Varq – Taj Mahal Hotel, Mansingh Road, New Delhi North Indian Restaurant

Indian Travel Places February 2, 2018 Food Review 2,295 Views

Phone: 011 23026162 / 011 66513151
Address: The Taj Mahal Hotel, 1, Mansingh Road, New Delhi, India
WWW: https://taj.tajhotels.com/en-in/the-taj-mahal-hotel-new-delhi/restaurants/varq-restaurant/
Time: 12:30 PM to 10:30 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 4,500
Cuisines: Seafood, North Indian, Kebab
Facilities: Wheelchair Accessible, Full Bar Available, Valet Parking Available, 4/5 Star, Luxury Dining, Wifi

Overlooking the Taj Mahal Hotel’s lush gardens, Varq reinvents Indian food with unusual creations and pairings. Showcasing works by celebrated artist Anjolie Ela Menon, traditional Indian themes and modern oil paintings, carvings, antiques and sculptures, this New Delhi restaurant is a beautiful union of cuisine and art.

Varq – Taj Mahal Hotel, Mansingh Road, New Delhi: DECOR

Varq manages to straddle two worlds: the old-fashioned and the modern by being both, simultaneously. So,with the Anjolie Ela Menon mural covering one wall entirely, and the white table-cloths offsetting scarlet water tumblers and light fixtures on the ceiling, Varq is timeless. It was one of the very first Indian restaurants to go the modern way in the days when trial and error was the name of the game. That was the time when customers would be nonplussed to see their old favorite in a new, not always identifiable guise, and the absence of the familiar pickle and onion rings on the table put off quite a few die-hard diners. Today, the rules of the game have changed. Every would-be diner knows the protocol of eating a single serve course, and everybody gasps with delight when an unfamiliar plating throws up a long-forgotten flavor from childhood. You could say that now the time is ripe for modern Indian food among all age groups.

Varq – Taj Mahal Hotel, Mansingh Road, New Delhi: FOOD

The present executive chef of the hotel, Arun Sundararaj,is the genius behind the menu. The murgh methi malai souffle (Rs. 1,075) has the exact flavor of chicken tikkas dusted with methi powder, but the appearance is of a regular creamy souffle, complete with sauce napping it. To say that it was sensational is to understate the case. Chilled masala pot (Rs. 825) was an amusing appetizer of semi-frozen curd spiked with chaat masala, served in an earthenware cup and garnished with pomegranate pearls. While both these were fitting flavors in a five-star establishment, the drumstick leaf soup (Rs. 525) could have done a village hut proud: not a mean feat in a Taj Hotel kitchen, where most preparations virtually shout out their provenance. The subtle spicing and the homely appeal of moringa leaf (one of India’s own super-foods) was no short of brilliant. Pepper prawn (Rs. 1,950) consisted of a crescent of black rice cooked with slivers of coconut and a pool of moilee gravy. The prawns were actually tiny shrimp, and burst with flavor, unlike their out sized counterparts that make up in size what they lack in flavor.