With all due respect to Amul, SAGA, which recently opened in Gurugram, after much Covid- related delays, captures the kaleidoscopic nature of cuisines from across the subcontinent. The restaurant, which boasts a food menu conceived by Michelin-starred Chef Atul Kochhar of Benares, London fame, and executed by Chef Tanvi Goswami, has just introduced an Experience Menu, curated by Kochhar, Available only on Sundays, it is a reflection of SAGA’s food philosophy, weaving together the myriad flavours of the country into a nine-course meal that celebrates India’s rich culinary legacies in clean contemporary settings. Speaking of settings, the restaurant itself is stunning, sprawling over three floors and an al fresco area, with the focal point being a bar that towers up through the entire restaurant, requiring mixologists to travel up and down using lifts and pulleys.
All of that spectacle is reinforced by some truly stellar cocktails, but more on those later. Going back to the food, Kochhar says, “Through this menu we would like to give an experience, which is culturally rich and speaks volume of our heritage and love for food. The menu is brought to life keeping in mind different palates, touching key dishes from our a la carte offerings and also giving unparalleled dining experience.” The Chef’s Experience menu includes some of the best-selling dishes from the a la carte menu such as Crispy Crab, Ghee Roast Prawn, Sali Murg, Bhuna Mangsho, Edamame and Quinoa, Khari Paneer Tikka along with special dishes created for it, all washed down by a chilled glass of crisp Prosecco and live music by a violinist who traipses through the various floors and mezzanines of the space.
Going with the non-vegetarian menu, we are pleased to make the acquaintance of dishes like the aforementioned crab and prawn. The fo rme r comprises a crackling soft shell crab (we recommend downing it in one bite if you have a large enough mouth and or a disdain for decorum), with dollops of saffron-spiked cream and a mustardy catsup, while the latter comes taco style, the Mangalorean prawn dish, scented with fennel and curry leaves, resting on a tortilla shell as delicate as a ballerina’s ankles and just as tenacious, gamely managing to contain the shellfish as one wolfs it down.
Helping us wash down this surfeit of seafood is the delicious Indo-Negroni, which gives a distinctly desi twist to the classic cocktail with cumin and citrus flavours. Next, we dally with the Himalayan Flavours (a Nepalese-inspi red Roas t Chicken Salad fired up with timur pepper and tart tomatoes) and Lentil Love (comprising slow-cooked lentils fortified with onion and garlic and served in a tart shell which gives the otherwise simple legumes a more complex texture and crumble, making it all the more welcome). We also take a dip in the Lonar Lake, a signature cocktail of SAGA that is a medley of gin, Aperol (an Italian bitter), Orgeat syrup and sparkling wine, perfumed with kaffir lime leaves.
Swimming may be out this year but this is definitely something we could dive into again and again. In the interest of brevity, we shall refrain from further details, but suffice it to say that the main courses, which included Sali Murg (Parsi Chicken), Bhuna Mangsho (Bengali style goat mutton) and the Family Affair (a multi-grain khichdi for the whole family to pass around), were each delicious and individual in their own way. For desserts, there is the Petha (an ambrosial cloud of rabadi festooned with orange jelly, winter melon candy and rose) and the Pilgrims Sweet (a platter packed with plum cake, Panchamarat ice-cream, date treacle and wheat halwa). With the menu expected to change seasonally, given Kochhar’s emphasis of taking cues from nature, diners can keep enjoying new tastes from the country we call home.
DETAILS
AT: Vatika Atrium, Golf Course Road, Sector 53, Gurugram
TIMING: Every Sunday, 12:00pm-4:00pm, 7:00pm-11:00pm
COST PER HEAD: Rs 2,995 ++