The Hub: The Connaught, Connaught Place, New Delhi

The Hub, Connaught Place, New Delhi: Revisited [24/03/2023]

The most convenient location for a hotel. It is on street level, and though it is in Connaught Place (the bustling heart of the city) you will only find it if you know where to look: Shivaji Stadium is the landmark: the hotel adjoins it. You can approach it via the lane opposite Bangla Sahib Gurudwara or the radial road soon after the P Block of the Outer Circle. It is a small (for Taj standards) hotel with a bar and all-day diner on the ground floor, with a courtyard for events in pleasant weather in the same area. Inside, the lobby, bar and restaurant all have the same flooring: striking turquoise, black and white patterned tiles that are, rather unusually, the chief design feature of the ground floor. The all-day restaurant leads off from the bar and forms one unit.

Food:

This is a superbly crafted menu that has something for every meal period, including snacks and breakfast, as well as interesting choices for vegetarians and vegans in all the major cuisines. Seafood aficionados are not only spoilt for choice, they will be served perfectly cooked prawns and fish at prices that will not break the bank. Thereis even a chaat section with golgappe, chaat papdi and chole bhature that I mean to try on my next visit. Usually, restaurants cram their menus with dishes that come with stiff prices; small, inexpensive nibbles are seldom included. That’s why this little corner in the heart of the capital has my heart. Atlantic salmon (₹1,350) is my go-to dish here, as there is someone in the kitchen who obviously gets it right every time.

Simply grilled with a medley of roasted vegetables on the side, it never disappoints. My co-diner’s prawns from the plancha (₹1,450) had, true to type, a pleasant char on one side and were cooked perfectly.
There are only too few restaurants in the NCR that understand Indonesian cuisine well and so, nasi goreng (₹1,075) was a large and filling plate, redolent with prawnpaste, grilled chicken on skewers and sweet-sour-spicy sauce that is traditionally served in Indonesia.

Plus & Minus:

The location, Taj brand and unbeatable value add up to an unimaginable combination.