Qla, Mehrauli, New Delhi: Finest European Restaurant?

I hate it when people don’t respect each other’s time. Even as a child, I was amongst the first one to reach the school or to a movie hall. The same discipline also reflects in the events held by Gurgaon Food Freak or our sister groups. But it surely isn’t a case at most places still and hence I can understand a 30 minute delay.

Yesterday I was invited for a tasting table at Qla near Qutub Minar. Something has always come between me and Qla since the time it started and I could never make it to that restaurant even when talented Chef Priyam Chatterjee was at the helm. Even yesterday, it was my daughter’s birthday and it looked like I will have to skip Qla once again. However my daughter decided to spend the evening with her friends at the cyber hub and I had time. So beating heavy office hour traffic, I managed to reach Qla 10min late at 7.10 pm instead of the scheduled time of 7pm.

At the entry itself I got to know how ill prepared the team was. Neither were they aware of the tasting table nor were our names on the guest list. In fact, there was no guest list at all. A quick call to the person who invited us and they were quick to apologize. It was already 7.30pm by then. I told them that if they are planning to wait for others to come, I would prefer to leave. People usually come by Indian Stretchable Time. So at 7.45pm I gave an ultimatum that I am leaving and they quickly got us some millet papads with hummus and some olives. At 8pm, I tried to push off (still just a couple had come) and the team told me that our food will be served first and they are on it. Finally the first dish on the table arrived at 8.30pm, full 90 minutes after the scheduled time. Hangry as hell, I doubted if I would be able to enjoy the new winter menu in this frame of mind. However, the food was delicious.

Qla, Mehrauli, New Delhi: Finest European Restaurant?

Like I mentioned earlier, I was eating for the first time at Qla which is a very beautiful open air and covered seating European restaurant in Delhi. The food amazed me no end and if this one meal is what they usually serve, Qla apart from Tres are amongst my favorite European restaurant in Delhi.

We started with smoked salmon amuse bouche with tobiko and pickled fennel served in a paper thin crispy tart. This was followed with the sweetness of sweetcorn in the soup with bits of chicken. Small bites of corn in the soup added to the texture. I loved both the dishes.

Next was prawn ceviche in leche de tigre. For those who are non conversant, Leche de Tigre translates to Tiger Milk but this citrusy marinade has nothing to do with the real milk. This basically has lime juice, ginger, fish stock etc to cure the fish or prawn. I would have liked the prawn to be chopped which would have taken this marinade well but I understand that full prawn looked visually more appealing.

I am okay with John Dory as a fish. In fact, I am kind of indifferent to this fish. However I almost fell in love with it the way it was cooked. Served with onion relish with slight kashundi and herb like sabayon (an egg, wine and sugar based sauce), I was absolutely out of my cringe mood. Such an uplifting dish.

Last two courses were the corn fed chicken with brilliant crispy skin and medium rare cooked lamb loin and served with coffee jus and green mint puree. I was already full by then but couldn’t stop eating.

Lavender panacotta with fermented strawberry puree and chocolate marques filled with raspberry in a gel form marked the end of our fabulous meal.

I am never going to go back to Qla for a tasting table but would love to go back as a paying guest for such a fabulous meal. I met Chef Sriharsha Narra, a very humble guy who isn’t on social media and focuses his time to cook such brilliant food. I wish him all the best. At a time when social media is becoming increasingly important for most chefs, here is one chef who makes sure it is his food that does the talking.