Far away from the maddening crowd and immersed well in history, a tastefully decked Lodi Restaurant at the Lodi Gardens in New Delhi could be an evening get away for anybody looking for culinary delights and ambience of history, alone or in company. Paramjot Walia recommends Lodi Restaurant as she tastes various gourmet specials with her sister.
Laid out in 1936, Lodi Garden is a blissful haven for walkers, picnickers and couples looking for privacy! It was laid out around beautiful tombs and other remnants from the Lodi era. Standing tall amidst history you could find not a very brightly lit restaurant acting as a surprising little oasis.
The restaurant is nostalgic not only for its name but its retro yet contemporary essence that captures you the moment you step in on that white pebbled floor. Cross the wooden swings acting as a perfect getaway from the office mess and the Delhi’s honking horns, you are inside the welcoming ambience of the Lodi Restaurant.
I started my food rendezvous with warm risotto dumplings and a chicken liver pate. Although visibly scarce, that succulent liver pate had deceptive looks. Appetizers favoured the meat eaters more than the vegetarians who could go for penne with fresh basil leaves, whole pine nuts in garlic and tomato gravy.
From the extensive bar menu, we chose the popular Bourbon Mint Julep (perfect concoction of bourbon whiskey, crushed ice, sugar, and sprigs of mint) and the smooth Merlot wine.
Inebriated not by the bourbon or wine but by the canopy of pale green trees and the small jute lamps hanging and lighting your table, you are bound to lose the sense of the time ticker.
As told, and observed, this restaurant attracts the foreign patrons more so pork and beef are most preferred dishes here. Saving the swine and bull, we went for crumb fried river sole with lemon crème and the yummy grilled Andaman prawns. The fish was a little salty for my taste buds so in this completion of sea food, prawns definitely win with a 9/10 from me. There are also good ‘prix fixee’ options of two courses and a cocktail or three courses and a cocktail.
For my sweet tooth I couldn’t have chosen anything better than Almond pudding with the special home-made fig ice cream. Every bite was succulent and bursting with flavour. The speciality, chocolate mousse, was served unasked, one of the perks of being a travel writer! I willl be a little biased here and would let the ‘chocolaty’ mousse retain its top dessert spot.
Another perk includes a quick review of the entire restaurant. While on my inspection I found two interesting things, one being the 16 tap wine machine imported from Australia and the other the Deli counter. With emphasis on fresh home grown products and seasonal ingredients, the Deli counter menu is a mix of fresh home-made sauces, dips, chutneys & some delicious ready to eat options. Organic products made from raw organic ingredients are sourced from their farms or certified organic vendors & farmers. The organic products on offer are Mango chutney, beetroot pickle, mixed vegetable pickle, mustard oil, basil pesto sauce, organic vegetables, local preserve and chilli tomato chutney.
As told by the chef, Elam Rana, the restaurant food menu is changed after every six months. So apart from the ambience, a foodie must visit this place at least twice a year.
