If there’s one thing about Indians, it’s that we’re incredibly filmy. Our idea of love comes from Shah Rukh Khan movies, most of our core memories are tied to soulful Bollywood songs, and our conversations? Never without a peppering of iconic dialogues.
This week, we visited a spot that takes this love to the next level. Panchayat Bar and Restaurant is quirky and loud. We walked past the bar right at the entrance to find ourselves at their cosy outdoor seating section that had a life size mural of Chiranjeevi’s iconic moment from 2002 film Indra.
At the start, we called for the Paan Banaras wala and the Imli bun. While the vodka based Paan Banaras wala was refreshing and mildly sweet, the tequila based Imli bun took it notches higher with bold tart flavours and a salt rim to finish it off.
We paired our drinks with the Cut mirchi, deep-fried to a crisp with a spice mix and garnished with fresh onion and tomatoes. The Mokka jonna gaare — corn fritters were addictive too, and we finished off the platter in minutes.
From the Tandoor menu, we picked the Non-veg platter that had juicy bites of Mutton seekh, Fish and Chicken tikka. Our pick from the platter was the Seekh kebab that featured well-flavoured and juicy meat.
If you’re up for trying something offbeat, we’d recommend the Cinnamon pineapple. Dunked in a delicious cinnamon and spice based sauce, the grilled pineapple chunks had a delicious sweet-tart-spicy profile and smelt perfectly festive, in time for the Christmas season. The Til dahi kebab is another must-try especially if you’d like to keep the spice levels in check.
From the Chinese section, we picked the Majestic chicken that was a creamy take on the classic. If you’re a hard core meat eater, options like Bheja fry, Kamju pitta fry among others could be your pick.
While the spot is perfect for big groups of friends, there’s a quieter space upstairs ideal for families. After a quick tour of the space and noticing our favourite movie stars splattered across vinyl frames, we dug into the main course, which featured Chinese and Indian classics.
For those craving Chinese, look no further than the Burnt garlic chilli noodles with the Kung pao chicken. And for desi food lovers, the Butter chicken and naan is a goated combo that never disappoints, much like your favourite Shah Rukh movie.
Rs 1,100 for two.
At Sainikpuri.
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