Please note: This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant 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.

Every so often, Vineet Kochar the head of operations and Ravi Saxena, the corporate chef of Dhaba Estd 1986 leave their many restaurants behind to traverse pind diyan gallian and pick up some good food ideas. They are back after yet another such adventure with some exciting sounding dishes which they invite the Gurgaon Foodie admins to taste. Ever ready for food adventures, we land up at the appointed hour, to be greeted by the two intrepid travelers.

Soon the dishes start rolling in. We make a fruitful start with Tandoori “Fal-Fruit” (Rs 499) which has guava, apples and pineapple marinated with saunth (the sweet chutney that gores into chaat) and spices, skewered in tandoor. This innovative marinade gives the fruits quite an exciting taste. Pathankot Diyan Mashoor Champaa (Rs 539), are Kashmiri tabaq maaz visiting Amritsar.

Nargisi Sheekh (Rs 539) is an interesting format for Scotch eggs where the duet of mutton mince and boiled egg is cooked in tandoor, sliced and served with their famous balti meat's reduced gravy.  

“Kala Sha Sha” Kukkad (Rs 499) has chicken tikka with blackened edible charcoal dust giving it an endearing smoky taste. The only miss is the Barnale Di Rawa Machi, (Rs 539) with semolina coated marinated steaks of kingfish, shallow fried and served with a spicy chutney. Here the steak is too thin for the rawa batter because of which one tastes more rawa and less fish.

Main course starts with Burni Murgh (Rs 499), with marinated chicken joints cooked with pickled spices and mustard oil, served in “burni” (terracotta jar). The dish is piquant and enjoyable. 

The iconic Sarson Da Saag (Rs 399) served with Makki Di Roti, (Rs 99), butter and jaggery is nice and will only get better as we go into the winters.

Methi Matar Malai (Rs 399) has fresh fenugreek leaves and green peas cooked in a creamy cashewnut gravy giving it a fresh vegetal taste. Dhabe Da Khaas Paneer (Rs 449), Sautéed spinach filled paneer rolls simmered in a light tomato creamy gravy is another dish that does not work because of its leathery texture.  

The highlight among the mains however is the delicious Tiffin Meat Kulcha (Rs 579), a spicy Punjabi mutton curry served with kulcha in a two tiered tiffin box.

The dessert menu has a competent Gajar Da Halwa (Rs 249), an innovative Gulukand Kheer (Rs 199), where the kheer is topped with a stewed rose petal marmalade. 

Khubaani Da Meetha (Rs 249) is fascinating, where vanilla ice cream is topped with apricot murabba.

The new menu is expected to be there till February end. Worth checking out!

Ratings (Out of 5)

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

Meal for two: Rs 1500 | Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes | Wheel chair friendly: No

Address: 1st Floor, Cyber Hub, DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon. Tel: +91 8527900779; 0124 4900155