From street food vendors to swanky restaurants and cafes, to upbeat lounges and to pre-independence coffee house, Connaught Place or C.P. has been a firm-favourite adda of every food lover, figuratively and literally! Even in the last decade, when there were not many fancy places to go with your folks, C.P. still managed to be on the top of everyone's go-to list. While other parts of the capital were transformed and revamped into mini cosmopolitan metropolises, this part of the city mostly remained unchanged and retained a character and a legacy that defines its identity.
Over the years, many modern and upbeat restaurants and lounges have opened here and one of them is the Lord Of The Drinks by restaurateur Priyank Sukhija. Opened its doors for Dilli-wallahs in the year 2015, the restro-lounge is spread across two floors with huge criss-cross windows overlooking the bustling Connaught Place. The decor hints towards a medieval theme, with dungeon-themed entrance, a staircase bathed in red light and banisters made from chains connected to the wall, lined with suits of armour.
The menu at Lord Of The Drinks is contemporary, showcasing an interesting mix of Italian, Chinese, Continental and North-Indian. Now, the restaurant has upped their game with the introduction of a new Asian cuisine menu, curated by Chef Himmat Rautela. To engage all taste palates, the Chef has brought together continental and Asian platters and introduced them to the casual dining setting of the restaurant. And the new menu looks very impressive, indeed!
Here are the dishes we tried and found impressive:
Cheese & Meat: The first dish that we tried was an assorted appetiser of three cheeses with Parma Ham, Chorizo, Pepperoni Kalamata Olive along with pesto sauce, nuts, crackers and beet. All three decadent cheeses were so fresh and soft that they melted in our mouth. The ones who fancy pork, must try this dish, others may avoid.
Cheese & Meat
Post the 'cheesy affair', we were served three different bruschetta: Truffle Fungi Asparagus - wine-tossed mushrooms with parmesan cheese, topped by parsley olive oil; Roasted Chicken - chicken, sundried tomatoes along with artichoke feta; and Parmesan & Rocket - ricotta cheese topped with rocket walnut and olive oil. All the three bruschetta were quite delectable but Roasted Chicken won our hearts.
Bruschetta (Assorted)
Organic Red Quinoa Beet Feta Salad: A perfect mix of asparagus, pumpkin seed, sundried tomato, avocado, red quinoa and rocket honey mustard. All the ingredients looked fresh and smelled good. The most intriguing ingredient of the salad was red quinoa, which was quite earthy in flavour yet very filling.
Organic Red Quinoa Beets Feta Salad
Other appetisers that we tried were Baked Mushroom - which were stuffed with ricotta and spinach, crisped in oven and then tossed with tomato sauce and basil - and Arancini - rice ball filled with pesto & cheese served with tangy sauce. Arancini well pleased our taste buds - the rice ball had a crispy outer covering with soft and cheesy texture from inside. Brownie points for the pesto sauce!
Baked Mushroom
Arnacini
Next, on our table were two varieties of sushi: California Roll - crab, fish roe, avocado, cucumber and Japanese mayo - and Salmon Roll - salmon, cream cheese, cucumber, chives with teriyaki and sriracha mayo. Both the sushis we tried had quite unique flavours that successfully pleased our palate.
California Roll
Philadelphia Avocado Cucumber Roll
Chicken Teriyaki Bao and Sriracha Bao were among other appetisers that were tried, but failed to build a connection with us. The baos were overstuffed with gravy, which was dripping out of them, left a little mess around our plates.
In the main course, we tried Penne Arrabiata - fresh tomato sauce with garlic, chilli, capers and olive oil - and Pollo Spinach Pizza - fresh spinach, chicken, goat's cheese and tomato sauce topped with mozzarella cheese. As they say "classics can never go wrong" - it was quite apt in this case too. We enjoyed the Arrabiata pasta - cheese and the toppings were fresh and delighted our taste buds.
The bar at Lord Of The Drinks is certainly the pride of place and you will get any drink of your choice here. But, we wish if there were some dessert options on the menu.
In weekdays, the place is a breeding ground for corporates, and in weekends, it is a perfect party destination.
Where: Lord Of The Drinks; G-72, Block G, Connaught Place, New Delhi.
Cost For Two: INR 2,200