ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
Address: B-105, First Floor, Ansal Plaza Mall, Khel Gaon Marg, New Delhi India
Time: 11:30 AM to 11:30 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 2,000
Cuisines: Awadhi, Kashmiri, Modern Indian, Iranian
Facilities: No Alcohol Available, Kid Friendly, Free Wifi, Smoking Area
ORZA, Khel Gaon Marg, New Delhi: DECOR
After you have seen a couple of restaurants, you realize that there really is such a thing as a cookie cutter and many of them are mere carbon copies of each other. You will not get that impression in Orza. The first floor eatery is eggshell blue in colour, down to the plates, accommodates 30-something people and the bar and partially open kitchen are the focal points. During the day, it is awash in sunlight, the music is played at an enjoyable level and the service is polite and helpful but not persistent. The menu travels between Lucknow and Kashmir as well as Iran. My understanding is that it is supposed to cater to a wide audience rather than be a faithful representation of the exact tastes of the three cuisines. That is how it worked, at any rate, except for one notable exception: the rista.
ORZA, Khel Gaon Marg, New Delhi: FOOD
The very first dish I ordered was the most evocative: zeytoon parvardeh (Rs. 239) was a tian of chopped green olives, chopped mint leaves, deep red pomegranate pearls and bits of walnuts. I loved that all the ingredients had been chopped to the same size and care was taken to use only deep ruby pomegranates. The silly little lavash sticks were not a convenient way of scooping up the ingredients effectively, but the play of flavors was irresistible. Pomegranate chicken was the disappointment of the meal. Coated with breadcrumbs and fried a la minute is what gave it a stale odor and the pomegranate coulis on the plate may have helped if there was more of it. Apple curry (Rs. 319) had a pleasant tang and the gravy was lightly scented with asafoetida which made it a most unusual combination. Khoresht gharch (Rs. 339) is a great dish for a single diner. Mixed mushrooms are cooked in a mild, creamy gravy and served atop a timbale of mildly flavored rice.
ORZA, Khel Gaon Marg, New Delhi: PLUS AND MINUS
Of course, these are introductory prices: they are low enough to be unreal. If the word ‘rista’ is supplanted with ‘kofta’, it would be perfect, for the meat-balls are light years from the pride of Kashmiri wazwan – ristas, that have to be pounded with a hammer on a stone and not minced to qualify for that description.
