Amour Bistro, Malcha Marg, Delhi: Europe on a Plate

 

A cousin of the Amour Patio Restaurant in Hauz Khas Village, Amour Bistro has recently opened up at the posh, expat-dense Malcha Marg market, right next to Fujiya, the veteran eatery in the area. Chef Jiten Singh and his kitchen team have prepared a Mediterranean Bistro menu which the Chef calls “authentic European”.

The interiors have a pronounced rustic tone, European furniture, and a musical trio of street style artists along with an installation of antique chandeliers at a height. With oodles of natural light pouring in, it’s a place where one can spend as much time as one’s derriere can manage on the not so comfortable chairs.

I am here with a vegetarian friend for a tasting session hosted by Chef Jiten Singh. To ensure the readers do not clutter your mind with too many dishes, let me share the experience in two different sections – the first one covering the dishes that were truly wonderful, and the second one with the also rans.

On top of my list of favourites, and the absolute hero of the tasting session is sea scallops (Rs 545), which has perfectly cooked curry infused butter roast scallops, sweet chilly jam, and young cheddar cheese toast. The composition is a perfect harmony of flavours and textures. The sweet, plump and juicy scallops go perfectly with the tart sweet chilly jam and the crisp cheesy toastlets. It is my wow moment of the day.

It is not easy to find good French onion soup in NCR but the one here (Rs 245) is an exception, being both authentic and delicious. Vegetraian dolmathes (Rs 345) are tomato seasoned rice rolled vine leaves, with Greek curd dressing, and caramelised orange. For a change this Greek classic is served warm and cheesy, and is a delight to eat. Beets, Orange and Goat Cheese salad (Rs 345) with roasted beet, orange segment combined with assorted greens, French goat cheese, and raspberry vinaigrette is a wonderful summery salad.

Herb Roast Prawn (Rs 695) has juicy Tuscan herb roast black tiger prawn, red wine butter, and country mustard tossed gnocchi. The prawns again are beautifully cooked and so is the mustard gnocchi.

Now to the other, also ran dishes. Fennel, plum tomato and mustard cabbage broth (Rs 245) lacks depth and is ordinary. Esotiche Pizza (Rs 645) has marinara sauce, mix of mozzarella and smoked scamorza, broccoli florets, green asparagus, and feta dressed lettuce. While the pizza has a good wood fired base, the broccoli is not fresh, making it go dry and compromise the pizza significantly.

Mille Fuille, Smoked Scamorza Greens Gratin (Rs 495) a vegetarian dish with broccoli, asparagus, green peas, green onion  tossed with roast cumin and Spanish paprika, smoked scamorza gratinated; celery, pumpkin and buttermilk velouté, and drizzled with pesto oil is a classic case of recipe overload. The rich mille fuille with pumpkin and topped with pesto oil makes for an oily, heavy bite.  Pulled Pork Meat Shawarma (Rs 375) has spice marinated pulled pork meat combined with, red onion, tomato, gherkin, and jalapeno in a pita pocket. However the pulled pork has no texture and is more like a mash making it a not very alluring dish. The blueberry cheesecake (Rs 295) is ordinary.

The fact that the restaurant is full at 2 pm on a weekday bears testimony to the popularity of Amour Bistro. The place has good vibes and great food. I will be back!

Restaurant Ratings (out of 5):

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

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

Address: 10/48, Malcha Marg Shopping Complex, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi

| Telephone: +91 98108 77553|