Spanish Sin

The name is evidently non-Indian and arouses instant curiosity. Nestled in Sector 9's bustling banking zone, San Churro is a new chocolateria in the city with Spanish origins. The fact that it is housed in the same block as The Chocolate Room — an eatery offering a chocolate-inspired menu and lots of chocolates — shows that Chandigarh loves to indulge, and this sector could just be the place to do it.

The San Churro outlet (brought to the city by entrepreneur Garry Sawhney) is very spacious (82 cover) and the interiors are wooden, warm and inviting. Styled like a café — with seating on one side and bakery-style counters on another — the menu offers chocolates, fondue, shakes and coffee, reminiscent of Spanish chocolaterias that are more like social places where friends and family gather to enjoy fresh Churros dipped in a cup of thick molten hot chocolate. The Churros, a new arrival in the city, is what we were keen to try. A kind of Spanish doughnut — though it looks anything like a traditional doughnut, as it's not round but long, stick-like — it's made from dough and deep fried in olive oil. The long sticks are savoury on their own, but, paired with molten chocolate, they make for an unusual snack and are not really a dessert.

More than the Churros (Rs 175), which are fine to try once, we relished the line-up of chocolates. What works wonderfully well in San Churro's favour is the fact that the chocolates come in nice bite-size pieces, priced Rs 65 onwards. We tried lemon tart, strawberry and dark chocolate and felt pleased with the results — good after taste, not overly sweet. It's nice to know that San Churro uses only couverture chocolate, which means it's high in cocoa solids and rich in cocoa butter, with no use of vegetable oil or other substitutes.

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