The California Boulevard — Restaurant in Gurugram District

We were three couples out on a long drive and we reached Gurgaon one fine Afternoon, now the Question was where to have our lunch. I recalled the full page advertisement in the newspaper and all the food groups appreciating The California Boulevard restaurant. This place is very well marked on the Google maps and we had no trouble following it to reach our destination. Located in a small market very close to the main entrance of the Westin Gurgaon in Sector 29, The nearest metro station was IIFCO Chowk. They had a valet parking which was very convenient as parking sometimes is a big issue in Delhi-NCR.

The entrance was grand with a Harley parked right at the door, the avenue of stars leads you inside the restaurant with a tram shaped bar running along the walkway. The opulent restaurant a brain child of Mr. Rajan Sethi spread across two floors is magnificently done up With Hollywood memorabilia and lavish seating. They have a cover of at least hundred plus people. We reached there at 1:30 for lunch and the place was almost full, Thankfully we got a table and didn't have to wait. We went through the vast menu and ordered for some appetisers along with drinks, the service was impeccable and food and drinks were served to us within minutes. #Dilli ki chaat- this was basically a Spinach leaf (Palak ke patte ki) chaat. A very thin leaf was deep fried and topped with curd, sweet tangy chutney and besan sev. This is by far the best version of Palak ke patte ki chaat I have ever had. #Sushi Paneer. Flattened Cottage cheese rolls with filling of finely chopped sautéed Mushrooms and cheese with a hint of ginger and mint. The only vegetarian dish ordered was the Highlight of our meal. Brilliant flavours This is a must have. #Beer battered fish- deep fried river sole fish was crisp and delicious went very well with the tartar dip served along. #Gandheri Kebabs - minced chicken wrapped on a pen sized sugarcane stick was mildly spiced with hint of sweetness from the sugarcane, served with three awesome dips. #Chicken Adana kebab- served on a skewer along with mini Pita bread, labneh dip and salad, these turkish kebab was delightful when taken along with the dip, Pita and salad combination. To make the meal more pleasurable we ordered a few drinks along and they sure were enjoyable #Sun Goddess - a Vodka based drink with vermouth, lemon juice and muddled grapes was one power packed cocktail. #Dirty Martini - the classic cocktail with olives, another amazing drink. For the mains we just wanted paltry portions as we indulged in substantial amount of starters. #chicken Hawaiian salad- served in a hollow pineapple shell. It was Super refreshing especially in this hot weather, shredded chicken, lettuce and pineapple chunks in mayo, topped with nuts and Julienned multicoloured Capsicums. If you love your salad, you just can't miss this one. #Grilled Fish with Herbs- soft succulent river sole fish fillet with herbs grilled to perfection, very subtle flavours, served along with sautéed vegetables and mashed potatoes, broccoli and the Star of the show the pommery mustard sauce. I would go to California boulevard again and again for this dish. I relished each bite of the fish. #Pollo Alla Parmigiana - boneless chicken breast topped with lots of cheese and a tomato sauce served along with Spaghetti and tossed vegetables. Although the flavours were pleasing the chicken Breasts Was a little chewy. For the desserts we ordered two entirely different types of dishes #Mango Cheese Cake - it's the perfect time of the year for this dessert as fresh Mango are in season. There was a Mango punch in every bite and this definitely was magnificent. #Chocolate Bomb- a lot of effort goes into making of this dish, that has a Brownie and a scoop of vanilla ice cream under a huge chocolate dome which melts when hot caramel is poured over the top. In short, It's a chocolate lover's paradise.

Each of the dishes that we had were beautifully curated and presented with extensive use of parsley. The whole culinary experience was...

The California Boulevard stands out as an imposing location in quiet surroundings just besides the iffco chowk metro station. The dimly lit restaurant is very welcoming with a decor wanting to momentarily transport you to Hollywood. We went for dinner a few days ago and were quite impressed by the interiors. We started with some cocktails and were very happy to note that the cocktail menu is curated by Yangdup Lama and is exactly the same as the one at AM PM Cafe. Having tried a few cocktails at AM PM a few weeks ago, I thought I shall go for the unlucky ones that we missed out the last time So, while we were savouring the unique flavours of The Royal Harem, Hakim stinger and the Wild stud we ordered some palak patta chaat and tangy button mushrooms on the side for company. Very nice preparations and went really well with the potent drinks. This was followed by the Kaffir lime chicken tikka and peshawari mutton boti. I felt both the dishes were a bit underdone both in terms of marination & cooking and could have been much better !! We quickly moved on to beer battered fish with tartar sauce, mini chicken adana kebabs, some prawn crackers and the kakori kebabs. The adana kebabs are generally made of minced meat but here we had chunks of chicken - served with small pita bread pieces and labneh, it was just about ok. The fried fish fingers were average as well and could have been much more crunchier but the kakori stole the show for me and I loved it !! I liked it to the point where I am getting hungry just by the thought of it !! Soft and flavourful, if I say the preparation was "melt in mouth", that would be an understatement. With this we also ordered a thin crust Italian meat pizza and the New Zealand mustard lamb chops !! And both the preparations were yumm !! The pizza was crunchy and tasty, seasoned almost to the point of perfection. And the Lamb chops were succulent, juicy and well done and they went really well with the pan tossed veggies and thyme potatoes on the side. Actually, the Kakori with the pizza and lamb chops ensured that it turned out to be a memorable meal and not just one of those run of the mill dinner outings. For desserts we ordered the kulfi gazzak and classic tiramisu. The tiramasu was very nice but I loved the kulfi gazzak. Very innovative !! You could actually crunch into small pieces of gazzak while digging into your kulfi. Very nice combination !! I was very happy that we ended our meal on the "kulfi gazzak" note !! The service was top notch and the staff was prompt and attentive. I would say The California Boulevard is a very good option to try if you are around Gurgaon, Sector 29 and do not want to venture out to the crowded and congested market which is overflowing with microbreweries and restaurants. Do give...

We hit this place last week for corporate dinner! :) the place has average ambience inside, although it appears great from outside :)

The food was good there, the servers were friendly! We had tried many items, such as quesadillas, veg spring rolls, mezze platter, arabiata pasta etc. Amongst all, we didn't like bruschettas! :( In main course, tried shahi daal Makhani, paneer hara pyaaz, garlic naan, butter naan, and plain roti - these were decent!

I tried Dirty Scotsman at Indian Herem in cocktails, it was having whiskey base and indian spices mixed with it, i found it avergae! One of the desserts was too fancy, they literally blow fire on it, to make the chocolate melt!! :) i forgot the name, but you can refer to picture!! :)

If you are a group of 10 or more, then do check with the restaurant before going there to make arrangements, as they don't have table to accommodate larger groups.

If you want calm place to talk, then you should go there!

Happy...