A Meal Done Well

Espresso Grill makes the perfect name for the new Connaught Place eatery with its plethora of grills and coffees.

Situated in the fascinating building that is the multilevel parking lot called Capitol Point on Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Espresso Grill lulls you into a pleasant somnolence the moment you walk in through its street-facing glass doors. Perhaps it's the seating done in comfortable shades of brown, or the lounge music playing in the background accompanied by the soft hypnotic chinks and scraping noises coming from the open kitchen, or just the view of the quiet, tree-lined avenue outside — something makes you want to while away a few hours in the restaurant.

The menu is cosmopolitan, an array of flavours and influences from different parts of the world — from Continental Europe to the Americas and the Orient. After much contemplation, we decide to start with the Platter of Prawn Thermidor served with New Potatoes, Sour Cream and Bacon Bits and the Assiette of Chicken Liver Pate, Espresso and Fig Jelly and Homemade Melba Toast.

Though it's a while coming, upon its arrival, the food proves an arresting sight. The styling is excellent, making for an extremely visually stimulating plate. The food itself is superlative. The prawn is delicious and buttery, with the crunchy bacon bits and sour-creamed potatoes proving an excellent vehicle to accompany the nigh-sinful seafood. The pate would be equally blasphemous to the calorie-conscious, and the jelly, in particular, provided a tantalising contrast to it, leading us to empty our plate of its last crumb.

For our mains, we go with Grilled Fillet Steak Au Poivre 'Bourguinon', garnish of Sauteed Pearl Onions, Paris Mushrooms and Bacon, served with Polenta Fries, which we ask to be done 'medium rare'. The food again takes its time to come, which is all for the good, as this gives us a brief respite from eating. When the fillet arrives — pre-sliced and lavished with onions, mushrooms and bacon — we find it's slightly varied in the degree of doneness. However, this counts for nought once we start eating, and the beef, pork, onions and mushrooms march down our gullets in a parade of flavours. The rest of the meal proceeds without conversation as our companion and we ignore each other (and unfortunately the polenta fries), intent on seeing exactly how much steak we can hold without bursting.

... contd.

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