Indian Accent — Restaurant in Delhi

Inside luxury Lodhi hotel, though privately run, Indian Accent is one of the capital's top dining experiences. Chef Manish Mehrotra works his magic using seasonal ingredients married in surprising and beautifully creative combinations. The tasting menu is astoundingly good, with wow-factor combinations such as tandoori bacon prawns or paper dosa filled with wild mushroom and water chestnuts. Dress smart. Book ahead.

Marigold flowers lead to the glass door entrance via the small staircase. The beautiful panoramic view of the serene waterfront comforts me and I love the new venue at once. It is none too traditional in its décor and has a very upbeat contemporary feel to it. Both the veg and non-veg tasting menus begin with a dish called ‘Puchkas Five Water’, essentially a take on the humble Kolkata street food. Here the Puchka are bite-sized and decadent with shots of various waters ranging the gamut from tamarind to buttermilk. One of my favourites from the new menu is the deceptively simple dish aka 'home-style Chicken Curry'; this dish is a reference to what Chef Manish’s kitchen team loves to eat on a daily basis at home. Here the chicken is cooked and then shaped into a roulade. The result is remarkably light and marries well with the 'Turmeric Rice' and preserved onion, an example of modern cooking technique put to good use. Mehrotra is an artist and artists should be permitted to succeed. A good wine list and efficient service despite the crowd. The 50 best restaurants in the world, the top restaurants in Asia, the best restaurants in India—this elegant eatery has made all those award lists and more, often for several years in a row. Helmed by chef Manish Mehotra—himself a perennial “best chef” winner and MasterChef India judge—Indian Accent first opened at The Manor in 2009, where it quickly garnered acclaim for its modern take on subcontinental cuisine. It moved to The Lodhi hotel in 2017, where—in a striking, contemporary space lined with windows, paneled with mother-of-pearl, and centered around a “floating” glass-box private dining space—the high-quality and creativity has continued to soar. Some dishes skew “new Indian,” while others are more global with an Indian twist; either way, plates are colorful, flavorful, and artfully presented. Don’t miss signature dishes like galautis (kebabs) stuffed with fois gras, pulled pork tacos, butter popcorn upma, and duck khurchan served in a cone and topped with yogurt and chili. Get your carbs on with one of the nine types of bread—some layered with potatoes or Camembert—and wash it down with a “chat” sangria or masala-infused martini. While there are now Indian Accent outposts in New York and London, the Delhi location remains a must-visit—and, as of 2018, is still the one of the only restaurants in India to make all those...

This was our fifth visit to Indian Accent this year and with this visit we concluded our 3 city Indian Accent tour. We tried the chef's tasting menu with costs around ₹4700 all inclusive. The first course was blue cheese Nan with cauliflower and ginger soup. Blue cheese Naan has that sharp after taste and isn't the best thing on menu. Cauliflower soup was good. Not better than the pumpkin soup, though, which they serve at NYC and London locations. Next course was potato chaat, which was simply delightful and I wish there was more of it. Next, We were served Golgappe with 5 different flavoured water. This was the item we were both looking forward to. However, the flavor was a big miss for us. We liked the tamarind, yogurt and mint flavoured water and completely disliked the pomegranate and pineapple flavor. We moved on to kanyakumari pepper crab with crisp idiyappam. Crab meat was heavily spiced and was mixed with cauliflower. We couldn't actually taste the crab meat at all. This was a big miss for us. Next we were served smoked duck shammi with barberry chutney. Kebab was succulent and chutney was just right. tawa lamb chop, bharta with smoked papad was served next. Lamb chop was amazing and baigan bharta didn't taste like baigan bharta at all and was delicious. Easily one of the favorite item on the menu. Before the main course, we were served anar & churan kulfi sorbet as a rest course. Sorbet was just playful and tasted like anar Dana churan. For the main course we tried both the chicken tikka meatball and gongura fish. Gongura fish was the hands down winner. The curry was delicious and fish itself was fried to perfection. Chicken meatball was good but paled in comparison. Black dairy dal was good and the kulchas were unique. Avocado raita was weird though. Avocado with raita isn't the best combination somehow. Finally we were served a trio of dessert. With warm doda burfi treacle tart, vanilla bean ice cream and daulat ki chaat. Our favorite was makhaan malai or daulaat ki chaat. The airy dessert was a perfect dessert for this hearty meal. Overall an amazing experience and totally...

Indian Accent presents a high-end dining experience featuring Indian flavors mixed with Western fine dining techniques and presentation. The Chef’s Tasting Menu was a great way to sample the best dishes the restaurant had to offer, and we started with an amuse bouche of mini blue cheese naan and a drink of pink peppercorn rasam. The first course was a take on Khandvi, a Gujarati dish, made into the shape of a ravioli (made with besan) stuffed with goat cheese and served with beets. Next came a tender pork rib marinated in mango pickle; and then two chicken meatballs sitting on top of a spinach tart and creamed corn. There was a spicy duck kebab made with pulled duck, topped with crispy vermicelli and chutneys; and a pomegranate popsicle as a palate cleanser. For the main course, I tried both the braised goat shank, served with a kadhi curry; as well as the seafood stew, made with fish and crispy prawns accompanied by a Malabar coconut curry. My favorite part of the meal, however, were actually the side dishes that came with the main course. These included a cauliflower and methi chur chur (paratha), maash ki dal (an urad dal fry), and raita made with bathua and purple potato. After the main course came a pre-dessert of soft serve pumpkin halwa cream; and the final course was a masala coconut custard paired with crispy phyllo dough sheets with a yogurt filling.

Overall, the dishes here were beautifully presented and flavored nicely (though a bit on the mild side). The elegant setting of the restaurant was also a highlight, and during the course of the evening, the chef came out to greet us and tell us about the menu and restaurant. The prices here were on the high side, but certainly nothing crazy for a fine dining...