Lucia, Metropolitan Mall, Gurgaon

[Rated: 2.0/5]

Lucia lounge bar with spacious and electrifying interiors with color changing ceiling is the new pub in town. The modern décor, good music and lounge setting immediately give a comfy feeling. But that’s it!

The menu that has been inspired (Read: Copied) from the various pubs in the city. Pricing which is at par with its counterparts, but not worth the stuff. Lucia Masala (295) inspired from another leading pub in Gurgaon is nowhere near the original. Frozen Margarita (295) comes with a kinky hair in the glass, LIIT (295) isn’t bad but not great either, and Veg platter (375) which was served with Raw Stuffed Aloo. Amongst all the confusion, aromatic Thai Spring Roll (275) and well-cooked Fried Chicken favored with herbs (325) came as a refreshing change.

Eest, The Westin Hotel, Gurgaon

[Rated: 2/5]

There was a time when going to a good restaurant would pull people towards starred hotels. Not anymore! The reasons was simple; Service trainings and food consistency where these starred hotel chains could spent upon. Ambience was anyway assured as they were inside a well maintained property. As mall culture took over, restaureurs do not have to struggle anymore to maintain the outside surroundings. Also, the local chains that have mushroomed, spend well on trainings as guests do not mind paying extra for the complete dining experience.

After one of my colleagues unsatisfactory visit to Seasonal Tastes at Westin hotel, I was in no mood to visit the hotel again, but one of my friend wanted to try out their new restaurant, Eest so I succumbed to her temptation. This hotel is run by Vatika, which otherwise has highly ranked restaurant by us like - Coriander Leaf, 56 Italiano etc. As we entered the restaurant located on the first level in the hotel, we found it to be abnormally empty for a Saturday lunch. Wondering if we were at the right place, someone guided us to the table. Ambience was nice, but nothing exceptional for a five star property. 

Café Mozart, South Point Mall, Gurgaon

[Rated: 2/5]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. The newly opened Mozart Café at the DLF South Point Mall bears no resemblance to the great maestro. With a dimly lit lower ground floor (euphemism for basement) location, a kitschy confused interior, and a clichéd Indian-Chinese-Continental menu, the restaurant is neither a café nor has any howsoever remote connection to Mozart.

Coming to the food in this diverse and seemingly discordant ensemble, there is a wide choice presented in its encyclopedic 18-page menu offering drinks, starters, mains and desserts in Oriental, Indian and Western style dishes.

Dhaba - A Punjabi Theme Restaurant, Rajouri Garden, Delhi

[Rated : 2/5]
Punjabis love their chicken and we were in the mood to treat ourselves with sumptuous chicken preparations. Searching for a restaurant, we noticed ‘Dhaba’ in Rajouri Garden, which had ‘A Punjabi Theme’ written under it’s name. The name struck a chord and we entered the restaurant.

The ambience was striking with its high ceiling. Wooden furniture made with rope, pickle jars on a wall, life size replica of a Dhaba kitchen with a truck parked in front of it, waiters dressed in ethnic Punjabi dress and bronze cutlery added to the feel of a village Dhaba.

Earthen Oven, Fortune Hotel, Sohna Road, Gurgaon

[Rated: 2/5]
After reading review on another website about the awadhi food festival buffet, I was waiting for an opportunity to visit Earthen Oven. Except the pricing (Rs499 for a buffet) nothing seems to be going their way.

Service was shabby. After serving the first helping of starters nobody came to ask for repeat. Finally after reminder the waiter did come, but all the appetizers in his plate were cold (Left over portions after 15 minutes were still being served)

The food was no better except the biryani, which was the only saving grace. Though the menu was regular awadhi but the preparation was poor. We just couldn't taste the Shorba. This one will make the soup served at the hospitals proud. In the main course, Mutton was hard and the fish was over salty. The Shahi Tukra in dessert was absolutely soggy and had already mixed like a pudding.

My earlier experience at this hotel wasn't pleasant either. Looks like apart from the above average interiors nothing else is going in favor of Earthen Oven.

Food Mill, Cyber City, Gurgaon

[Rated: 2/5]

The sun never sets in Gurgaon. Numerous 24-hour call centers ensure life goes on 24x7. Realizing the potential here, Food Mill has come up with the first 24x7 restaurant in the city. The concept is brilliant, though I wish the food matched.

The name ‘Mill’ gives one an impression of a huge place, but it turned out to be a modest 20-seater restaurant with an in-house bakery. Uncomfortable seating, tardy service and food that didn’t meet expectations spoilt the experience despite my liking the concept and the innovative menu.

The Fattoush salad served along with the Shawarma wasn’t a Fattoush (No pita bread) and the chicken in the Shawarma (Rs225) had hardened due to over cooking. The Passion Fruit, Mint & Honey Juice (Rs135) was overdosed with honey and the glass was sticky too. I was overjoyed to see the All American Tenderloin Hamburger (Rs 255) on the menu, which is otherwise difficult to find in Gurgaon. My joy was short-lived as the patty was dry and lacked seasoning. The dominant flavor was of the omelet present within the burger. The Doughnut (Rs 45) was chewy enough to make a bagel proud. The Grilled Chicken topped with Peri Peri sauce (Rs 110) was just as tangy and hot as I would have liked it to be but the chicken left much to be desired as it was a little raw

We enjoyed the thin crust Greek Pizza (Rs 195) which was perfectly cooked in a wood fired oven. The Bean Sprout Salad (Rs 155) served with sweet chili dressing and The Broken Brownie shake (Rs135) were also nice, but the Junk Food Platter (Rs 125) was our discovery of the day. It consisted of an Ice-cream Shake, Ice-cream Sandwiches, Rice Crispies, White Chocolate Muffins, Jam Sandwich and a Chocolate Muffin. Even if one ignored the ordinary muffins it was a steal at the price. I particularly liked the well-made shake and Ice-cream sandwiches served in the platter.

