The Westside Story
By Prakriti Bhat
West Delhi is no longer isolated and deprived of culinary pleasures. With a booming restaurant business of its own, Rajouri Garden is home to many cafes and fine dining outlets like. The Westside Story is the newest addition to Rajouri Garden’s happening social circle. The owners Naveen Sachdeva, Praveen Sachdeva, Amit Behl and Sagar Thareja have left no stone unturned to make sure that West Side Story is a big hit in the city. After a grand launch, the restaurant hosted a Bloggers’ Meet on 25th September, 2015.
The best part about this place is its location. It is at a walking distance from the Rajouri Garden Metro Station which makes it quite accessible. The décor was simple yet classy with swanky chandeliers and tasteful furnishings. Head Chef Amrita guided us through the menu. “The main focus is on European dishes. But then, being in Rajoiuri Garden you can’t just do a Taco and ignore ethnic dishes like a Butter Chicken or a Dal Makhani. So we have tried to maintain a balance between Indian and other cuisines”, said Amrita. The menu encompasses a wide array of cookery like Indian, Mexican, Thai, Italian, etc. You name it and they have it. It also boasts of fusion dishes like Butter Chicken Spring Roll, Thai Curry Chicken Tikka, Chicken Tikka Taco and so on.
We began our meal with mocktails. Green Eyed Monster was a refreshing blend of green apple, lemon juice and soda. Mango Spice was like any regular mango juice, but with a chatpata twist. Next came the Thai specialty Som Tam Salad. Thai food is known to touch all the four taste buds; sweet, salty, sour and bitter and it did just that. Chicken Caesar Salad had one of the finest grilled chicken shreds I have ever had but the leaves weren’t very crunchy. Also the dressing disappointed me. Crispy Corn is the perfect dish to whet your appetite though it was quite similar to what one gets at Barbeque Nation. Thai Curry Chicken Tikka was a delicious fusion of Indo-Thai flavours. Crunchy Cheesy Broccoli was bliss. Never before has Broccoli tasted so good. Crispy outside, cheesy inside; what more can one ask for?
Chinese Button Mushrooms were a delight; saucy, crunchy and flavorsome. However, the covering was a bit too hard. Harvest Vegetable Quesadilla was okayish or as one of the bloggers commented, “Too much of Popeye in it!” since it was brimming with spinach. The Vegetable Tilla Kebab was a dish of vegetable skewers which I found quite interesting. Karare Dahi ke Kabab was a big letdown. I am a lover of this dish but here the hung curd tasted sourer than is usually expected. The consistency was good but I have definitely had better. North Indians have always preferred a ‘Punjinese’ version of Chinese cuisine. That is to say, a heavily spiced and oily Punjabi version of Chinese food that one finds in every nook and corner of the city. The Butter Chicken Spring Roll took innovation to another level altogether. Here, the spring rolls are made with a desi chicken filling and served in a tiny glass with the Butter Chicken gravy. They also serve extra gravy, in case you want to dig in. Fantastic concept.
For the main course we began with Mushroom Rarah Pizza, again a coming together of two completely different cuisines. The topping was quite masaledar but the base was a little chewy which should not be the case with thin crust pizzas. Burmese Curry with white rice (since they don’t have Jasmine Rice) is a good option if you want to go for a Thai affair. The coconut oil gave it a very distinctive flavor.
Roganjosh is traditionally associated with the kashmiri mutton dish; simply because it relies heavily on oil and spices (mainly Kashmiri Mirch). But Roganjosh is not just restricted to mutton and can be extended to ingredients like Paneer or Bottle gourd. However, the Paneer Roganjosh here wasn’t spicy and infact a bit sweet, which is the complete opposite of a Roganjosh. Chicken Lababdar is a dish that will leave you asking for more. The spices, the succulent chicken; they are just perfect. To complement all these delicacies go for Garlic Naan. The Achari Naan has nothing achaari about it while the Lachha Parantha was not very soft. For desserts we tried Vanilla and Litchi Ice creams which, yet again were beautifully served.
The presentation was flawless and made every dish visually appealing. I believe that every dining experience should satiate your five senses. West Side Story ensured that. The aroma, taste, texture and presentation were top notch while the music did not go beyond a certain level. It was definitely a wholesome meal.
Address- C-7, Vishal Enclave, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi
Contact No.- 01133106167
Cost for two- Rs. 1400
