With the scorching summer innocuously arriving, recently we caught a delightfully breezy and pleasant evening at Above Sea Level, the rooftop restaurant at The Raintree Hotel, St Mary’s Road. The lit-up swimming pool was a hypnotic blue and the music was contemporary but not intrusive. The re-hauled 68-seater restaurant had an easy vibe, with a predominantly white palette and as the rest of the city twinkled away along the skyline, we wondered what the new menu had in store for us.
Kebab corner
Executive Chef Tamoghan Chakraborty prepares us for the degustation menu and tells us, “We have always been known for our grills and kebabs — but what has changed is that we are now offering a gourmet twist.” However, we were definitely not prepared for the extravagant line up that saw us popping melt-in-themouth Gosht Galouti Kebabs that were perched on mini sheermals. In comparison the Genovese style green minestrone soup, stuffed with vegetables, was tame and filling.
With beautifully grilled prawns enticing us and a subz aur bhuttey di lolly that is a scrumptious version of a veg seekh kebab on a stick that convinced us to go for seconds — you must forgive us for giving the Karari Broccoli grill the step-motherly treatment. Unabashedly, we had no time to ruminate over that as the chef has us on our toes or rather he had us sparring sprightly with forks as we caught a delicious filo pastry bundle Wild Mushroom Baklava stuffed with creamy mushroom that had that perfect hit of truffle. Then there was a lull — not because of a break in service — but because the BBQ Pork Ribs deserved some TLC as it fell off the bone and into our bellies!
The spice route
The mains featured an eclectic mix where the Blue Risotto was a favourite though one must remember to scoop up the pumpkin purée at the base that makes all the difference. “We have upped the ante with regards to our pastas and taken it to a gourmet Italian level — right from authentic flavours to plating finesse,” says the chef. As we enjoyed the mild spaghetti ala puttanesca, we note that there was a perfect balance of offerings. The Nalli Nihari saw lamb shanks that were tender and succulent, while the Dum ki Machi packed some heat and the fish was perfectly flaky. The desserts saw us taking a deep breath before the plunge — and as we dug into the three options — we devised a plan based on the sweetness scale. The Chocolate World is a great place to start, where the dome that melts with hot chocolate is stuffed with chocolate mousse. The Homemade Kulfi is a delight that has that homely falooda feel. The sweetest of the lot, the Ghewar Tart — a mini pie stuffed with the halwa-like mithai, is best saved for the last.
Meal for two at about INR 2,000.
- Sabrina Rajan