Village Restaurant, Ahmedabad

[Rated: 4.0/5]

‘Hum yahan yeh koshish karte hain ki jo bhi yahan aaye, apne bachpan ko yad kare’ (We strive to ensure that whoever comes here, remembers his/her childhood) – says Dheerendra Negi. I cannot agree more. We are sitting on our table, with me doing what I do best with the food laid out before me, and listening to Dheerendra. The place is called The Village, a theme restaurant located inside the Himalaya Mall on the Drive-in Road in Ahmedabad. It is run by Kambala Hospitality, of which Dheerendra is the Operations Manager. He tells me how the idea of a village themed restaurant came up. As per him, every Indian has his roots in a village in some form or the other, so this place will make them remember their old days. And for those who haven’t, this place will tell them how a village looks like.

A four year old establishment, The Village is located on the third floor. As I enter the mall, the left hand corner lift takes me straight to the entrance of The Village. I see a grand entrance, with menu of the day displayed in Hindi and Gujarati outside. A munimji (bookkeeper), with the complete village attire, sits on his gaddi (seat). The system is a per-head charge, and it covers everything inside- from food to entertainment, apart from a few things charged extra.

As Dheerendra takes me inside the restaurant and leads me to a table, I am awestruck with the interiors. No stone has been left unturned in making the atmosphere that of a typical village, from the various traditional designs on the floor to the colourful paper flags (jhandis) on the roof. I am amused with the things written on the walls everywhere. For entertainment, there’s a smorgasbord of choices, ranging from a puppet show, occasional musical chairs and other games (depending on audience); to a DJ playing in a corner, next to an auto-rickshaw mock-up; to a puppet show, which they play when there is adequate audience; to the jyotishi (fortune teller); to the village-style well, where they assemble their welcome drink; to the various hawkers moving around on bicycles peddling their wares that include chai (tea), chaas (buttermilk), farsaan (Gujarati snacks) and even ice-cream! Then there is a mockup of a truck; a scooter with a snacks stall; a ‘Central Jail’- which is actually one of the food stalls made up like a prison cell; a ‘beauty parlour’, where real wigs and other beautification paraphernalia is kept (no beauty treatments here!); a tattoo maker, where a guy sits with his inks and equipment (chargeable); a bangle shop mockup; banyan tree trunk mockups everywhere; the list is long! They even organize games and dancing at times, depending on the number and interests of the patrons.

The food here adds another dimension to the whole experience. It is a vegetarian only restaurant, but the options are aplenty. You can choose from a range of Gujarati farsaans, beverages like chhaas, sugar cane juice and sherbets, chaats; hot and cold street food and Chinese & South Indian cuisine. The main courses include food from Gujarati, Rajasthani, Marvadi, South Indian, Chinese and Punjabi cuisines. There is a little of every region here. Desserts include hot jalebis, kulfis, rasmalai, gulab jamuns, golas, a range of barfis, various kinds of halwas, and so forth. The menu changes every day, and therefore variety in food is expected on every visit.

The welcome drink, which is Aam Ka Panna is served. The shy and sheepishly smiling chef, who hails from Garhwal, joins us. I interject Dheerendra’s monologue with occasional inputs and questions, and wait for my food to arrive. The first to land on the table is a thali with cute looking katoris with small portions (per my request) of all kinds of dishes. There is Baati, floating in immense amounts of ghee; Dal Tadka (tempered Dal); Dal Panchmel (an accompaniment with the Baati, made with 5 kinds of pulses); Marvadi Karhi; Matar Pulao; Mix Vegetables; Paneer Lazeez; Chana Masala; Khichu, a Guajarati dish made of rice flour and tempered with jeera (cumin), spices and chilli. The Karhi is spicier than its Punjabi version, but tastes good. The Dal, Mix Vegetables, Chana and the Matar Pulao- all combine well together, and give a nice variety of flavors. However, the star of this thali is the Paneer Lazeez- mildly spiced and creamy, and the paneer beautifully soft, just the way I like it! The breads include butter roti, lachcha parantha, butter naan, plain kulcha. All of them are nicely crisp and tender when touched, and soft when bitten into.

The second thali makes its way to the table and has Khichdi; Gatte Ki Sabzi and tomato flavored rice papads. The Khichdi contains bits of vegetables, and is moderately spiced. Gatte ki subzi too gets a star, with soft dumplings made of besan (chickpea flour) and a spicy, well balanced curry. I am served small helpings from the Chinese counter- Fried Rice, Noodles and Vegetarian Manchurian, which are nothing much to write home about. As I get up to closely see the ‘Central Jail’, the guy at South Indian stall inside serves me a crisp and light dosa, which I love, but the accompanying sweet sambhar, I do not. There’s also some nice, tangy and spicy Paav-Bhaaji in there.

I then go to the chaat counter, where I am served dahi-puri; bhel-puri and papdi chaat. Different flavors, but mostly the same ingredients in varying quantities. The bhel-puri and papdi-chaat are spicy and tangy, whereas the dahi-puri has mild flavors. The paani-puris are off-balance- the paani containing less of tamarind and more of spices. I come back to the table and am served the desserts, which that day comprise Jalebi; Coconut Ladoos; Moong Daal Sheera and Gulab Jamun. The Jalebis are cooked in Dalda, hence then true flavors are missing; the Gulab Jamuns are overly sweet. Other than that, the rest of the items are fine. And of course, there’s a paan-wala sitting on your way out!

The service is efficient, though you are required to go to the stalls, order to the cooks and pick up your food, but the staff is more than willing to help. The servers are dressed in traditional attire, and try to act likewise.

Another unique feature of The Village is, you pay before you enter, get your hand stamped, and you have a three and a half hour window, where you can go inside, eat, roam around, or even go out of the restaurant and come back before the clock runs out.

The Village is economical and fun. Go here for the whole experience, not just the food. However, the place can get noisy, with the DJ playing, the dance happening and the excited, hungry customers.

Ratings (out of 5):

Food: 3.5 | Ambience: 4.5 | Service: 4.0| Overall: 4.0

Per Head Charge: Lunch (Mon-Fri)- Rs 288; Sat/Sun/Holidays- Rs 404; Dinner- Rs 404 (All inclusive)| Alcohol: No | Credit Card: Yes | Timings: 12 P.M to 3.30 P.M (Lunch); 7 P.M. to 11 P.M. (Dinner)

Address: 3rd Floor, Himalaya Mall, Drive-in Road, Ahmedabad