In a nutshell: Directionally & conceptually good eatery that serves South Indian food way beyond the ubiquitous Idly, dosa. The restaurant serves good but not great food (with a few exceptions) & lacks quite a bit on the people’s front. Address & other details: Zambar Meal for 2: Rs. 1200 onwards Cuisine type : Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ … Continue reading Zambar (3rd Floor, Ambience Mall, Gurgaon, also opening soon at DLF Cyber Hub)
I was told about Raja Café’s impressive Culinary heritage & we liked food that they served – Inspite of a decline from the time it was a ‘Legendary Restaurant’. It is surely not the best in its category in the current day but surely worth a visit.
the entrance
Meal for 2: Rs. 600 onwards
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
I had heard a lot about this place from friends who had visited Khajuraho before – ( 8 – 10 yrs back). As I started chatting with people in Khajuraho, many mentioned the Legend of Raja Café – started by a European couple & used be be a superb place to eat & hang out….in those days. I was also told that it was much better earlier than today.
I was pleasantly surprised as I entered the place. Very nice & casual décor – options to sit outside as well as inside the a/c dining hall. There are two entrance gates on two sides & they r beautifully done. The ‘sit outside’ section has beautiful Garden chairs & the area was dimly lit. The ‘sit inside’ area was brightly lit – good for me coz better lighting means better food snaps. Before coming to this place I thought it wud b plastic chairs & tables like Mediterraneo & other eateries in Khajuraho but it turned out to be pleasantly different.
A view of Raja cafe from outside the gate – open seating section in the front & indoor seating in the background
The staff member who served us was good, quite prompt & served us with a smiling face. He handled our queries (about the menu) well. I wud say that he was as good as one cud get in this part of country.
They had quite a huge menu card – ‘Fresh from our Bakery’ section starts with apple pie, croissants, muffins, lemon tart, Brownie etc. drinks like different kinds of coffee including the likes of cappuccino hazelnut, different kinds of tea, many options of shakes, vegetarian & non vegetarian club sandwiches, the usual list of beverages, Indian, Continental & English breakfast, omelets of diff kind – European & indian, Chinese soups & main course, a huge section of continental – 16 to 18 dishes & a list of North Indian approximate 10 vegetarian & 10 nonvegetarian options. In Tandoori section they had approximately 12 diff tikkas, nans & kababs. Apart from this they offered 4 kinds of south indian dosas. For desserts one cud choose from a long list of pancakes, waffles, banana flambé & banana fritters. They also had Indian Fixed menu & the most interesting named item – ‘European thali’ (grilled mixed veg, pasta with tomato sauce, rice pudding, mashed potato)
the menu card
The large menu was very balanced menu with almost equal number of vegetarian & nonvegetarian food on offer in each section.
Food was good but not outstanding. Good place to spend some time & eat some good food when in Khajuraho – Food at Mediterraneo was far better.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
I just hope someone opens an eatery in Gurgaon that serves such good food as Madras Coffee House, Khajuraho.
the facade of Madras Coffee House
Meal for 2: Rs. 120 onwards
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
If u talk location in Khajuraho, nothing can get better than this – situated bang Opposite the Ticket counter of the most popular Western Group of temples. In other words, the place where this restaurant is located is like ‘the Times Square of Khajuraho’.
Outstanding masala dosa @ Madras Coffee House Khajuraho
The owner & his family stay in the same premises – in rooms besides the Dining Hall. I had a brief chat with him post I praised the taste of the food here. He said he came from Southern part of India in the 1950s, briefly ran a shop in Malviya Nagar Delhi & then moved to Khajuraho & has stayed back ever since.
The facade has not been painted quite long & the interiors are also as basic as it can get – but neat & clean.
The interiors of the restaurant – Madras Coffee House Khajuraho
The traditional food is awesome & I found it better than most Delhi & Gurgaon Restaurants. They also serve fusion food like Cheese Dosa, cheese utthapam etc , which seems to be very popular with the European tourists.
In fact, they also serve non South Indian Food like different kinds of Omelet, scrambled eggs, poached eggs, different kinds of pancakes, porridge, sandwiches, thali, South Indian curries, North Indian curries & even egg Biryani, veg chowmein & egg chowmein!!!!
utthapam @ Madras Coffee House Khajuraho
We stuck to basic South Indian food & it was awesome.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy readin:
Simple interiors, fast service & good South Indian Nonvegetarian food
the simple but well maintained interiors of Amravathi
Meal for 2: Rs. 250 onwards
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
the logo
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
The restaurant is located inside Hotel Southern & as the name suggest, this place seemed to be occupied only by people from the Southern states of India. The hustle – bustle of this place is seldom seen in any Hotel in Gurgaon. The restaurant has nice, neat & clean, basic interiors that is surely less spacious as compared to the number of people frequenting this place – resulting in queues. Unlike the excellent managed ‘token number’ based queue at Andhra bhawan, the queue here was managed just about OK. At times it felt that the guy who came in later wud get a seat earlier. Like at Andhra Bhawan, no one here gets a table just to themselves. The table needs to be shared with unknown guests. e.g. if u r 2 of u , u will have to share a table of 4 with another 2 people, if u r 3 people, the 4th seat will b oupied by a stranger….
South Indian Mutton curry
The service, as I mentioned earlier is fast. The people here were quite knowledgeable & answered almost all queries satisfactorily.
South Indian Chilli chicken at Amravathi
The menu card surely surprised us – we had expected pure South Indian Nonvegetarian but were surprised to find North Indian dishes as well. The menu card looked good & had a collage of food pics at the bottom. We stuck to South Indian food only, as per plan.
The food was good but non of them except the prawn were ‘wow, this is outstanding’. We tried 4 dishes – an Andhra style fish fry, a chicken of the day – chilli chicken kuttu (that is what I think I heard on the third attempt), mutton of the day – Kerala style mutton & a prawns masala.
menu card at Amravathi
If u r just nonveg hungry & are already around Central Delhi & do not really care for AC or ambience, Chandni chowk / Ashok & Ashok is a better deal for nonveg food. However, if u want specifically South Indian nonveg, this is a good choice.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
