In a nutshell:
Two separate meals on two occasions – memorable. Great attention to detail on food. One of the best in that category in delhi – French cafe food (often better than at 5 star hotels). Candy shop kind of look & feel, highly Instagrammable. Good formal service.
Address & other details: Ladurèe
Meal for 2: ₹1000 onwards
Cuisine type : vegetarian & non vegetarian
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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 first heard of this place from a social media post by Mayank soofi Austen, on his handle thedelhiwalla
Soon after the cafe opened, there were a flood of PR posts – which incidentally happens for most new restaurants/cafés & we always take these PR junk lightly. It’s difficult to understand at that stage as to which is really good or which is mentioned since it is paid.
Slowly we saw posts by some people we trust & decided to drop in.
Laduree started in Paris in 1862 – to set context, it was 5 years after 1857 sepoy mutiny in india. They remained in business just in Paris for more than a century. They started expanding to many parts of the world in last few decades.
The cake shop on the ground floor sells everything sweet. So we climbed up the stairs to the first floor to take a bite of savoury.
The first floor was all dramatically done – bright pink, black, whites etc.
We were shown a table for two next to the window.
Service was efficient & transactional.
Menu card had good description of food.
Loved the food & also the drama arounf the food.
Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:
Most coffee shops/ non specialized restaurants in 5 star hotels in delhi (except a handful) do not serve as good French / European food as Ladurèe. I can bet there would not be five 5 star breakfasts in delhi NCR that do as good eggs.
Needless to say that the likes of the orient express are a class apart & I am not comparing with such specialists.
Day 1
Laduree vol au vent ‘grand tradition’ – puff pastry, chicken breast pearl onion morel mushroom sauce.
Loved the drama of serving the dish. The puff pastry was served initially on a plate. Then out served poured the sauce (with chicken pieces in it) from the top till the pastry almost disappeared visually. See videos in the links below –
The beauty of the dish is the interplay of textures – the crisp layers of puff pastry contrasted the smooth, thick, creamy sauce. The flavours were just too good. Taste was perfect. Rate it 4.5/5
Then we had Plaisir sucre – a cake.
It had a Crispy Dacquoise cake with hazelnuts, praline and milk chocolate.
For the uninitiated, A dacquoise is a cake made with layers of almond and hazelnut meringue and whipped cream or buttercream on a buttery biscuit base.
Loved every bit of this. Intense. Just the right amount of sweet. Beautiful play of textures & the feel of hazelnuts.
Rate it 4.5/5
Macaroon rose looked like a baby girl’s toy – pinky pink, topped with rose & macaroon. Very few drinks in my memory have incorporated the flavour of rose as good. Absolutely loved it. Rate it 4.75/5
Double espresso was perfect. Not rating it though.
Day 2
We decided to have Egg benedict with spinach & ham brioche toast sautéed spinach spicy hollandaise sauce. The sauce was served on the side. The eggs were perfectly done – hard enough to stand on its own, soft enough for the yolk to flow away at the slightest provocation.
The ham on top was just too good. The flavours of meat were intense. Did not feel this flavour in a long time in india. Was remembering my trips to New York.
One of the top 5 eggs benedict in my memory, in delhi NCR. Period. Rate it 4.95/5
Ladurèe omelet with Emmental cheese, turkey ham & mushroom was outstanding as well. The omelette was perfectly cooked – smoothness, shape, texture etc. the softness was just right – softer would have made it difficult to eat with fork, harder would have made it less juicier & more chewy. The filling was lovely. Rate it 4.5/5
Overall rating of food at Ladurèe averages out to 4.6/5
Would surely revisit to try the sandwiches & other interesting desserts, French toast being on our mind already.