The Whisky Bar by Dheeraj Sapra
This multi-cuisine watering hole in Sector 29, Gurgaon boasts an eighteen page drinks menu with 111 whisky brands, besides beers, spirits, and liqueurs.
You also a choice of Bourbon, Scotch, Japanese, Rye, Irish, Indian and Taiwanese whiskeys. The bar is divided into Tiki, Classic and Speakeasy for convenient ordering. The microbrewery is on one side, and premium liquors on the other. There is a cigar bar too.
Must Try Aku Aku
Aku Aku is a bitter-sweet cocktail that blends peach, pineapple, mint, demerara syrup, and dark rum.
USP: The backlit bookshelves with 700 bottles of dark-hued elixirs. The place has North India’s longest bar—60ft—with a conveyer belt.
Tushar kapoor, Founder, Amuse house
Amuse House is an European bistro that maps food from the Mediterranean region. Covered over two floors, the ground floor is an open air area for entertainment, and the first floor is the dining room, where whiffs of aromatic roast chicken, sautéed bell peppers, Napoli sauce, cheese and oven bakes wound up around you. As soon as your are seated, a complimentary grilled bread basket with an assortment of flavoured butters greets you.
Must Try Grilled lamb chops, spiced gremolata
Lamb chops from New Zealand are marinated with sea salt, garlic and capers, and then grilled, basted with gremolata marinade, which has an added flavour of pickled lemon rind.
It’s served with a dip of blended roasted eggplants and cream cheese with extra virgin olive oil
USP: Using sous vide, an under vaccum water bath cooking technique in which meats are vaccum packed with marination, and cooked in a water bath on low temperature for a long period.
Tanya Bhardwaj, Vishwani Marwah, Brand and Cultural Managers; AD Singh (centre), MD, Olive Group, The Grammar Room
Peering into Mehrauli’s green blanket, The Grammar Room is all about the perfecting the fundamental rules of food. Tanya Bhardwaj and Vishwani Marwah, mentored by restauranteur AD Sing, present a quaint cafe with cane furniture, white spreads, and beams of natural light smiling through.
Must Try Cookie and milk
The cookie is baked with a hard shell that softens on pouring milk. Two other great dishes are avocado toast, Shroom Melt, and all their artisanal coffees.
USP: “The stories behind the decor. The red pen framed on the wall for grammar emergencies, ipods through the generations acting as the millennial vinyls on the wall, coasters with wordplay, and plants from our neighbourhood nursery”.
Shahin AlamFounder, Olive Roots by Zizo
Olive Roots by Zizo is as authentic as it gets if you’re up for Lebanese. With its latest brand relaunch, it adds Arabic and new age cuisine to its existing portfolio. Little Zizo, the quick service restaurant model, will launch 10 outlets across Delhi/NCR in the near future. For now, it’s all about enjoying house signatures including mezze platters, shawarmas, chicken rolls, and lamb man’oushe. The restaurant is wheel chair friendly.
Must Try Fatoush salad
Authentic fatoush should be sweet and tangy, just the way it’s offered at Zizo. Here, it’s served with pomegranate molasses imported from Lebanon.
USP: All food items are prepared in extra virgin olive oil. The piping hot roti-like pita bread.
Anuj Pawra, Founder, Moonshine Cafe & Bar
Moonshine Cafe & Bar opened at Janpath and , brings with it, global food comfort. Anuj Pawra, the founder, hasn’t stressed over its launch one bit. “I have been rather carefree through the process,” he says, adding, “A big part of my personality is an attitude of chodo yaar , ho jayega , and with this restaurant I am living each moment as it comes.” He urges his guests to do the same.
Must Try bhel puri
As a child, Pawra remembers bhel puri as the one thing he spent most of his money on. Now, he has it for free at his restaurant.
Tushar Gulati, Owner, Studio Xo Bar
Just like its varied menu that includes Italian, North Indian, Chinese and Continental, recently launched Studio Xo Bar’s music brings you an equal range of diversity. Punjabi, Indian, Sufi, Folk fusion, BollyJazz, Bollywood and English contemporary music, it’s an artiste’s haven. It’s owner, Tushar Gulati, is a first-generation restaurateur who learnt everything about the business while on the job. “I bigger the risk, the greater the reward,” he says, adding, “Studio Xo is a dream, ambition and passion.”
Must try: Narangi Kulfi
A pairing of Kulfi and orange wherein the Kulfi is servedinside a shell of orange.
USP: Live music three times a week.
Pankaj Mendiratta, Founder, tama
For almost a year, Pankaj Mendiratta, the owner of Tama, worked more than 10 hours at a stretch to put up Tama, that he recently launched. The versatility of the restaurant is seen in the way it extends itself as a dance, dine, bar and work space . Offering food from the Northern Frontier, Coastal India, South East Asia and Southern and Eastern Mediterranean regions, Tama is the newest addition to Faridabad’s food passage.
Must Try Indian Fame
Cocktail with blueberry infused vodka (the vodka is infused in-house), aam panna, kalla khatta, and chaat masala. There is raw mango froth on top.
USP: The use of copper in the decor.
You see crystallised dancing figurines against a copper background, the ceiling made of copper coins, along with serveware.
Jerome Cousin, Executive Chef and Director, Chez Jerome Restaurant
Twelve years back, Chef Jerome Cousin who made India his home, committed himself to purist French food. One can get a taste of his love for home-style French food at Chez Jerome French and International Kitchen, in Greater Kailash I. The purple walls of the place represent neutrality—red’s stimulation and blue’s calm, just like the balanced Cousin brings in himself and his food.
USP: Introducing guests to new sounds by upcoming artistes, as well as collaborative musical work.
Must Try Chicken Breast in Morels Sauce
“When I first came to India, I was under the impression that morels aren’t available. When I travelled to Kashmir, I found out that India is one the largest producers of morels. My dish celebrates this rare ingredient.”