Elf Cafe & Bar (Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi) - 4/5 Stars

Why is one compelled to visit a place? For me it usually is when I hear from a lot of friends that this place shouldn't be missed. Elf Cafe Lounge is all I heard from my group of foodie friends before I finally decided to visit the place in the lovely Hauz Khas Village. 

 

As a lot of other people may tell you, Hauz Khas isn't as happening as it used to be, it could either be due to the controversy that caused some places to temporarily shut down. Whatever it was this place isn't the same. There was a time when it used to be bustling with hipsters regardless of the time of the week. Anyhow, Elf Cafe Lounge is certainly a rare gem in the lovely crown that is Hauz Khas Village. 

 

 

This certainly is the most happening place at HKV, the place belongs to Dinesh Arora who is quite well known in the party scene of Delhi. You would know him from the newspapers! He runs other restaurants like Ivory and Wushu. This place is great for parties because it has private lounges and is at least 2000-3000 sq. feet in area. Its multi-cuisine menu consists of tandoori food, American, Spanish, Italian, etc. The restaurant does a good job with most of its dishes because it has well known chefs from around the globe. 

 

 

Elf is a very welcoming and unpretentious place with some really good food, my recommendations are: Dahi Kebab, Chicken Tikka Pizza, Pasta and Brownie Sundae. We happened to try a lot of different things but these were surely my top favourites. 

 

 

What I loved most was the music (sufi, soul, rock, you name it!) and the ambience. It is a perfect date kind of place. I would certainly pick Elf for a fun night out with my partner. I was informed by the server that the place also has an in-house bakery and they do personalised cakes for special occasions. I have only been to Elf once but I know where I'm gonna plan my partner's surprise birthday party.

 

Keep partying! 

Mayank

(Delhi Food Club)

Contact: ms.mayank@gmail.com

NYC Cafe - Radisson review

New York Cafe at Radisson Blu Plaza in Mahipalpur was the perfect lazy Sunday Brunch experience for me. The brunch starts at 12:30 pm and goes on until 3:00 pm, which is perfect for me and my friends because we love having a relaxed conversation over good food.

We are taken around the place by the Manager at New York Cafe. It really was a museum of food. At first I was quite overwhelmed by the choices but shortly the foodie in me took over and I got to work.

Gin based cocktails go really well with paneer pakoras and politics related conversations. Gazpacho followed after the pakoras and acted as the perfect palette cleanser. Chicken Liver Gateaux and white wine were delightful together. 

We were served a lot of different kind of cheeses. My favourite was Edam. You have to give blue cheese a shot but remember only to have a minuscule bite with your cracker. It can be too strong for some people.

Our individual portions of Prawn Cocktail were served to us at the table with Cilantro and young onions. The prawn was the best I have had in a very long time. IN fact I also went ahead and had the grilled prawns and they were sublime as well - 5/5.

The Hummus with extra olive oil and freshly made pita bread was a delight too. The Mezze was beautifully presented and tasted really good - a big thumbs up.

There were a million things to try on the day and most of them were great to look and taste. The desserts were the best course of the entire buffet. Firstly the spread was amazing. From Rajbhog to pannacota, from sugar free kalakand to pumpkin pie, it was a delight. All of the desserts were top of the line and special recommendations will be the Rajbhog and the pumpkin pie. There was also a chocolate fountain to keep the kids and the kids inside adults interested.

Overall the NYC cafe brunch is a must try with the combination of a lavish spread, fantastic dishes and exemplary service. The price is quite reasonable for the variety you get - give it a try.

Cafe Wanderlust and Shivangi Reviews (www.shivangireviews.com) Blogger's Meet 2014

This is not my first review of Cafe Wanderlust. I am a regular. I love the place. I am hooked on to its bohemian ways. I had the opportunity to go to Cafe Wanderlust again on a Sunday.

The event was a colab Food Blogger's Meet, organised by Cafe Wanderlust and Team Shivangi Reviews. I have been to a lot of food bloggers events before but this was different for so many reasons. 

Disha, who runs the place is quite the talked. She has a lot of interesting incidents, anecdotes and stories to share. All of us bloggers were not bored for a minute. One interesting incident after the other, one story after the other. Conversation kept flowing over huge glasses of Thandai, Adrak Chai, Kachoris, Samosa Chaat, Thekua (a Bihari deep fried dough ball), pastries, etc.

What I personally love about this cafe is how quirky it is. I can sit here for hours, having my Adrak chai and fave music on loop and never wanna leave. I like how the owner takes good care of her guests and ensures everyone is comfortable. I like how this little cafe is a family affair because all of us get tired of pretentiously self-important and pompous places to eat. I am tired of waiting for my partner to dress up to look great because most of the places we dine at require us to look a certain way. I like going casual from time to time and I pick Cafe Wanderlust to unwind. 

Cafe Wanderlust served us excellent Gol Gappas. I am a big fan of chaat and I enjoyed the Samosa Chaat with sprinkles of imli chutney very much. What my tongue still cannot forget is the lovely flavour of the kachoris. They were perfectly crips or khasta and tasted really good. One of the best kachoris I've had in Gurgaon. 

We were served a savoury mushroom crepe. Everyone at the table was amazed how the small Cafe Wanderlust kitchen is milting out all different kinds of things to eat. We loved the creamy mushroom crepes. Crepes are my favourite and I especially enjoyed these crepes very much. Highly Recommended.

Another great combo, that should not be missed is the Bombay Vada Pao. Now I really have not had the Bombay Vada Pao but everyone at the table who had said that this was as close as it could get to the actual vada pao - 9/10. It was also incredible to see that most of the bloggers at the table were hardcore non-vegetarians and Cafe Wanderlust is a vegetarian cafe but none of them missed the vegetarian food at all. Kudos to the chef, who is also the owner's mother.

The Veg Croque Monsieur, the vegetarian version of the grilled ham and cheese sandwich was quite good, this is the food that dreams are made of. There is cheese inside, there is cheese outside, it is cheesy and delicious. 

The Vegetarian Burger resembled a huge American Hamburger that we all couldn't finish by ourselves. We had to share. It was now time for the desserts. We were all eagerly awaiting the final course because after eating what felt like a zillion savoury items, we will in the mood for something sweet.

The Laung Lata was the best out of all the desserts and there was a plate full of different kinds of desserts. Laung Lata is a deep fried dessert with Khoya, Sugar, Refined flour, Cloves, Cardamom, etc. Must Have!

It was a Sunday well spent and I cannot wait to go back the the lovely Cafe again very soon. 

Email: ms.mayank@gmail.com

Photo Credit: Peeyoosh Kaushik Photography

Event Courtesy: Cafe Wanderlust and Team Shivangi Reviews