Farzi Cafe at UB City is a favourite hangout of those to whom food matters as much as drinks. The restobar, owned by Zorawar Kalra, one of the judges of MasterChef India, offers a tantalising array of pub food ranging from meatballs to crunchy salads. The lotus salad, made with fried lotus stem, papaya, raw mango and cucumber, with a generous sprinkling of masala peanuts, and sweet and sour sauce, can make your day a little brighter. “It goes well with wine and fruity martinis,” says Sombir Choudhary, outlet chef, Farzi Cafe Bengaluru. “We make chips out of the lotus stem. They give a crunchy texture to the sweet and sour salad.”
Mango Magic
Why limit pub food to fries? Indian pubs are coming up with interesting culinary innovations to cater to those who expect pub food of a high standard. Some of the most popular bar snacks at Farzi Cafe are traditional food reinvented. “We’ve farzified and reinvented bhel puri and vada pav into trendy pub food. Our vada pav has the pav stuffed inside the vada,” says Choudhary with a smile. “Another interesting addition to our pub food menu is Andhra chilly chicken converted into patti samosa. We’ve paired it with a Sulaimani tea-flavoured chutney. They make a great combo.”
Even the tiny tacos bring in a whiff of freshness. “The traditional Mexican dish gets a new avatar as we cook lamb cubes with Indian spices,” says Choudhary. He adds that people are loving such twists and tweaks. “You won’t be able to find these in a fine dining restaurant,” says Kuldeep Rawat, sous chef at Farzi Cafe. “The pub food menu now looks very exciting when compared to what was on offer five years ago. It has evolved a lot over the years. Molecular gastronomy has now become a huge fad in metro cities. But, I believe old school pub food is going to make a comeback in the next decade.”
Gripped by mango mania, Farzi Cafe offers spicy chicken balls stuffed with raw mango and cheddar cheese, and topped with potato papad. Tossed in a gravy of chicken stock and raw mango pulp, these crunchy balls turn out to be one of the most delightful reincarnations of mango.
The restaurant has a wide range of mango-flavoured cocktails. Try Mango Magic, a blend of vodka, mango jelly and basil. Mangomocha, a harmonious combination of rum with mango pulp and coffee, is very refreshing. Farzi Cafe has a microbrewery, too, which allows you to choose from 16 types of beer. The restaurant has outlets in Dubai, Gurgaon, Delhi, Pune and Mumbai.
Farzi in Urdu means ‘creating an illusion’. Nikhil Madhavan, a student of chartered accountancy, says everything about this restaurant is magical. “I’ve never been in a place like this before,” he gushes. “Pub chefs seem to have a free hand when it comes to mixing cuisines into one dish. The way they mix and match different cuisines like palak paneer quesadilla, chicken changezi and margarita kulcha is simply amazing.” Before having the food, Madhavan spends some time admiring the crockery. “The wooden platter for the shawarma biryani, the paper bag for prawn koliwada and the truck for the fried chicken... It all takes you to a fantasy world,” he says.
