Zu Tisch, German Cuisine Comes to Delhi!

 Brushing up my German language of which the basic course I did 3 years back, I knew for a fact that Zu Tisch literally means “To the table”. It is normally used when someone is offered/served a lunch/dinner or breakfast on the table. A german café/restaurant in town literally got me excited.
One for the fact that there was none in Delhi promoting the cuisine and two, because I was excited to eat pretzels after a long time. Having always visited the German café when in Pune and Rishikesh, I was looking forward to eating some delicacies here in Zu tisch and on a Thursday afternoon, we had our date.We had to look around finding our way through the busy lively market to this 2^nd floor destination. At the entrance there was a smiling server distributing small glasses of welcome drinks to guests, which in itself won our points on hospitality considering they have opened just 20 days odd before. The place welcomes you in an old cowboy-style café where you drink your heart out and sit lazing around watching tv or playing a pack of cards. A lot of use of wooden furniture, the seating is quite open and they even have a small flowering balcony outdoor area overlooking the market. Must mention here is their upcoming terrace seating that is under construction, which would make a perfect food-destination in the upcoming season.Beer is the national alcoholic drink of Germans, as we all know, and so having one was a no-doubt. Also sipping the much recommended Berry cocktail (with vodka which I absolutely loved), we enjoyed some garlic Pretzels and relished it with aioli. When asked about the idea behind opening a German café, Mayank Yadav, the owner and a young chilled out dude from lucknow, mentions “We loved the philosophy of Germans – They eat a lot, drink a lot and never bother who’s sitting on the next table to you. Whether you wear a suit or shorts and a tshirt, the café welcomes you and lets you be you”. With this thought in mind, the gang of 5, 4 from IIT, joined hands to open this amazing place with a wide variety of choice of food. Along with the German specialities, they also serve some European food and try to maintain the authencity by growing/making everything inhouse.  And hence I want to specially mention here about the aioli and the tomato basil sauce with a distinct flavor of black pepper which are served as dips alongwith most of the dishes.We went by Mayank’s recommendations and knowing the fact that Germans mostly eat meat and didn’t have too many options for vegetarians, he managed to send me back home with a full stomach, but Maneesh thoroughly enjoyed what was “zu tisch” (served on the table) to him. I was served the Kartoffel salad (traditional potato salad minus the bacon), the Kasestangen (Mozarella crusty triangles) and the spinach and ricotta sausage. The salad was not to my taste palate but I loved the ssausages. But for any vegetarian, I would recommend having the Falafel Solvaki sandwich. Maneesh enjoyed the perfectly cooked traditional Eisbien which is slow roasted lamb shank served on a bed of mashed potato as much as the Cordon Bleu which is pan fried chicken schnitzel. Ignoring the BBQ spare ribs which Maneesh felt was a little over cooked, we both loved their potato wedges which were crispy from outside and soft from inside with a flavor of its own. We didn’t have enough space left to try the burgers and pizzas, and since they don’t have a dessert menu, we did try the red velvet cake that they source from Elma’s bakery in Hauz Khas village. The cake was not at all soft and spongy but too dense.
Overall a good place to spend some time with your friends over drinks, a huge tv screen to catch some sport events (which surprisingly was playing Cartoon Network channel when we were there and we loved it), and some good food, Zu Tisch is here to stay. Alles Gute!!!
Zu Tisch,
2nd floor, M 18, M block market, Greater Kailash (GK) 1
Meal for two : 1200-1500 INR