New Delhi. Tel: 23026162
The new Indian restaurant at the Taj (located where Haveli used to be) is pitched as chef Hemant Oberoi’s reinvention of Indian fine dining, with classic dishes presented in a stylish new way. Here, haleem, normally served as a hearty one-dish meal, comes as a starter—in tiny scoops, prettily arranged on a platter accompanied by galauti kebab. It’s a delectable start; the consistency and flavouring is perfectly judged, the small portions just right to whet your appetite for the seafood rassa that follows—scallops, mussels and prawns in a delicately spiced broth.
Oberoi has come up with some inventive new pairings, which would perk up the most jaded palate—tamarind sorbet, olive naan, millefeuille of spicy crab and prawn, foie gras with mango chutney, even a pistachio margarita. It all tastes even better than it looks. And unusually for an Indian restaurant, the desserts too are irresistible—masala chai creme brulee, Bailey’s rabri and apple kheer.
In short, Varq is the kind of place you can confidently take Bill Clinton and other foreign guests you want to impress, and be sure they’ll come away enamoured of the sophistication, sumptuousness and variety of globalised India’s desi khana. 4
