Gourmet Gurgaon - I

Food is a basic necessity as well as a motivation for most of us. Gurgaon like most cosmopolitan places offers variety of food for its residents and visitors. These are some of the places that I have visited and enjoyed and sometimes not:

1. Rajdhani, MGF Metropolitan Mall: Best Gujarati thali in town. Best way to enjoy this thali is: Get up late on a weekend, have some light breakfast if you must and then be there by 12, eat slowly and enjoy the spectrum of dishes, come back and sleep like a baby. Tell me could you try everything that they had to offer.

2. Rodeos, MGF Metropolitan Mall: Avoidable Mexican food. Ambience is decent but food is pathetic.

3. Bernardos Goan Cuisine, Galleria Market: Probably the only restaurant that serves Goan fish curry. I had a nice eggplant curry with rice. Okish food, no ambience.

4. Coco-Palm, Galleria Market: Authentic south Indian food. I like the appams and vegetable stew a lot.

5. Naivedhyam, Vipul Plaza, Sushant Lok –I: Good South Indian food. Any time you want standard south Indian food, you can walk there for an authentic experience. Basic ambience, standard Udupi restaurant format.

6. Bikanerwala, Sec: 29: The whole gambit for Indian fast food from Chats to Chhole Bhature to South Indian Snacks to Ice Creams along with carries with you Sweets and savories. I wish they could serve things without Paneer or cheese too. You get all the street food here but no matter what you do food can never be as tasty as the one on the street. The over sensitivity to hygiene takes away the essence of the food sometimes. Now what fun it is to make Gol gappas for yourself, they have to come customized into your plate by someone standing there and making it just for you.

7. Park Plaza, Sushant Lok – I: A decent Buffet, but quality of food leaves much to be desired.

8. Nirula's Potpourri, DT Mall: Decent Continental food. To old Delhiwallahs, Nirula’s stands for its Manhattan Mania and for our first taste of burgers and pizzas. This new avatar is making its way but will have to compete with itself.

9. Dineesty, Sushant Lok-I: Good far eastern food, can not say how authentic, but it is different enough to be thought as authentic. I liked the food that I ordered. The quantities they serve are huge, so be careful if you are in a group.

10. Monk, Galaxy Towers, Sec: 15: Eastern cuisine, Love the food and the ambience. An enclosure within an open space gives it a different ambience. For those of you who take beer, the freshly brewed beer should be a good attraction to visit this place.

11. Bistrot at Sarovar Premium, Sec: 29: One of the best buffets in town. The place is still new so you would not find too much crowd here. They have a wide variety of Indian and continental food and the array of desserts is just mouth watering and eye catching. The huge hall gives you a feeling of space and allows you to have your own space. The staff is courteous and professional.

12. Swagath Restaurant, Sec: 29: Go here if you like coastal cuisines of the west coast of India. The ambience is decent, food is ok.

13. Mojos, DT City Center: Gives you the best value for money buffet on weekends. The menu is limited but well balanced and the taste compensates for the lack of choice in items.

14. Fresco, Ambience Mall: For treating yourself to continental food with arrays of choice, go here for a lazy weekend lunch and eat to your heart’s content. I like the casual and colorful ambience of this place along with the choice of food.

15. Aromas of China, Ambience Mall: For a cuisine that is somewhere between the authentic Chinese food and Indian Chinese food, visit this place. The dusky environment takes you away from the noisy environment of the mall.

16. Kobe Sizzlers, Ambience Mall: Bombay’s famous sizzlers in Gurgaon. I like the basic veg sizzler here, and I usually ignore everything else on the menu. Try the pepper sauce with your sizzler.

17. Barbeque Nation, Sushant Lok-I: A perfect place to go during Dilli ki Sardi. Sit next to the in-table barbeque, eat right out of it. There are a wide variety of appetizers or pre-meal snacks. This is the USP of this restaurant followed by a simple buffet meal. Enjoy this place during the winter months when you can eat a lot and can enjoy the warmth of the barbeque.

18. Toninos, M G Road: For the authentic Italian food around Gurgaon. The variety is almost endless, if you are able to taste even half the delicacies, you should feel great. Live music adds zing to the otherwise serene ambience. You can also pick up various food items from the shop outside specially the breads.

19. Drift at Epicenter, Sec: 44: Open ambience, an option to sit in the open and decent food makes this an inviting place. You can catch up the happenings at epicenter and wind it up with a good meal at Drift. Look out for special food festivals they sometimes host.

20. Pind Baluchi, Sec: 29: If someone says I want to have local good in a good restaurant, this is where you need to take them. You can also go there when you are not in a mood to experiment with food and would like to stick to ‘ghar jaisa khana’. Typical Punjabi food, served in traditional wares by staff dressed traditionally.

Of course, there are various Haldiram’s around the city that you can not miss, but I am giving them a miss in this list.

Disclaimer: My experience is limited to the vegetarian food.