This is my first visit to Epicuria, the swank foodie destination bang under the Nehru Place station. I have come here on the invitation of Fio cookhouse and bar. It is definitely not the Nehru Place I have been expecting. The difference between this area, and the computer and pirated software hawking small dingy shops that Nehru Place is associated with, is stark.
F
io is situated right at the entrance of Epicuria. The green-heavy entrance and outdoor space gives Fio a rather open feel. The dark wood furniture and the natural lighting further add to the spacious feel. The restaurant is set up in two sections – a lounge and bar area that has a different feel to the formal-seating restaurant section. I am greeted by Fio’s Executive Chef Ravindra Choudhary, and their PR Manager Shagun Batheja. Post pleasantries, I get down to the serious business of choosing what to taste.
I decide to start on a light note with the vegetarian cook house salad (Rs.545). The salad has iceberg lettuce, rocket leaves (there will be a lot of rocket leaves throughout the meal as I am soon to discover), goat cheese, snow peas, green apple, grape fruit, corn kernels and a fig dressing. The salad is well balanced with layers of taste, though the dressing can have a bit more zing to it. I am intrigued by the combination of smoked salmon and camembert cheese on a pizza, and so this is what I decide to try next. The combination works very well on the thin-crust smoked salmon, camembert, chives pizza (Rs.845), making it a very harmonious bite, with the smoky undertones of the salmon and the camembert coming together beautifully on a thin crisp crust, topped with rocket leaves.
Next I try olive crusted rawas (Rs.895). Rawas or Indian salmon is one of my favourite fish, and so far I have not seen it being served anywhere in Delhi NCR. Here it has been coated with olive tapenade, grilled, topped with rocket leaves and served on a bed of couscous salad. The fish has a melt-in-mouth texture and an addictive taste of the sea. The couscous salad is great too, in fact a dish by itself, mixed with chopped aubergine, olives, and parsley.
T
he seared tenderloin with chimichuri (Rs.895) again impresses. It is a near perfect dish. Even though buff is being used, the quality is top notch, the cooking is a perfect medium rare, chimichuri is excitingly familiar to an Indian palate, and the bacon with jus is amazing. The dish is topped with…yes, you guessed it right, rocket leaves. This time around, I remove the rocket leaves and proceed to enjoy my perfectly cooked steak with its amazing sauce and liberally lather it with the jus.
Fio makes its pasta fresh for every order. I choose an unusual pasta, cappelletti in carbonara sauce (Rs.645). /- Cappelleti is a pasta in the form of little peaked hats, and goes well with the creamy carbonara sauce.
A perfect end to the lunch is the fresh baked 15-minute-cake (Rs.445). It smells heavenly, has a crisp exterior and a rich buttery interior. A great treat indeed.
The food at Fio is very good. In fact it is rare when one has a perfect meal, where, apart from going easy with the rocket leaves, I would not want to change anything. Do check it out when at Nehru Place.
Ratings out of 5
Food: 4.0 | Ambiance: 4.5 | Service: 4.5 |Overall: 4.5
Meal for Two: Rs 3500 | Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes| Timing: 11 AM to 12:30 AM| Address: Nehru Place Metro Station, Delhi |Phone: 011 26281026, +91 9899228666
