Khan Market has plenty of breakfast places, yet another one is always welcome. And in true Irani café style, SodaBottleOpenerWala has always had some great all-day dishes like the akuri, eggs Kejriwal and bun maska, that work perfectly for breakfast. So it only made sense for the restaurant to open 9am onwards to serve the 'most important meal of the day', but of course with many more additions in the menu.
While you may be familiar with pancakes, poros are Parsi-style flat omelettes. Here there are six varieties of poros ranging from 100% vegetarian to smoky, herby and angry poro. This last is a spicy one with red chutney, spring onion and bharli mirchi. I had a tough choice between the Goan chorizo poro and the meaty variant. I must say that I was more than satisfied with meaty poro (Rs 225) for its delicious filling of ham bits, pickled onion, gherkin, cheddar and lots of crispy bacon. It came accompanied with some grilled vegetables, mushrooms and hash brown.
Pancakes have been given a healthy twist with the batter being made with ragi and oats instead of the usual all-purpose flour. They come with toppings like Mixed Berries, Cream and Mint; Caramelised Banana & Butterscotch or a very tempting Espresso & Whiskey Cream (Rs 165).I tried the espresso and whiskey cream pancake which lived up to its description.
Additional offerings include sandwiches like Mumbai's popular Raasta sandwich, the all-time favourite egg sandwich and SodaBottleOpenerWala's famous Chicken Bhuna Sandwich made with multi-grain bread. I am told that all the breads are made in the in-house bakery, including the brioche which is made into a delicious French toast. The Navsari-style French toast (Rs 175) comes with cream, raisin and plum compote and the traditional wedding pickle from Navsari from where this dish gets its name. Other offerings from the bakery section are range of breakfast cakes like Wheatgrass and Citrus, Double Chocolate Chip, Multigrain, Semolia and Coconut & Raisin Cake, while you can always get into a comfort zone with the regular mawa cake, Matunga coffee cake and chocolate walnut banana cake.
Yes, you can start your day with the Five Berry Sober Sangria (Rs 165) and a range of fresh juices, fresh fruit smoothies. But if like me you need a coffee fix go for the Nitro Cold Brew (Rs 140). Cold Brew is essentially freshly ground coffee soaked in water for 12-14 hours. You can then infuse various flavours such as star anise and mandarin, lime and cinnamon or hazelnut. Although I couldn't taste the hazelnut in the one that I ordered, I am happy to share that the addition of nitrogen indeed cuts the acidity that one typically finds in a cold brew.
You can even enjoy a longer breakfast with the Beer and Breakfast Combo that comes with unlimited fresh beer.
SodaBottleOpenerWala, 73, Khan Market, New Delhi.
