Embassy, Keventer’s, Wenger’s, Volga et al are an integral part of the Connaught Place firmament. Last time I was in CP I went to two of these; Keventer’s was extremely disappointing, Wenger’s was just about okay, and the day was saved by the a sweet potato seller whose offerings were far more satisfying than both these Delhi favourites. So I dropped further exploration from my agenda… till the gourmet editor of a Delhi daily took offence at my appreciation of Moti Mahal in Daryaganj and suggested I try Embassy instead. I have read some extremely negative reviews of Embassy and was hoping to get one back at Mr. Editor. But I concede.
Embassy is a lovely place with old world charm, with waiters who don’t consider faux-accented English as a substitute for knowledge of what’s on the menu. And when about a dozen people on the next table order food without a look at the menu and address the waiters by their name, you know there are loyalists. Watching the England – Australia match shown on telly, they started reminiscing about days past and debating if a particular incident took place during Chandu Borde’s time or Lala Amarnath’s. Those not much into cricket can guess the vintage of these patrons from the fact Lala Amarnath’s son Mohinder first played cricket for India in 1969… a few years before I was born!
By this time I was so much in love with the place that I would have accepted average food. The sookhi urad dal, recommended by the waiter, delicately flavoured with the taste of urad taking center stage, made me start calibrating Embassy purely on its food. Mushroom lababdar, as its name would suggest, was rich and creamy. Paneer bhurji again was delicately spiced with the freshness of paneer coming through clearly. All the dishes were rich but not greasy which is always a difficult balance to achieve. The naans and rotis were perfectly done, and the crockery would not have been out of place in any upmarket restaurant. The only disappointment was for my son who ventured into the continental section and ordered fish meuniere. Here I think the cook forgot to dust excess flour off the fish creating a coating on top of the fish which soon turned soggy in a plate too full with sides and accompaniments. For dessert I tried the Cream a la Embassy (or ‘Embassy Pudding’ as the waiter called it). While this would not win the pastry chef a contest in Paris, fruit cream with sponge cake can awaken the kid even inside people like me who was declared to have been ‘born middle-aged’ by schoolmates.
Most veg mains are priced between rupees 200 and 300, and non-veg mains between 300 and 400.
Those interested in Embassy’s place in politics may want to check these blog posts and comments:
http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/my-daily-bread/2009/10/02/inside-the-embassy/
http://thedelhiwalla.blogspot.com/2007/09/table-for-one-embassy-restaurant.html
Dear Sir,
Embassy is indeed wonderful place to eat. It has that old world charm, which is rarely seen in most places. The food is impeccable. Try out some of their kebab’s platter and perhaps you would forget to have dinner-they are so filling. Their menu has a variety of dishes which are normally not available in most restaurants. With the departure of the British, the Indian cuisine appears to have totally taken over the gourmet’s palate as there are hardly any items like cutlets, ‘fish n chips’ kind of items on the menu. Embassy I found have quite a few of them-may be still haven’t forgotten the British gourmet’s delights! I found the place a shade expensive but a definite ‘must go’ eatery.
Going by my son’s experience with fish meuniere, I am not sure how they would do British or continental food. Lot of British era clubs and some such restaurants have been popular for some western dishes, but for today’s well traveled Indian palate, when people have actually eaten in most of these countries, the benchmarks are different. So I am not sure such people would go to Embassy for western food
You are indeed right and perhaps bang on! Being brought up in the club culture of Calcutta, I would swear by the British cuisine still prevalent there. The difference is that the club menus have added Indian dishes, like Fish Amritsari, Masala Dosa, Chana Bhatura, to their traditional menu rather than redoing their menu entirely to an Indian make-up. I don’t think there’s any harm in retaining the the old world charm in the menus too.
All u fat guys just trying out free lunches !
do something else in life rather than eat …my oh my !
@Eata Singh: What makes you think we aren’t doing something else in life? On another tack, perhaps eating and trying out free lunches is better than people who linger around blogs and leave silly comments based on sillier assumptions?
Well, Eata..Your first sentence is wrong on two counts – this was not a free lunch, and I am not fat
Your second sentence is my wish statement but again not true..yes I wish to live to eat without doing anything else in life, but the wish hasnt come true yet.