QLA is a modern European-style eatery, intimately tucked away behind Qutub Minar located in The Kila. The word Qla is a play on the word ‘Kila’. Fine dine in its offering, with a welcoming courtyard that houses long, informal wooden tables and benches.  that provide a highly convivial and social atmosphere for guests to interact. The interiors are plush and woody.

The restaurant has been trending in social media and I am looking forward to the bloggers table they have invited me for. I walk in and am quite impressed with the interiors. As we are seated soon an amuse bouche tray is brought in. The little palate teasers look good but are not memorable to taste. This in fact is true of most of the dishes served today – excellent plating skills but unimpressive food. What is memorable are the QLA baked breads which clearly showcases their baking prowess.

                                   Qla's Baked breads

Soft cucumber taco with tuna, pimento, fajita seasoning, tomato, lemon (Rs 295) is light and interesting, but the taste suffers a serious setback on account of their using tinned tuna instead of fresh one. Chicken liver weds port wine with hazelnut chicken confit croquettes, tomato jam (Rs 365) is a disappointment because the pate is too dense and a tad too sweet.

         Soft Cucumber Taco                           Chicken Liver weds Port wine

'The star in the vegetarian sake & lemon grass marinade long eggplant with mascarpone thyme polenta, bocconcini (Rs 495) is the creamy and comforting polenta which pairs beautifully with the crisp skin of the eggplant. This is the best dish to be served today.

             Sake & Lemongrass marinade Eggplant

Clear pho broth with broccoli & cheese crystal, tomato & tamarind (Rs 495) does not have the heavenly taste of Vietnamese pho but is pleasant nevertheless. Stilton meets waldorf which has aged stilton, celery heart, chives, apple Tasmanian walnut, lemon oil (Rs 395) is a good salad with the strong taste of stilton pairing beautifully with the creamy apple and mayonnaise salad.

                      Clear Pho                                      Stilton meets Waldorf

I am told that the pizza here has the Neapolitan base which is chewy and also my absolute favourite. However what is served is hard as cardboard and overbaked wood fired pizza with pepperoni (Rs 750), which I do not find too edible.

                         Woodfired Pizza with Pepperoni

In the main course, summer organic vegetable plate with prune, kohlrabi, sweet potato (Rs 395) is a fairly pointless dish with no defining taste. The line caught baby snapper (Rs 1750) served with braised leeks, Paris mash, and lemon caper beurre blanc is better though rather than the crisp bordering on dry fish, I would have preferred a thicker fillet with a flaky interior.

        Summer Organic Vegetable plate             Line caught Baby Snapper

Chef’s sweet sampler - double chocolate flourless cake, Valencia cheese cake, beer sorbet has the chocolate cake which has the consistency of a brownie, standing out.

                              Chef’s Sweet Sampler

Overall, I am rather disappointed by the food here. With a wonderful location attracting just the right kind of diners, QLA has the opportunity to be a leading European fine dining restaurant if the food were to be consistently good.

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: 3.0 | Value: 3.5 | Overall: 3.5

Meal for two: Rs.3000 | Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes | Wheel chair friendly: Yes

Address: 4 A, Next to Qutab Minar, Seven Style Mile, Kalka Das Marg, Kila, Mehrauli, New Delhi. Tel: 011 32318233, +91 8527098766