Cafe Yell, Defence Colony, New Delhi: Tailored Food

Cafe Yell at the Defence Colony Market in New Delhi is a fairly new entrant in the world of cafes. The first thing that arose by curiosity is its name. Then I walk into the cafe where the interiors are interestingly done up using tailoring tools like huge colorful buttons as decoratives on one wall and paper patterns for garments hanging on another. A complete panel with resham (silk) thread reels in all colors make the exit of the place look vibrant. A wooden branch has garment measuring tapes hung on it like a snake hanging from the tree. By now my thoughts have moved from why the name Cafe Yell to what is the connection between the cafe and interiors done up in various materials used for clothing. My question about the connection remains unanswered only for the moment.

As the afternoon progresses I accidentally bumped into the owner of the cafe, Mr Gupta, and finally all my questions are answered. Yell is the brand name of their contemporary club wear. They have been in the clothing line for almost 18 years with the flagship store being in the basement of the same building as the cafe.  When Mr Gupta decided on opening a cafe the brand name of their club wear line became the most obvious choice and hence came Cafe Yell. He also mentioned that as a vegetarian there were limited options of eating out for him. So he first started a Rajasthani cuisine restaurant, Katputli, and later came up with Cafe Yell that caters to his guest request for options in non vegetarian too. This 30-seater cafe was fully occupied on a weekday lunch and speaks positively of the place.

To start with, my friend and I order a Yell Cold Coffee and a Strawberry shake. Being a cold coffee lover I know from the first sip that it is well made and has the right balance of everything. In my experience not many places can serve a half decent cold coffee…. so it’s a good start to the meal.

Summers see most of us enjoying salads and we decide to order Yell Insalate which consists of roundels of watermelon, rocket leaves in red wine honey vinaigrette topped with walnuts. The salad was nice except that there could have been less rocket leaves in it. Right proportions make for a better balance.

Fried Calamari was next on our order. We thoroughly enjoyed eating the crispy squid rings served with harissa mayo. The squid was perfectly tender with a nice light crispy batter. We cleaned up the plate to the last piece. If you enjoy eating squid don’t miss this when you visit.

A good filling sandwich is almost like having a complete meal if eating alone. Our choice of sandwich is Succoso roast chicken sandwich that consists of roasted country chicken, tomato, cucumber and egg. Something don’t require much thinking and the first bite of the sandwich appeals to my taste buds. The bread is excellent and the ingredients well done and balanced. This sandwich was my favourite part of the meal.

Since we are at Cafe Yell how can we not have a Yell Meal. We opt for Laal Maas a meat curry which is a Rajasthani speciality for which the main ingredient is fiery hot mathania chilli. Traditionally laal maas is eaten with bajra or missi roti or combined with rice. Here it is served with malabar parantha ( an unusual combination) and a small portion of rice. The curry is tasty but not as spicy as Laal Maas normally is, perhaps to cater to the masses with less spicy palate.

Overall we had a nice experience in terms of food, ambience, service and conversation. When people pursue anything with passion the result is always good. It does not matter if you are from the clothing line and get into the restaurant industry. If you do your home work well and personally involve yourself into understanding of details the result would be like what we experienced here.

Food never goes out of fashion and fashion is always in fashion and when food and fashion meet we see a place like Cafe Yell.

Ratings (Out of 5) 

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

Meal for two: Rs 1000 | Wheel Chair Friendly: No | Credit Card: Yes | Alcohol: No

Address: Cafe Yell, 35, Ground Floor, Defence Colony Market, Defence Colony , New Delhi

Disclaimer: This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. Due judgement and care has been applied by the author to remain objective and unbiased in the review, but readers need to consider this review keeping this fact in mind.