By Abhishikta Mallick
Probably the most awaited restaurant opening in the city this year – yes, Indigo Deli is officially open! The restaurant is located in Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, where Zambar used to be. After calling thrice for a reservation, we finally got a table for dinner, for 6.30pm {that’s how packed they are!}.
The modern dining space is partly partitioned into tea-cup styled booths, with stark wood furnishings. {I miss my table mats, and don’t like a visible trail of bread crumbs on the table, but must keep up with the times!} The illuminated look of the Deli by day gives way to an understated candle-lit setting at night. They also stock a shelf with in-house sauces and fresh breads, all of which are for sale.
The menu is tastefully curated, and after some deliberation, we decided to stick to the Bombay Deli favourites. We ordered the Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich – crusty bread, caramelized onions, and cheesy, saucy beef – it had all the elements of a great sandwich, and came with beautiful potato wedges and a green salad. Next up was the BBQ Pulled Pork Burger, which was slightly on the sweeter side, but had a melt-in-the-mouth quality.
The wafer thin Chorizo and Scamorza {mozzarella-like cheese} Pizza knocked it out of the park for us. If there’s one thing we will be going back for, it shall be this. Top quality toppings, fresh basil, and a barely-there crisp crust – all the stuff that pizza dreams are made of!
They had run out of the famed Dulce de Leche ice cream, so we chose the Crème Brulee flamed with Sambuca for dessert. We were quite disappointed. Not only is the Brulee served warm {probably microwaved}, there is no crack of the caramelized sugar top, nor is there going to be any sambuca flame till they get their liquor license. I was expecting a theatrical flaming dessert, and ended up with warm custard.
On a second occasion, we visited Indigo only for dessert, and were shown to a table after much discussion amongst the staff, despite a half empty restaurant. The Baked Blueberry Cheesecake was crumbly and smooth, with a strong flavour of cream cheese, similar to a baked NY, but with surprise pops of berry, served with a vibrant blueberry compote. We also ordered the warm, gooey Molten Chocolate Cake, whose sugar overkill was redeemed only by the kickass vanilla ice cream.
While the food is undoubtedly very good, the service is sloppy and there were multiple hitches in both our visits. Don’t go with sky high expectations – the Deli isn’t yet equipped to meet them. We’re hoping these creases will be ironed out as the restaurant settles down in its new space.
Notes in our Little Black Book |
Ideal for a casual brunch. The pizzas are outstanding, and sandwich portions are good enough for two. Please ask for Pesto with your bread basket!
Where | Indigo Delicatessen, 3rd Floor, Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj
Contact | 011 33036538 {Call ahead to beat the queue}; Find them on Facebook here
Price | INR 2500 for two
