United Westend invite really excited us, as we had heard that this restaurant is one of the oldest in the area ( the Manager told us it was opened in 2001 ). A visit to restaurants that have survived all the thick’s and thins for over a decade really lifts up your expectations. The exteriors really looked like a fine-dining two floor restaurant, but when we went inside the place throwed a little claustrophobic feel with tables stacked close to each other, dim lighting adding to it.
The wooden decor gave a more closed enclosure, but the open bar was inviting. Small screen LCD’s running Sports channel, Office goer’s hurriedly dropping in for lunch and ordering by the server’s recommendation and girlies enjoying their brunch and chitchatting over Pasta livened up the otherwise dull looking place.
We were told that the Interiors were changed 2 times since the opening of the restaurant, and the current one has been maintained from last 3 years, though a new make-over is on it’s way. Similar way, when we showed our dislike over the extra-long menu card, we were told that a new menu card is being designed and should be out soon! Yes, You get all the cuisines here. Since it’s an all day restaurant, they even have a variety of coffee, tea, burgers and sandwiches. Since we got confused about what to order looking at the huge variety of dishes, we asked for the Chef’s recommendations and we were not disappointed.
An enthusiastic, young and very interesting Chef Sonu Chandra has a food background in family. His Father works for the Taj Air caterers, and his Uncle is the head chef at The Ashoka Hotel for tandoor section. Mentioning that he tries different cuisines and tandoor dishes at home, with tips from his family, he left no stone unturned to serve us finger licking Indian starters.
It rained kebabs on our table!!! The Murg Mirchi Kebab ( Grilled Chicken pieces with coriander –green chilli paste and lemon) and The Patiala Bhatti Murg ( with the special Bhatti Masala which the chef said is his “secret recipe masala” ) was no doubt delicious but the Amritsari Macchi ( Deep fried Fish Fillet with red chilli, lemon juice and garam masala dipped in gram flour paste) got us dribbling. To add to it, the ever famous chicken tikka was soft and perfect too.
The Hara Bhara kebab and Dahi kebab was good(though the outer covering of the kebab dusted with suji dominated the taste), but the Mewe and Mawe ke kebab really stole our heart. Something new, the addition of khoya and dry fruits to vegetables made the kebab soft and tasted great with our extra creamy almond and broccoli soup.
In the mains, we tried the Paneer Shashlik. Giving it an Indian tadka, this one was with brown barbeque sauce and served with rice. For a change of our taste buds, we even loved the Amritsari Kulcha ( though the salt was a little extra) served with Chole. The Lahori Meat was true to it’s name. Boneless Mutton cooked with roasted chana daal and whole spices truly brought soul to the recipe.
And as they say in an Irish Proverb, “Laughter is brightest where food is best”, it held true when the desserts were brought on our table. We asked for Tiramisu ( mentioned in the menu card) which was not available, but we won’t complain as we were served with the Fabulous ( And Huge!) Kala Jam with Lachha Rabdi. The warm chocolate Sin Cake was super soft, fresh and tasted great with vanilla ice cream.
Overall, we had a good experience when it came to food. The service was quick and the servers really efficient. The only drawback is, it would burn a huge hole in your pocket. Yes, it’s pricey but totally worth for the food and service.
Where :
United Westends
Address : 29, Central Market, Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi
Phone no : 011 – 33036150
Meal for two – INR 1800-2000.
You can find them on facebook here.
