian diner and bar with a live kitchen,
this one too comes highly recommended for its cold
plates, robata grills and dishes like Tofu Carpaccio with
Coriander Ponzu, Confit Duck Leg Pancakes, Flamed
Lamb Chops with Miso Coriander and Sichuan Mapo
Tofu. Once again, this is a lavishly designed space that the
NCR loves and there is a credible team in place with the
co-founder being Alisha Mehra, a Cordon Bleu graduate
also a director in Bomba. While in Gurgaon, you may also
like to try the other highly reccoed Japanese place, Ebisu,
for its grills
9. Banng
There are different reactions to Banng by the Gurgaon
crowd but we feel it is because two sets of audience
goes to Banng — with the bar crowd and the dining
crowd being different in their sensibilities. Chef Garima
Arora’s food is nuanced— whether it is the fresh coconut
milk that is used unlike any other restaurant, or curry
paste made in house in Bangkok. The team researched
under Siamese food scholar Hanuman Aspler, who
uses ancient manuscripts to teach ancient Thai cooking
at his Three Trees Doi Saket farm, near Chiang Mai.
However, there will be competition from Nara, the
Mumbai based restaurant planning its debut here soon,
as well as Fireback where David Thompson’s recipes and
Rohit Khattar’s eagle eyed restaurateuring make for an
unbeatable combo.
10. Bhawan
There’s a whole lot of chaat and street eats in Delhi’s
enclaves on every street—from Lajpat Nagar to Bengali
Market, GK to India Habitat Centre (that serves some
excellent chaat at Habiteria, Lodhi Colony) and Dwarka
to CR Park and of course in Kinari Bazaar and old Delhi.
But in Gurgaon, there’s Bhawan when you don’t want to
drive that far.
