Phone: +91 7303811277, +91 9319831277
Address: Le Meridien Hotel, 12th Floor, Sector 26, MG Road, Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Time: 12 Noon – 12:30 AM
Meals for two: Rs. 2,700
Cuisines: European, Continental, Bar Food, Beverages
Facilities: Wheelchair Accessible, Full Bar Available, Nightlife, Valet Parking Available, Indoor Seating, Serves Cocktails, Table booking recommended, Smoking Area, City View, Rooftop, 4/5 Star, Luxury Dining
Together At 12th – Le Meridien, MG Road, Gurgaon: Decor
On the 12th floor of Le Meridien, Gurgaon, literally a few metres into Millennium City from the Mehrauli-Ghitorni side, Together at 12th is an independent restaurant. Its young chefowner has worked at internationally renowned restaurants across the globe and has opened her own space to follow a brave path. The restaurant is on the top floor of the hotel and is modern and well-appointed enough to be used as a party or a meeting space. Light-filled interiors, a bar and a private dining room all have great views of a mostly green Gurgaon. It has to be said that the cocktails here are among the best, most offbeat in the city, thanks to Nitin Tewari, a partner in this venture. I sampled a cocktail based on sarson ka saag which had, in clear liquid, a hint of fenugreek amidst the bucolic flavors of sarson ka saag. Brilliant!
Together At 12th – Le Meridien, MG Road, Gurgaon: Food
Chef Vanshika Bhatia plays with ingredients from around the country, including those seldom seen on mainstream menus, like bamboo, black rice, timur and fiddlehead fern. Pickling and fermenting techniques make their appearance in a number of dishes. Chicken, bamboo, chilli (₹ 575) has the aroma of bamboo in which the bite-sized pieces of chicken are cooked with black rice. Fish of the day, squid, prawn bisque with cauliflower (₹ 875) was a luscious preparation: all the seafood had a pleasant bite and the bisque was mildly tangy but the hint of butter cut it quite successfully. Cured bhetki, sabudana, curry leaf, mustard, ningro pickle (₹ 575) best typifies what young Vanshika’s philosophy is. All the ingredients, eaten together, will remind you of a maach’er jhol without, in the least, looking like one. Only the sabudana was too wishy-washy to have added its trademark chewy texture to the preparation. Fermented tomato, Meghalaya rice risotto, burrata (₹ 675) was notable for the texture of the rice, the way it would be cooked in an Italian household.
Plus & Minus:
As a bar and gracious dining option in Gurgaon, it has few parallels, with surprisingly low prices. Vanshika is still learning her way around a decidedly offbeat path. I predict that she will become a master and a pioneer of this kind of cooking.