ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
Address: DLF Star Mall, Sector 30, Block A, Sector 30, Gurgaon, Haryana 122002
Time: 12.30 pm – 3.30 pm and 7.30 pm – 11.30 pm
Meals for two: Rs. 1,600
Cuisines: North Indian, Mughlai
Facilities: Home Delivery, Wheelchair Accessible, Wifi
www.zaffranrestaurants.com
Established in 2002 ZAFFRAN offers the choicest of North Indian cuisine in a contemporary decor. It has been one of New Delhi’s most acclaimed and popular fine dining restaurants.
ZAFFRAN is present in Delhi at Greater Kailash -1 and Connaught Place as well as in Gurgaon and Goa.
It’s part of a tiny chain, only four branches old so far, that serves good, old-fashioned Punjabi food with old world service and nary a concession to new-fangled concepts.
Decor
On the ground floor of an as yet empty mall, the best part of Zaffran is that you can drive up to the door. The interiors are neutral, there’s an open kitchen and the service is strictly of the old fashioned kind. The proprietors are always on hand, the servers remember your children’s names and your food preference after the second visit.
Food
Sindhi Mutton Biryani (₹ 375) is the one standout dish on the menu. Made with a stock that has enough to differentiate it from the other versions of biryani that every menu in the city has, it is flavourful and moist enough to be had on its own, without raita. Murgh malai tikka (₹ 295) is the standard variation that you’ll find in every north Indian restaurant in the NCR, without, however, the punch of processed cheese that I personally find a turn-off. But that’s Zaffran for you: many of their dishes are nothing but old style favourites, done to perfection. They don’t make statements; they don’t stand out, but they’re there in the background.
There are two schools of thought on vegetarian food. One is to spend as little time and ingredients on it, making it as bland and boring as possible. The other is the Zaffran way: to make it as seasoned and spiced as its meaty counterpart. From my own standpoint, I see much merit in the second view. So, expectedly, I enjoyed the crunchy texture of the amchur flavoured karari bhindi (₹ 195) that was fried to a crisp, as well as the dal tadka (₹ 175) that had about as much spicing as a dal makhni would have.
Plus & Minus
On the plus side, it is a huge relief to sit down and know exactly what you are going to get. No nerve-grating nouvelle touches or fusions between disconsonant ingredients. On the minus side, and this is hardly the fault of the restaurant, the rather badly maintained washrooms are some distance away.
