On the first floor of Gurugram’s M3M International Financial Centre, spread across 1,900 sq feet, and drawing inspiration from the Hoffbräuhaus, the world’s biggest microbrewery in Munich, is Pretz and Brats, a restaurant, owned by Sanjay and Lalita Mathur, that claims to serve authentic German food.
The wooden beams, the lanterns and the pipes, resembling a classic microbrewery, gives the restaurant a very German-pub vibe. Three glorious black-and-white paintings of the 19th century Hoffbräuhaus, showcasing waiters and waitresses serving beer, are also on display. “I bought them from Rudolf Caspary, known as the father of microbrewery across the world,” Sanjay says.
Classics first
The pretzels with honey mustard dipping and tomato salsa (Rs 399) arrived on the table soon enough. They had a crusty outer, a pillowy soft interior and a salty flavour profile just like it should be, but what stood out was the condiment, the honey mustard sauce, which came with a wasabi touch to it. Alongside, was served a piping hot bowl of Goulash (Rs 399), a buff stew with vegetables seasoned with paprika and other spices. The tenderloin was cooked to perfection. “Slow cooking is the key,” says head chef Amit Thapliyal, who next presented the Vol-au-Vent (Rs 499). The hollow cavity of the puff pastry was loaded with a well-seasoned and finely cooked vegetable mix---a decent appetiser. This was followed by the German potato salad (Rs 599) consisting of potatoes tossed with finely chopped bacon, onions, parsley, honey mustard, vinaigrette, some secret seasonings and topped with an egg, sunny side up.
Sausages and more
Next came up the restaurant’s two big guns–hotdogs and sausages, the top selling items. There were options. At Pretz and Brats, you can create your own gourmet hotdog for Rs 599. I opted for a bratwurst stuffed in a multigrain bread with salad, two sauces, and a generous Parmesan filling. The pork bratwurst, a classic German sausage, was hands down the star of the show. The pork fat not only provided an excellent flavour to the sausage but also kept the ground meat texture supple and moist. The restaurant’s famous sausage platter (Rs 1,499) also included nuremberg, wiener, bockwurst, cheese sausage, weisswurst with a side of sauerkraut, pretzel and honey mustard sauce. They all had a melt-in-mouth texture but the cheese sausage didn’t work for me.
Hits & misses
Pretz and Brats, as Lalita puts it, serves “authentic German food without making tweaks according to the Indian palate”. The next two dishes prove that amply. Chicken Schnitzel (Rs 799) is boneless chicken breaded, pan-fried and placed on a bed of buttered spaetzle, a kind of German pasta. While the golden brown texture of the schnitzel was crunchy and well-cooked, the pasta had a strong flavour of garlic, which worked brilliantly for my taste buds. While the two elements complemented each other effortlessly, it was the condiment that once again emerged as the winner on the table. In this case, it was the hollandaise sauce. The star of the menu, the farm-raised pork knuckle (Rs 1,999), was, however, underwhelming. The meat was extra chewy, and the skin, despite the delicious jus, was too hard to slice.
The tasting ended on a high note with the choco lava cake (Rs 599). As I dug into the cake, the molten chocolate oozed out, and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was a match made in food heaven. Pretz and Brats will soon be serving beers and wines at their restaurant. “German food isn’t complete without it,” Sanjay adds.
Open all days of the week, 8am to 12pm. Meal for two: Rs 2,500 (approx)