The hills are alive at Sakley’s Mountain Cafe, Greater Kailash, Delhi

Sakley’s, The Mountain Café was started in 1944 by Swiss chef Sakley Salecheli in Nanital and now opens its fourth outlet in M block market Greater Kailash Part 1 in New Delhi, after having started one in Gurgaon and London. I have been invited for a tasting session by the owner and chef brothers Amit and Arjun Rekhi.

We reach the bustling M Block market and enter Sakley’s to find a beautiful oasis of space and calm. The décor here comprises of stone and brick walls, a ceiling made of chopped wood, and a floor embedded with pine cones. It has big French windows, tables made from tree stumps. The rustic reindeer welcome sign, the black and white photographs and the collection of novels scattered on each table promise us the look and feel of the mountains from the moment we enter.

The menu comprises of Italian and contemporary cuisine dishes. The tasting started with a Root Beer and a Mango lime ice tea (Rs 185). While the former is out of the bottle, the latter sounds more interesting than it tastes as it is a bit too sweet for our liking. We decide to have the Bear Mountain creamy mushroom soup with crumbled bacon (Rs 265), which is wholesome and delicious. The consistency and the creaminess are just right with the bacon complemented the spring onion and mushrooms well.

For the main course we have the popular Antler’s nest lamb burger with Worcester sauce (Rs 480). The burger would have reached perfection had it not been for the bun that goes soggy and disintegrates in our hands. The lamb patty is juicy and well seasoned and is polished off without the bun. Next comes the Hunter’s barn pork sausage pizza with crispy bacon (Rs 465) which looks like a pork lover’s delight but is a bit of a disappointment as the crust is thin and crisp but the sausage has a lingering processed taste on the tongue.

How can we leave out seafood from our tasting? So we decide to taste the grilled sole fish with lemon butter sauce (Rs 505). What stands out is the salad which is fresh and dressed well. The fish itself is somewhat dry and overcooked. The lemon butter sauce is a bit too heavy on the palate and masks the taste of the dish.

The crowning glory are the Mount Everest honey glazed pork chops (Rs 480) which are cooked just right, and have a nice taste profile. The chops are again accompanied by a salad and mash. We finish off with Sakley’s famous chocolate éclairs (Rs 140) whose portion size is as large as it’s following. We wash it down with a Norwegian Woods Cappuccino (Rs 145) which is a lovely combination. The éclair is soft and creamy and just melts in the mouth. Amit Rekhi informs us that the éclairs is a hot seller and is one of the most popular dishes in Nainital too. We are not surprised.

Sakley’s Mountain Cafe is a charming restaurant. The food needs a bit of fine tuning, but with the operation just about

one month old, I am sure in no time Chef Amit Rekhi will have it fixed. What is definitely recommended are the ambience and service.

With inputs from Pavleen Gujral Chandhok

Restaurant Ratings (out of 5):

Food: 3.5 | Ambience: 4.5 | Service: 4.0 | Overall: 4.0

Meal for two: Rs. 1200 | Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes | Home Delivery: No

Address: M 23, M Block Market, Greater Kailash (GK) 1, New Delhi | Telephone: +91 9873160659|