This new Chennai spot blends North Indian flavours with global twists

The culinary scene in Chennai is great, but more culinary gems are always welcome. Up North is the latest entrant in the North Indian food scenario, with a signature restaurant opening at the terrace of the Pullman hotel, which has just been launched here. The insides of the restaurant have been done in a neo-modernist way, with warm colours and a latticed frame theme throughout. Stepped seating on both sides gives a feel of spaciousness and warm cubbys give a sense of intimacy, along with the diffused lighting.

We started off with in-house Sangrias, very well-made punches with lots of oranges and other fruits, that did not make it too sweet. Cold and refreshingly perfect for a hot summer day. The first item in our food menu was the mutton shorba. A nice soup in itself, the broth did taste quite good, though we did not find much traces of mutton. This was followed by Malai Lukhmi, little pastry filos filled with cheese. The crispy outer shell tasted good in combination with the soft cheese inside, giving a very harmonious feel to the palate. A Burrata chaat, though unconventional, delighted with its unusual combination of the creamy cheese with lotus papdi, tomato relish and tamarind jam – indeed a feast for the senses.

The Lamb Galouti was just perfect. Finely minced mutton, in combination with saffron and rose water gave a lovely meaty taste while the ulta tawa parantha provided a fine, firm backdrop to these melt-in-the-mouth treats. At this point we tried the Aam picante, a combination of raw mango with tequila. This is again a very refreshing cocktail, perfect for nice summer evenings. The garnish of red chilli on the side of the glasses gives a nice spicy touch. Our next drink was a Gulabo martini, which can be ordered with or without egg. This uses Roohafza with vodka, a nice combination on its own.

The main course that followed was surely the highlight of the evening.The aptly named Up North Nalligosht was a finely cooked mutton curry with a smooth, creamy curry and meat that was literally falling off the bone. Even the marrow inside tasted awesome and combined with laccha parantha and chilli garlic naan was a match made in heaven. Our taste buds had never been treated to a mutton curry this fine in a long time. We also had a Lehsuni jhinga masala, a garlicky prawn curry that too excelled in itself – though the mutton curry was in a league by itself.

Honourable mentions would go to the dal makhani and the Pindi Chole, which tasted good as well. But what is a good meal without dessert, and the Old Delhi kulfi was really nice, with lovely chopped nuts. Another nice dessert was the Mango Shrikhand, which came with waffle crisps and tasted quite nice.

If you are looking for strong flavours of North Indian food, look no further than Up North, the new fine-dining place at the Pullman Hotel. You are sure to come away with a lot of food yummy in your tummy.

Meal for two: INR 3,000++ (approx) 7 – 10:30 pm at Up North, Pullman, Anna Salai