Hi foodies, today I’ll be doing a food review of a popular multicuisine restaurant opposite FRI, Chakarata Road. They are well known for their aesthetic, village-themed ambiance, portion size & well-curated menu.
Come, let’s take a closer look!
Location
01 Raj Vihar, Chakrata Rd, opposite FRI, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248001
Finding a good parking spot should not be an issue here as the café has a relatively big enough parking space allocated to it for both two-wheelers and four-wheelers alike.
The café predictably gets most of its customers in the evenings and on weekends, and tends to get quite crowded in the process, hence finding a good parking space might become a bit of a hassle, so it’ll be better to reach early or make prior reservations.
Service Options
Dine-in – Takeaway – Delivery
Timings
Mon–Sun: 9:30 AM – 11:00 PM
Cuisines Offered
Café, North Indian, Continental, Mughlai, Fast-food, Dessert & Beverages.
Average Cost For 2 (Exclusive of Taxes & Other Charges)
Rs. 800/- approx.
Zomato Rating
Website
Menu
Ambience
The ambiance of the restaurant was quite eye-catching and aesthetic in design, and the overall premises of the restaurant looked extremely well-maintained and hygienic.
The restaurant had gone for a more unique-looking, village-type theme, and personally, I felt they had done a fabulous job in integrating it into the overall design of their restaurant with the help of stylish elements that stayed true to their theme like aesthetic lighting options, all-wooden seating arrangements, a themed bar area, etc., which not only massively helped in giving the restaurant an inviting appeal, but also a beautifully distinct, rustic vibe.
Quality Of Food (Taste, Service & Presentation)
The service of the restaurant was quick and efficient. All the dishes that I had ordered were presented beautifully and prepared in quick time.
Although all the service staff members were not in any designated uniform as such, they nonetheless were super warm and courteous towards me and were also on hand to answer any of my numerous queries regarding the dishes and the menu.
Dishes Ordered
From their beverages section, I ordered one of their most popular cold coffee variation, the Mocha Frappe.
For starters, I ordered one of their best-selling non-veg starters, the Chicken 65.
For my main course, I ordered one of their famous pasta dishes, the Spaghetti Pesto Mushroom.
Mocha Frappe
The mocha frappe was served chilled, full to the brim in a tall glass, which also had some food art drawn on it as well with the help of some dark coffee syrup. A paper straw was provided with it too, for the convenience of the guests.
The mocha frappe was rich and creamy in texture and tasted great. They used a premium variety of coffee syrup to make this beverage as one could clearly get the beautiful taste of strong dark coffee in every sip, thereby giving the cold coffee a truly distinct, slightly bitter yet delectable flavor. Furthermore, the coffee syrup used to make the food art wasn’t only for decorative value, as when mixed in with the cold coffee, it further enhanced the already intense taste of dark coffee in the beverage.
In terms of sweetness, I found it to be on the minimal side, which I personally liked a lot, as I felt the reduced sweetness helped highlight the flavor of the dark coffee very well. If you are someone who prefers their beverages to have strong flavors with mild sweetness, this cold coffee is a great choice for you. On the other hand, for customers who prefer the beverages to be on the sweeter side, my recommendation would be to go for one of their more conventional variations, as the intense flavors of this particular cold coffee might just be too strong for your liking.
Chicken 65
Next up came one of their best-selling non-veg starters, the Chicken 65.
The chicken 65 was served in a stylish, black-colored, wok-like container, garnished with a modest quantity of fresh coriander leaves, and looked extremely vibrant and appetizing. To help complement the dish well, a classic, green mint and curd chutney was provided too, served in a small ceramic bowl and placed at the center of the plate, right in between the chicken pieces.
Starting with the chicken pieces themselves, they were super crunchy from the outside and extremely juicy and moist from the insides, were jam-packed with lots of tangy flavors, and tasted absolutely sublime.
The chicken pieces had been marinated in a subtle yet aromatic marinade containing lots of daily used spices like red chilli powder, cumin powder, garam masala, dried red chillies, curry leaves, etc., to give them a slightly spicy, tangy flavor. The pieces were then coated with a thin layer of corn flour and deep fried to perfection in such a way that not only did they develop a truly sumptuous, wafer-thin, crispy coating on the outsides, but the pieces had also managed to retain their juiciness very well, thereby giving them a delectable, melt-in-mouth texture.
Although the chicken pieces were the star of the dish, the curry leaves and the dry red chillies played a big part in giving the dish its signature taste, as the curry leaves gave off a fresher coastal flavor to the dish, whereas the dry red chillies added some much-need heat to it.
