Asian restaurant standards aren’t the same – dining at No. 17 of Asia: Restaurant Indian Accent (2. November 2019)
I was looking forward at dining at number 17 of the world and ended up wondering how the “Indian Accent” is better than “The Clove Club” (which is no. 27 and I had just had lunch at two days earlier in London) until I figured that the “Indian Accent” was number 17 of Asia and number 60 of the world. And things suddenly made sense again!
The evening started pleasantly as you would be guided to your table and water and the menu were brought to you in no time. And once you had placed your order, a little something from the kitchen in the form of a “naan with blue cheese” was served which was tasty but also a rather intense flavor to start your dinner.
The second amuse bouche which was served was a “green bean soup on a curry masala base” and it was delicious for two reasons. Something warm and liquid is not something you get that often as an amuse bouche and secondly, it was really very delicious!
Given, we had ordered a drink to start, i.e. the “The Proper Copper (kaffir lime leaf infused vodka, ginger, pure honey, ginger ale)” (800 INR) which was absolutely delicious, the waiting begun! We waited a solid 40 minutes for the next course and in all fairness, that is just way too much!
Finally (!), the first course of the “Chef’s Tasting Menu – Non-Vegetarian” (3’900 INR) was served which was basically another round of amuse bouches which were lovely combinations!
The first course was the “‘Puri aloo’, sweet pumpkin, pickle” …
… which looked quite pretty after it had been finalized in front of your eyes and it was actually also tasty all in all.
One of my absolutely favorite dishes was the “chilli crab, sago pongal, peanuts”. The dish was smooth, aromatic, not too big, had enough meat elements to it and was just generally an incredibly tasty dish. I still get shivers down my spine when I even thing about how it tasted!
Next in line was the “pulled pork phulka taco, chutneys” which was admittedly also very good but a bit of a weird flex for an Indian restaurant as it was somehow an imitation of Mexican food (and admittedly, not even a bad one).
The next course was a bit weird for my palate – the “anar & churan kulfi sorbet” was a nice idea for two reasons: a) to cleanse your palate and b) because it was served a bit differently than usually – on a stick. Now, the “on a stick part” wasn’t too practical though as it basically fell off after two bites. And the flavors were just very specific in a way which was not really pleasant to my palate.
The main course was another highlight though – the “roast chicken, smoked papad curry” was incredibly smooth and tender. In combination with the curry and the various naan breads which were served with it, it made a perfectly delicious meal!
After reading the menu again, I somehow think we were not served a course, i.e. the “black dairy dal, smoked eggplant raita, chili hoisin duckkulcha & sesame butter”. Which is a bit of a pity to be honest as it sounded very interesting but I got the feeling (in the end) that they just wanted to finish the table so potentially the next diners could be seated.
The dessert was a “pearl millet roti & fresh hand churned butter” which was actually surprisingly delicious.
And so was the “chilli peanut ice cream cornet” although I’m usually not too much into peanuts.
The whole experience was a bit confusing in terms of service, respectively, how service was handled. After having ordered the “wine pairing” (3’900 INR) the waiter came and explained that they currently would only have half of the wines listed in the menu and would, therefore, not be able to serve it as it was originally intended. And if I had any suggestions on how to optimize the wine pairing, they would be gladly welcoming my suggestions. I mean, thanks, I guess, but what kind of start is that when you haven’t even had the first sip of any wine?
The same was somehow true later during the evening when another waiter explained that he’d be happy to receive our suggestions for how to optimize the menu. Again: Huh??
And all in all, the waiters were friendly but you could easily see that it wasn’t their passion. It was more something they learned by heart and would execute accordingly but that sparkle in their eyes where you could see that their job was actually fun for them was missing.
However, the Indian Accent is a nice restaurant with a lovely setting and is worth visiting. Just don’t put your expectations too high up as you might be slightly disappointed (as was I (also due to my mistake expecting it to be No. 17 of the world while it was ‘only’ No. 60)) with the outcome.
In any case, booking way in advance is highly recommended as the place is rather crowded (and actually full), especially when you go on a Saturday night as I did. The good thing – from an European perspective – is that the prices are absolutely okay. For two people with 8 courses and wine, respectively, juice pairing, you end up with about 300.00 EUR which seems very fair to me!
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Contact Details:
Restaurant Indian Accent
The Lodhi Hotel
Lodhi Road
CGO Complex, Pragati Vihar
110003 New Delhi (IN)
Tel.: +91 11 66 17 51 51
Cell: +91 98 71 11 79 68
E-Mail: reservations.del@indianaccent.com
Homepage: http://www.indianaccent.com
About the Author: Sven
I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org.
Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City. 
