ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
Zooey: A Culinary Bar : Restaurant Name
Phone: +917064706449, +917064706445
Address: D-26, Shiniwas Puri, Block D, Defence Colony, New Delhi, India
Time: 12:00 Noon – 10:00 AM
Meals for two: Rs. 4,000
Cuisines: Asian, European, Mediterranean, Japanese, Pizza, Desserts
Facilities: Home Delivery, Takeaway Available, Full Bar Available, Rooftop, Table booking recommended, Smoking Area, Indoor Seating, Serves Cocktails
Zooey: A Culinary Bar, Defence Colony, New Delhi
Right on the main road of Defence Colony (D Block) facing Lajpat Nagar and the metro line, what once used to be a sleepy colony for retired army officers is now a glittering row of coffee bars, bridal boutiques, fashion designers’ ateliers, supermarkets and beauty salons, stretching from ‘under the Def Col flyover’ market to the Moolchand flyover. Somewhere in the midst of all this is Zooey, a resto bar that offers hookahs to their patrons who are allowed to smoke away in any part of the restaurant, without restraint. (Do note this, in case you are sensitive to smoke as I am). The place is very skilfully built with darkened windows and an almost black décor to make you feel that it’s the magic hour, no matter that you are visiting, like I did, at lunch time. Upstairs, there’s an open terrace to which I retreated when the hookah smoke overcame me. Highly recommended for the evenings, and after a month, for languid afternoons.
Zooey: A Culinary Bar – Food
My first order was chicken beyti kebab (₹775) that lacked lustre: maybe it was the inadequate description on the menu, but what appeared at the table were five sushi-sized pieces of supposedly charcoal grilled chicken wrapped in a section of pita with house-made tomato sauce and toum: garlic sauce of the Middle East. The flavours had been dumbed down, perhaps because of the mixed clientele, but it was the one disappointment of the meal. The pizza, let it be said, more than made up, being one of the finest, Neapolitan-style pizzas I have tasted outside Naples! I ordered the Pizza Neapolitan (₹825) and plan to re-visit in a day or two just to sample the genius-level pizza again. Even the Sichuan noodles (₹545) were a class act, on a level with a speciality Chinese restaurant, rather than a desi-Chinese pastiche. I had my dessert on the open terrace, to enjoy a chunk of lemon meringue cake (₹795) and an espresso – both well above average.
Plus & Minus:
From my server, Arjun, to the enviable talent in the kitchen, Zooey has good food and music and an enviable vibe. But the hookah smoke needs an urgent solution.
