There are those who get into restaurants as a means for business and there are those who are passionate about feeding people. Secondly, I also feel great chefs have to be great cooks first. And thirdly, For any restaurant to survive i think understanding the local market is extremely important because thats where your regular business will come from. Jasneet Sahni and his brother, in their young years seems to have gotten all of these things right.
With the success of Lanterns the brothers were ready to take on a new challenge and because they understand this market they decided to keep their new venture Pikkle very close to Lanterns. They identified a gap in the offerings in the area and decided to bring an upscale mixed cuisine restaurant to west Delhi.
After seeing the attention they have received on social media we decided to go there this week for our JAM Session on Tuesday and see for ourselves what the fuss was about. We knew the food was going to be great and wanted to see the execution and the space.
Right from the part when we walked through the arched path to reach the elevator it felt premium and upmarket. This feeling only grew as we stepped out of the elevator into a beautifully setup space with a Panda in a mech suit welcoming us. Ok it was just a specially commissioned sculpture but it was cute and quirky at the same time. Its a large place with space for almost 200 people and a pretty large outdoor covered verandah as well. There is a small stage for live performances, something they are known for at Lanterns too.
Its always great meeting the super affable and super humble Jasneet who explained how they painstakingly put this project together. Its great to see the kind of insight and straight focus he has about his business and I think even veterans can learn a lot from him.
They have a pretty wide selection of dishes and we started with the Asian fare. There was a lovely chowder like corn soup that had a hint of chilli and a surprise element, popcorn. This added a nice unusual texture to the great tasting soup. We had a variety of Maki Sushi and dimsums. Speaking for myself, I thought the rolls were a little busy with too manny elements. The dimsums were good, the Prawn Sui Mai in particular was excellent.
The delightful food symphony really reached its crescendo once the dishes from their modern Indian menu started to arrive. There was a delectable Mutton Keema Rezala and hard to find items like the Safed Haleem which we enjoyed with super soft buns. Its this good that really hits the high note for us and was our favourite part of the meal.
Sadly, we were not able to take advantage of the large bar being a dry day. They are working on ageing and infusions of various spirits apart from the basic drinks, the pricing of which is very attractive.
So, PIKKLE got JAMMED and JAM got PIKKLED and we had so much fun that our lunch stretched to almost 5 hours JAM would love to get PIKKLED again, soon. If in the area, this is a great place for a meal and we will certainly be back. There are many other things on the menu that we just have to try.
Comments