4 month pop up from November 2021 to February 2022
In a nutshell:
A winter pop by at le Meridien hotel by famous chef talat Mahmood khan, who does mughlai food catering for the high end private parties in delhi.
Meal for 2: ₹1000 onwards
Address & other details: le Meridien gurgaon
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.
YUMMRAJ rates all the food items & then gives 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
We got to know of the festival from the social media post by bunny Suraiya.
The marketing guys of the hotel did a good job in inviting social media influencers (of course, as you now, we do not go to invites) & they also kept the visibility high.
We found bunny’s post very interesting & hence called the hotel & reserved a table.
As we reached, it was a long wait!!!! The operations guys on floor seemed to be disillusioned & disinterested.
There was a Private party happening outdoor. So the only option was to sit & eat mughalai food in the bar!!!! Barbaric, I thought.
Clear lack of alignment between the marketing, sales & operations guys.
Service was Super slow. The servers were not setting expectations of dishes that will take time to serve.
Guy who cleared my plate took away the fork. We asked for another fork. Waited & maybe after 3 minutes got it
The Bar was managed most of the time by one guy. We Kept waving for bill – no response.
He was just too busy.
We Asked few questions about the other dishes – ‘Is the cream used in mutton same as that used in chicken’, ‘How Is the seekh kabab different from chef special seekh kabab’. The Guy did not know the answers. So we Asked him to check & come. It was a Long long wait!!!!
Shocking – the guy finally came back to dining hall & stood in a corner. Did not make eye contact with us & of course did not get back to us on our queries.
I asked ‘will u give finger bowl’? Answer was yes. Then again theory of disappearance – or never appearance!!!!
Pullman hotel was there in the same building long back. Those guys were very good with their service. Am amazed at such rock bottom levels of service.
Throughout the evening the guys gave an impression to the guests at the bar that they were unwanted & they remained fully focussed on the private party.
If that was the case, why take booking in the first place.
The good news is that the food more than made up for this mess & we were super happy while returning.
The menu card was designed very well. It however did not describe the dishes
Food was excellent.
Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:
Gosht seekh kabab – ‘Insanely good’, not smooth but lumpy, Vividly juicy, exuding Strong flavors & taste of good meat. We could feel The Hotness of chillies in aftertaste. There was Creaminess in the bite due to in-house made cream added on top. It was a Mouthful of flavors. Rate it 4.95/5
Macchi sarson tikka was Flaky, Super juicy. The
Primary flavor was that of fish & the secondary flavour was of mustard. The main Ingredient ‘fish’ was being celebrated in this dish, unlike excess orange masala fish tikkas that are available in most places in delhi. The tikka at salaam e dilli had a Slight chilly aftertaste. Overall it had a very Balanced taste. Rate it 4.5/5.
Chicken tikka was Excellent to taste. Must mention the Extreme juiciness & the Creamy feel in the mouth. The cream & masala mix on top was unique & outstanding. Rate it 4.75/5
Khameeri roti was a rockstar. What a flavor. What Softness. Too good. Rate it 4.95/5
Chicken korma – Ghee & masalas were naturally separating in this curry. So we Had to keep mixing them to get the best results. Loved having this dish with roomali roti. Rate it 4.5/5
Mutton nihari was the last dish we tried – the meat was Not as ‘soft & falling off from bones as you pick it up’ compared to nihari at dilli 6. Yet the nihari here was extremely well cooked , soft, yet firm. Very enjoyable. Rate it 4.75/5
For dessert we had shahi tukda. Super creamy, rich, intense reduced milk, texture of bread intact , just the right kind of sweetness overall. One of the best in my memory. Rate it 4.75/5
We were not charged for the dessert on their own, citing challenges faced by us in service levels. We insisted to add it back to the bill but they refused. This act surely does not make up for the irritation. It irritates us more when money is Thrown to buy apology.
Overall rating of food averages out to 4.75/5
A rare rating. A rare outstanding food experience.
Highly RECOMMENDED by YUMMRAJ. Expect service chaos, keep service expectations low & then food will feel even better:)