Coming to the accompaniment served with the dish, the green, mint, and curd chutney. The chutney was prepared to be slightly runny in consistency, had quite a creamy texture and one could clearly get the taste of fresh mint leaves in it. It is a highly popular variety of chutney which is usually seen served with mostly tandoori items, but it once again proved how versatile it is, as it acted as a great accompaniment to go with the chicken 65 here as well, as the creamy, minty taste of the green chutney complemented the slightly spicy, intense taste of the crunchy, flavorful chicken pieces very well.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed their version of this popular South Indian snack and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a flavorful non-veg starter to try from their menu.
Spaghetti Pesto Mushroom
And finally, I was served one of their famous pasta dishes, the spaghetti pesto mushroom.
The spaghetti pesto mushroom was served in a white-colored, ceramic pasta bowl, garnished with a modest quantity of coriander leaves and parmesan cheese, along with some segments of black olives and half a cherry tomato too.
Furthermore, to help complement it better, 2 slices of flavored toasted bread were served alongside the pasta dish as well.
The spaghetti pesto mushroom was rich and creamy in texture and had a delectable flavor of fresh pesto and mushrooms running through it beautifully, which gave the dish a truly lip-smackingly delicious taste.
Before I review the spaghetti itself, I just wanted to bring to your notice that I was given a choice between spaghetti or penne for this dish and I opted to go with the spaghetti. If you prefer penne pasta, do let the servers know and they’ll get your dish prepared according to your preference.
Starting with the spaghetti, it was cooked to perfection in such a way that even though it was completely cooked through, it was still quite firm in texture and had a slight bite to it, comfortably holding its shape and not coming across as mushy at all.
Moving on to pesto sauce, they had prepared the sauce to be quite rich and creamy in texture while still having all the earthy goodness of the mushrooms. The creaminess came from the white cheese sauce they had mixed in with the pesto, whereas the richness came from the generous quantity of premium olive oil they had used to dress it. Although the taste of the pesto sauce was great, they had unfortunately not specified in the menu which variety of pesto sauce it was, but one could clearly taste the subtle flavors of basil well enough to assume that they had gone for a basil flavored pesto for this dish.
To further enhance the taste of the pesto sauce, they added a few continental herbs to it like oregano and thyme, as well as some pizza seasonings, to help give the overall taste of the dish a slightly tangy flavor.
Coming to the mushrooms, they had used button mushrooms in this version of the dish, which was a nice touch, as the button mushrooms added a nice, earthy taste to the overall taste of the dish. Just like the pasta, the mushrooms were cooked to perfection in such a way that although they were completely cooked through, they too were able to hold their shape very well without being mushy. Moreover, the mushrooms had developed a more melt-in-mouth, soft texture, and had successfully managed to absorb all the delicious flavors of the basil-infused pesto sauce extremely well.
Lastly coming to the 2 slices of toasted bread provided as accompaniments to go with the pasta dish; the bread slices had been lightly toasted on both sides and then flavored with an aromatic garlic-infused butter sauce which gave the slices a wonderful garlicky flavor. To further add to their taste, a generous topping of pizza seasonings was sprinkled on them too. Although they weren’t much, they certainly added some texture to the dish as well as enabled me to polish off all the delicious leftover creamy pesto sauce from the plate.
I’ve had my fair share of great pasta dishes over the years and I feel this dish is right up there with some of the very best. A highly recommended dish from my side.
[More to follow…]
To Eat or Not?
To Eat, absolutely.
With its aesthetic, village-themed rustic ambiance with a modern twist, absolutely delicious food, courteous service & a well-curated menu, this restaurant is right up there with some of the very best food outlets the city has to offer today and is a must-visit for anyone looking to enjoy a wide selection of dishes from varied cuisines with your loved ones and don’t mind paying a premium for each of their dishes in the process as well.
Although the overall restaurant looked to be in great condition, I would however like to see them trying to improve the overall upkeep of the dining area a bit more, as I found a few elements like some worn-out chair upholstery and a few fused bulbs which sadly dampened the mood of the place slightly.
In terms of the food, I thoroughly enjoyed the intense, robust flavors of the chicken 65, and was mightily impressed by the deceptively simple yet extremely flavorful spaghetti pesto mushroom too, which will surely go down as my dish of the day.
Overall, I had an immensely enjoyable experience visiting this very popular restaurant and I can’t wait to go back and try a few more delectable dishes from their well-curated menu.
It comes as no surprise to see them quickly become one of the best go-to places on this side of the city for people of all ages and I don’t see a reason why they can’t keep growing for years to come, as long as they are able to maintain the lofty standards they are currently operating at.
Food Critic Anmol Rating
Ambience
Quality Of Food
Value For Money
And that’s it, folks! Thanks for reading and I’ll see you again later with another amazing food review tailored just for you! If you have any feedback or suggestions regarding this review, feel free to mention them in the comments section below!
Take care & Happy eating!