Ikka – The Ace Bar, Rajouri Garden

I ventured to Rajouri Garden at the request of a friend to try out this place. It is located right on the main road and just a couple of steps away from the metro station hence it’s pretty accessible. However, living in Gurgaon kind of gives you a mental block and somehow I have never managed to travel this far. This was my first trip to Rajouri Garden and I was quite happy with the fact that I choose to make the journey. The food was a delight and it was a great way to spend my Sunday.

The restaurant is located on two floors, 3rd and 4th. We took the elevator up and choose to dine on the 3rd. I did happen to walk up to the 4th as their washrooms are upstairs. The interiors are rather simple and there isn’t much happening in terms of decor. It has the overall look of something like a cave with nude colours. The pop of bright comes through the violet velvet couches and cushions scattered around or through the floral printed chairs. I love the fact that it had large glass windows that allow natural light to flood in and gives you a view of the ever busy Rajouri garden main road.

There is a bar located on both floors. I think downstairs is more of a sit and dine option and is great for families whereas upstairs has a DJ and dance floor that attracts the young crowd.

Get Set Gobble:

~ Life at the bar – They have a super yummy Chocolate shake that you have to try! Their Kala khatta rum was quite nice with tangy flavours and is presented in a nice purple hue. Also the Pommogranate Caprioska has a refreshing taste and is topped with pearls of pomegranates as well. However their Chocotini was my favourite. It not only had a great balance of coffee flavour but the addition of chocolate crumbs gave it a great contrasting texture in every sip. Loved it so much so that I had it on repeat mode. Just wasn’t in the mood to try anything else after this.

~ Starters – Most of you who know me personally or thorough my blog know that I tend to concentrate on non vegetarian options rather than vegetarian. However, I was pleasantly surprised that I was trying out a lot of their vegetarian starters and they not only looked great, but tasted great too. The Dahi ke kebab with green apple was quite good. The textural contrasts were perfect with a crispy exterior and soft melt in your mouth curd inside. Also tried their BBQ soya chaap but frankly found these a little chewy and I am wondering whether it was the dish or the fact that it was soya 😛

The Falafel was surprisingly good. It was so crispy on the outside and the cutlet in itself had so much flavour. Do try this and you will not be disappointed. The Peshawari paneer tikka had a nice creamy coating outside and wasn’t too strong on spices. The paneer cubes melted in your mouth in every bite.

Ikka fried tandoori wings did not impress me as I found them to be a little on the sweeter side and would have preferred a little more spice. Also they were low on seasoning. Their Prawn Aop was quite a nice dish and the prawns had been very well prepared. The sauce was creamy and really accentuated the flavour though my friend on the other side of the table did complain a little about the smell from them.

Crunchy lollipops were presented in a truck and they looked shiny and tempting as they had been covered in a sticky sauce. It was quite good and the marinade had some spice in it. The Butter chicken spring rolls was an innovative dish and I tried something like this for the first time.Butter chicken is an amazing dish in itself, didn’t think it could get any better and then Ikka just revamped it into these amazing spring rolls! Flaky pastry that is fried to perfection is filled with chicken pieces. The dip with it is the butter chicken gravy itself. Generously dip into it before each bite and be transformed to heaven. It is truly delicious. MUST ORDER

~ Mains – Finally we made our way to the main course. The Non veg pizza looked quite delicious but it failed to impress me. It lacked flavours and some seasoning as well. We moved on to our hearty Indian mains and ordered the Dal Makhani. It was rich and looked delicious. I really liked that fact that it did not have the undertone of sweetness and the spices shone instead.

The Paneer lababdaar had a rich gravy with good chunks of paneer. It wasn’t too spicy and had a sweetish taste from the tomato gravy. This restaurant obviously has its Butter chciken recipe mastered. We already saw proof of that through the spring roll dish. The gravy was lip smacking an was my favorite main course dish. Paired it with a garlic naan and I was again in heaven :-D. Mutton rogn josh had an amazing curry and the pieces of mutton were tender.

We accompanied these with assorted breads like lachha parantha and naan and the biryani that came with a serving of raita and papad on the side.