This is a series about how eating out is, post COVID lockdown – dine in, self pick up, home delivery. Read about the previous dining out experiences after the COVID pandemic lockdown here – amar Jyoti tres spectra threesixtyone Tenali hello panda

In a NUtshell

A beautiful theme restaurant, great place to catch up with friends to chit chat over a good meal, warm staff, Andhra bhawan food seems still more effortless & better.

Address & other details: bagundi

Meal for 2: ₹500 onwards

Cuisine type : vegetarian & non vegetarian

Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has paid for the full Bill & tips also. http://www.yummraj.com does not have even one featured / sponsored reviews. YUMMRAJ believes in going to a restaurant in anonymity, as a normal guest, experience everything & give a honest account of the same to you.

I rate all the food items & then give a final overall rating which is a simple average of the individual item ratings. What the ratings stand for: 5 = Excellent, 4 = Very Good, 3 = Good, 2 = Fair, 1 = Disaster

Short description- in case u r in a hurry

I heard about this restaurant from our fellow blogger & home chef Sneha Lata saikia. Strangely never noticed it while driving past. In BC2020 (b4 COVID), I have probably walked in front of this place, situated in outer circle Connaught Place.

The restaurant had a big wooden door, visually similar to the large doors at the entrances of medieval forts / fortified mansions of that time.

Outside the door there were two posters – one talking about the touch less interaction with customers (using graphic description) & the other said ‘no Zomato gold’ ….. interesting to see that on the facade.

As we entered , we saw a hand sanitizing device with a pedal.

An elderly gentleman took temperature before letting us in. He also Forced us to share our mobile phone number citing ‘government officials come on rounds & ask for it’. Not a good idea – did not find this in other restaurants in delhi that have opened post COVID lockdown.

The interiors are beautiful. There were colorful paintings & carvings on the wall.

The flooring was like in traditional buildings a century back. Beautiful tiles.

Furniture was simple, elegant, wooden.

Visual appeal of the dining hall was enhanced with traditional cooking utensils, wooden cases etc.

As we sat, we noticed a printed scan code on our table. We scanned it with our phone camera & the restaurant menu popped up. There was an option to place order from the same app directly without having to call / talk to the server.

We realized there was a non veg thali in the list & there was a picture too. We clicked on the list but there was no mention of what all was there in the thali. We called our server. He said ‘there is No thali’. We said ‘but on online menu we are seeing the thali’. Our Server did not know that the online & a paper printed menu that he was carrying, are different. He Said ‘oh, did u see thali in online’? Then he said that at present only the items in Physical menu are available. So, in short, this whole effort of the scanning & browsing the online menu was a waste.

Generally when we eat a strong taste/flavor food, we keep a taste changer handy. So we asked our server for Lassi / buttermilk. He said they are not serving such beverages as they are ‘open’!! That was strange as food that they serve is open as well!!! The only option offered was coke can & nothing else. Very wierd. Why not thums up? Fanta? Etc

The receipt folder looked like sponsored by Amex but when I gave an Amex, he said I hv to walk to the counter to punch the pin. Other cards I can do from the seat!!! Wired vs not so wired!!!

Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:

Rarely does a hen get to outwit the goat on the plate – but that’s what happened today. Chicken 65 at @bagundi_delhi turned out to be better than the Mutton dishes we ordered!!

The rockstar Chicken 65 had crunchy Peanuts in it, it had Chopped Ginger that had a bite. Hot flavorful chilles increased the heat quotient. Soft & juicy chicken was very enjoyable. All was just Perfect. The Flavors remained till the last bite. One of the best chicken 65 we have had in years …. Rate it 4.75/5

Mutton fry Had a super Dry gravy. It was Nowhere as rustic or robust as the one in Andhra bhawan of delhi or nagarjuna of bangalore. It was Less hot & less strong a gravy than that of chicken 65. So we had to do with quite a few sips of coke to remove the chicken 65 taste.

The mutton fry was Good on its own. Meat pieces were soft & good to taste. They were however slightly fibrous, owing to, I guess a bigger animal. Flavors of meat was minimal in the gravy but that of spices was enjoyable. Rate it 3.75/5

Mutton biryani Hyderabadi style was good. The rice was long, aromatic, independent strands, soft & enjoyable. The spicing of the rice & level of chillies was good. It was a tad less moist than my memory of good andhra biryani in hyderabad or bangalore. Flavors were good.

The meat was good. Could have been a tad softer. It was Good to taste.

This biryani was a good ‘go to’ for people who are craving / missing out on the original Hyderabadi biryani. If I revisit this restaurant, I would avoid it. Not worth the calories for me. Rate the biryani 3.5/5

Tomato dal pappu was excellent. We finished it till the last drop. Thick, flavorful, honest , simple daal. Enjoyed it with boiled rice. Rate it 4.75/5

Mutton pulusu was suggested by our server. The gravy was directionless & low on flavors. The thick gravy reminded me of the average butter chicken in an average delhi restaurant. It was good to taste though. This dish was the lowest point of our meal. Rate it 3/5

Kesari bhath (dessert made with semolina) was not over flowing with ghee. It had a restrained grace due to its subtle flavors. It was low on sweet yet just right. Overall it was very good. Rate it 4/5

Overall rating of food at bagundi averages out to 3.96/5

End of the meal – feeling like my mouth & tongue was on fire….. as expected after an andhra meal. Wondering if that is why they are situated opposite the fire station:)

Kiddin apart, food was good. Wud go back to try more dishes & the tiffin items some day.

BTW, from google I got to know bagundi means NICE in Telugu language