By the time the post went to print, I am told Food Mill has discontinued the Junk Food platter, the only saving grace at the restaurant.

To conclude I love the concept but Food Mill has a fair distance to travel before it is able to deliver on its promises.

Meal for Two: Rs600 | Alcohol: No | Credit Card: Yes|
Address: Building no 9B, Ground Floor, DLF Phase III, Gurgaon | Phone: 0124-4811800

-Pawan Soni

Brown Sahib, New Delhi

[Rated: 2/5]
After waiting for over a month, we could finally manage to visit Brown Sahib yesterday evening for Dinner. With so much hype created over websites for this restaurant, the expectations were obviously high.

Accessability: The restaurant is easy to locate but lifts on the side of the restaurant were not operational & one had to use elevators.

Ambience: Good, small setup with enough elbow space without letting you over-hear the conversations on other tables. Staff was well groomed & welcomed each guest individually.

Food: Though the menu was extensive & portions good, but the food was a big let down. My favourite Bekti Paturi lacked the taste. Salt was more than required. For Rs450 for 2 pieces of this dish, it was really exhorbitantly overpriced. My wife enjoyed the watermelon soup which was the only welcome change. Even the Mishti Dohi which is a regular in any Bengali outlet was stale. Other dishes that we tried were French onion soup, Veg Moussaka & Begun Kumro Bhaja were average. Though I did not had cocktails but the feedback from the group was not encouraging on this front as well.

Service: Lesser said about service...the better. In last 10 years of my married life only time I have seen my wife lose her patience was yesterday. After asking for Luchhi 3 times and waiting for over 20 minutes...she finally exploded on the waiter serving us. Obviously food was already cold by the time Luchhi came....& we had lost our cool & appetite by then. Finger bowls were served cold, dirty plates kept lying on the table for over 10 minutes after the food was finished, the empty dishes were not removed from the table even though there was no place for the new dishes to find place on the table. Even waiters kept bumping into each other throwing stuff on the floor. With so much happening around us nobody came to apologise or tried to make it up by offering a complementary dessert or a discount.

All in all, I am never going to this place again.

-Pawan Soni

Masala Art, Taj Palace, New Delhi

[Rated: 2/5]
If you end up writing a feedback of a restaurant on a personal family visit it means either you loved the place or just hated it. This is what happened to me on my recent family outing to Masala Art at Taj Palace, Delhi.


I normally visit restaurants in an expensive Hotel only when I want to be sure about the quality and consistency of food and service on special occasions or during business visits with important clients. Consistency of food does not imply great food. To me, it means assured quality without drastic change to the overall taste on a repeat visit.

After an overdose of non-vegetarian food the preceding week, I wanted to join my vegetarian wife and kids for a complete vegetarian meal. We bagan with 3 starters; Subz Galouti Kebab; Paneer Malai Seekh, and Dahi ke Kabab (Rs 700 each). One common complaint I had was that the food was devoid of adequate salt in nearly everything – starters, mint chutney, and even the pickles. I understand that most restaurants in the category of Masala Art tend to mellow down the heat factor due to the NRI/expat crowd they attract. But in this case the salt was also kept too low and would be a letdown even for high blood pressure patients. No surprise that we had to use loads of extra salt to make the food palatable. The starters were average. The texture and preparation were good but the toned down spices did not let one fully appreciate the full flavors of the kebabs. I wonder how one can go wrong in making Mint Chutney? It is one of the easiest recipes that is found in every household and restaurant alike. It was thin and runny and any road side Dhaba would do a better job.

Service was no better. We kept looking for our server to ask for water and chutney refills which should have been done without our needing to ask. Even after informing the server, Kedar, we waited endlessly for chutney while our starters proceeded to become cold and tasteless. Finally Prateek, the restaurant manager, had to come to our rescue. Nobody cared to take the main course order though I had explicityly asked our server to please come back for the same.

Looking at the delay and attitude of the restaurant we decided to quickly wind up and go for desserts directly by skipping the main course. We ordered a Trio of Dessert (Rs 550) with Baileys Kulfi, Khubaani aur Badaam ka Halwa, and Sheer-e-Mewa. Our server informed us that Baileys Kulfi could not be ordered in the trio, though nothing suggesting this was mentioned in the menu. Having visited this restaurant earlier I knew that the menu options are almost the same except for the hike in rates and the new menu should have been rectified of the errors if they existed. Prateek again came over and informed that the Kulfi can be ordered.

BTW, the desserts were good. We picked up loads of cakes and pastries from the hotel’s coffee shop to satiate our hunger.

Prateek tried to make up by giving discount on the food bill and I wish it had helped. It ruined my 10th anniversary meal and I no more believe the myth about the food and service at star rated hotels being consistent.