I’m sure most of the people would know by now that Indian Accent has shifted to The Lodhi, New Delhi from its previous location in Friends Colony. An additional feature here is that Indian Accent has started a thirty-seat open kitchen pop up restaurant on its first level called Upstairs at Indian Accent.
For January 2018, Upstairs has Chef Claude Bosi in attendance. Chef Bosi, whose restaurant, Hibiscus in London, holds 2 Michelin stars, recently took over the historic Bibendum restaurant at Michelin House which also achieved 2 Michelin stars within just a few months of opening. Claude Bosi’s creative flourishes to classic French cooking have earned him his place among the greatest chefs in the UK today. At Upstairs, he is putting together on your plate classic French techniques blended in delicately with some Indian flavours.
A few days ago, I had the privilege of being invited to a nine course wine paired dinner by the restaurant. My friend and I are hard-core non-vegetarians and were both reluctant to try the vegetarian chef’s tasting menu. So we requested the server to check if we could taste the veg main course dishes also. The Chef made it easy for us by turning down our request but later decided to serve us one of the veg dishes.
Let’s get to the food….
Amuse Bouche was Gougeres, a baked savory choux pastry made of choux dough and cheese. The chef had added his touch by adding pureed caramelised onions to it. I enjoyed these mini fresh from the oven choux and was looking forward to my evening ahead.
Mushroom custard, coconut and curry was like a coarsely ground, creamy mushroom pate topped with a little sweet coconut foam and sprinkled with a hint of curry powder on top. I loved this creamy heavenly delight and would have loved a bigger serve.
Warm beetroot terrine, feta cheese and passion fruit was a beetroot terrine topped with a thin French puff pastry dusted with beetroot powder to camouflage it and dotted with tangy passion fruit, creamy beetroot puree and some pickled root vegetables thrown in to add texture and flavour. I loved all the things on the plate which complimented each other – the sweet beetroot, salty feta, tangy passion fruit, crunchy pickled root vegetables and crisp French pastry.
Kanyakumari crab, apple and nimbu lemon was a delicate tantalisation of the taste buds with sweet crabmeat doused with a green apple sauce with just a hint of lemon, herbs and edible flowers in it. Each bite subtly crowned the crabmeat.
River Sole a la Grenobloise is sole fish served with a French classic sauce named after a city in southern France (Grenoble) made of browned butter, capers, parsley and pieces of lemon. The chef had added mini bread croutons and fish broth foam along with coriander. It did not do much for us and could have been better.
Goat, black lentils, coconut and coriander was sous vide lamb with minced bacon and fat and – hold your horses – paired with our very own maa ki dal which I’m guessing came from Manish Mehrotra’s kitchen. It was an outstanding dish. Who would have thought that Punjab would meet France on a plate so beautifully?
Mango and black sesame pre-dessert was an alphonso mango coulis complimented by a bed of nutty black sesame paste and black sesame shards.
Chocolate tart, vanilla ice cream was the most amazing chocolate tart with a 70 % cocoa dark chocolate lava filling and topped with a fresh creamy vanilla ice cream (could still see the residue from the vanilla pods). This was simply death by chocolate.
One will definitely miss Chef Manish Mehrotra’s warm hospitality where he keeps checking in with you and send in unlimited portions till you say no. Here the portions are fixed and the chef does come but right at the end of the meal. Though this meal was supposed to have nine courses, we were served only seven courses.
As an aside, this would be an absolute treat for Keto diet lovers as there was no carbs (which I missed). Nevertheless, it’s a great way to enjoy world cuisine right in the heart of Delhi and at a fraction of the cost one would shell out abroad. The best part right now is that there are no long queues to wade your way through, so perfect time to head there. Cannot help but mention the impeccable service from the time you enter till you depart leaving you with a very good taste in your mouth. While I was hobbling my way up the long flight of stairs, a female server came to help me and insisted on carrying my purse till she seated me.
Head there for the awesome experience and to enjoy the marriage between Indian and French cuisine.
Ratings (Out of 5)
Food: 4.0 | Ambience: 4.0 | Service: 5 | Overall: 4.5
Meal for Two: Rs 6000 ++ | Wheel Chair Friendly: No | Credit Card: Yes | Alcohol: Yes
Address: The Lodhi, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 | Reservations; +919871117968 / +911166175151
Disclaimer: This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. Due judgement and care has been applied by the author to remain objective and unbiased in the review, but readers need to consider this review keeping this fact in mind.
