Their kitchen is a happy place. Sounds of laugh and cheer often slip out as the service doors open to the guests sitting outside, but chefs Dinesh Bahrani and Doyel Sarangi at newly launched restaurant Teddy Boy don’t make any attempts to tone their animation down. They hit it off well the moment they were introduced, and since then, have maintained a healthy affinity towards each other. Incidentally, it also makes them work better together.
Inspired from the popular British subculture, Teddy Boy is an ode to erstwhile pubs that were quite popular in the early 50s. This Edwardian era-themed bar serves a mix of Indian, European and Oriental, with a major focus on Indian and Fusion food. “Being from Mumbai, I’ve put street food like Kanda Bhajia and chana daal pattice on the menu. In eight months of living in Delhi, I have also learnt about food here and so you’ll find palak patta chaat, street-style momos and kulchas,” says Bahrani.
Bengali girl Sarangi, on the other hand, is always trying to make her regional cuisine stand out. “At Teddy Boy, I am presenting a lot of fusion food, along with costal international food with some interesting twist,” she says. There is only healthy competition, they say. No unnecessary drama.
Amid all the joyality, there are also times when both of them get a little irked with certain kinds of guest behaviours. Opening up about his experience, Bahrani says, he dislikes it when guests don’t want to try anything new, and get stuck on the usual Chili Chicken and Pasta. “Even though pasta is not on our menu, some of them leave comments like Italian food (which they think is only pasta) is very limited on the restaurant menu,” he says, looking exasperated.
In the same breathe, Bahrani emphasises that there are many other wonderful things to be tried at the restaurant. Some of those are Kulcha Tacos, Malai Chingri Curry, Chocolate Golgappas, Cheesy Fish with Strawberry Wine Sauce, Kasundi Chicken, Teddy Fiery Prawns, Chaco Myst, Golgappe Gucamoli with Tequila Shots, Prawn Malai Kari with Red Rice and more.
The menu brings new ideas put creatively together. Working out a way to appease guests has found direction in an exciting food philosophy of offering thoughtfully experimented flavours, neat presentation, attractive price points and a whole lot of happy energy. The deal’s worth it.