Baar Baar by Chef Sujan Sarkar is now open at the very posh Khan Market in New Delhi. The long-term pop-up is all set to serve up the same experience it has been dishing out over the last year or so to the people of New York who have lapped up Chef Sujan's approach to modern Indian dining. In fact, it is perhaps for the first time that a stand-alone restaurant is launching in India after having tasted success abroad. In recent times, we have seen the reverse happen more often; an Indian restaurant first gains popularity locally, only to open its doors to customers in another country later.
The last two restaurants by Chef Sujan - Rooh In San Francisco and Baar Baar in NYC - have been doing extremely well, and given that both cities are tough markets for new restaurants to crack, this is quite an achievement. Rooh is a fine dining restaurant and opened first, followed by Baar Baar in New York that offers fine food in a relaxed way.
Khan Market is the latest recipient of Chef Sujan's culinary vision. The restaurant is spread over two levels and offers a wide variety of modern Indian food.
"Indian food is very complex but not complicated. It's free-flowing and draws in a lot of flavour from the cook's own experiences. There can be a set recipe to create a European Hollandaise sauce but not for Butter Chicken. Every restaurant/chef will have their own way. I don't want to change Indian food, or change the flavours. I also don't want to serve home-cooked food. But when I serve Butter Chicken I don't add colour or sugar to it. I draw inspiration from my European and French cuisine experience and add roasted red pepper for colour and sweetness".
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Khan Market is the latest recipient of Chef Sujan Sarkar's culinary vision
A large chunk of the menu here is a made up of hits from Baar Baar, NYC. The rest is done specially for the Delhi market. "I don't want to duplicate everything because then I will not think like a local", says Chef Sujan. He is keen to use locally available, fresh and fine quality ingredients to create food that you can keep coming back to.
Armed with the success of his other restaurants, Chef Sujan seems to be on a path to create yet another signature gastro-bar, one that boasts of fine food, exquisite cocktails amidst a carefully crafted, vibrant ambience.
The pop-up is open for 6 months and is open noon to midnight (12pm to 12am) all days.