Taco Bell is now the world’s largest Tex Mex fast food chain, and it is about to open at Cyberhub in Gurgaon.  I got an opportunity to preview their menu at their newly opened outlet at Epicuria Nehru Place.

One can notice a conscious attempt to move away from a fast food QSR kind of format to a café based setting here. Edgy new interior, retro dining chairs with benches made from reclaimed mango wood, interesting alcoholic drinks, and a customizable menu made to order are some of the new features. But given that you still have to order and pay in advance at a counter, and the forks and spoons are still in plastic, in reality one could call it somewhere between a fast food and a café format.

The menu includes customizable tacos, burritos, quesadillas and chalupas. The bar menu includes cold beer, twisted freeze – a unique offering with choice of rum, vodka and tequila in a frozen margarita format, and hard shakes like  boozy vanilla ice-cream shakes with Jack Daniels, Jägermeister and Vodka Kahlua.

As I sit down to start my tasting session I am rather disappointed that the choice offered here is chicken, paneer or veggies, representing a dated American understanding of Indian palate, simplifying it in their mind as chicken plus paneer plus veggies plus spices. While it may work for McDonald’s (to be fair they have a fish burger and a sausage mcmuffin), in this case it ignores the character of Mexican cuisine where fish and red meats play an important role.

With me not being fond of chicken, I decide to stick to the veggie part of the menu. I start with a refreshing watermelon vodka twisted freeze (Rs 327) that I love. Loaded Nachos (Rs 275) topped with cheese sauce, pinto beans, fresh salsa and a dollop of sour cream are competent but not excellent.

    Watermelon Vodka Twisted Freeze                    Loaded Nachos

Taco with Pinto beans (Rs75) with a soft taco shell is as good as a rajma roll can get, with the star being the soft roti (taco shell).

                                          Taco with Pinto beans

Quesadilla with cheese (Rs 129) is my favourite in this meal. It is a soft tortilla loaded with two blend cheese, and their signature sauces and baked with a second tortilla to make it the best cheese paratha I have had to date (ok, it is also my first cheese paratha). The accompanying Corn Salad (Rs 65) is enjoyable.

        Quesadilla with cheese                                      Corn Salad

Mexican Fries (Rs 65) are masala maar ke fries, topped with cheese sauce, fresh salsa & a dollop of sour cream. They are quite addictive. Chalupa with Mexican paneer (Rs 105) is supposed to be crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside loaded with a filling of Mexican Paneer, some sauces, fresh lettuce & salsa. The contrast in textures however is not apparent, and paneer just cannot get Mexican enough - an avoidable dish.

                                      Chalupa with Mexican paneer

Naked Burrito (Rs 215) is a burrito without a wrap. It has layers of Mexican rice, pinto beans, iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, fajita veggies, sour cream, freshly cut salsa, sliced jalapenos, guacamole topped with hot chipotle sauce. Essentially it is rajma chawal with a lot of salad on top, and can make for a meal for a change.

               Naked Burrito                                                 Sauces

For desserts, I try out Hard Shakes - JD Maple whisky (Rs 599) having Jack Daniel whiskey with ice-cream and maple syrup, made into a shake and is a good indulgence. Chocolate Caramel Tostadas & Vanilla Ice Cream (Rs 129) with crispy crunchy tostada chips loaded with chocolate & caramel sauce and a dollop of vanilla ice cream, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, however is average to taste.

       JD Maple Whisky Shake                      Chocolate Caramel Tostadas

On my way out of Taco Bell, I ask myself what dishes I enjoyed. Thinking back, the frozen margarita, soft taco with beans, and above all cheese quesadilla are the ones I enjoyed. But will I come here and choose a vegetarian menu just because I do not have a choice? Of that I am not sure.

Please note: This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant to taste their food, and no bill was presented to the author. While the author assures you of objectivity, the review may be influenced by the personalized attention the author got.

Ratings (Out of 5)

Food: 3.5 | Ambience: 4.0 | Service: 4.0 | Value: 4.0 | Overall: 4.0

Meal for two: Rs.1000 | Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes | Wheel chair friendly: Yes

Address Epicuria Food Mall, Nehru Place, New Delhi. Tel: 011 30806488