Restauranthesis: Farzi Cafe, Gurgaon

Gurgaon, India

The Imitation Game was a great watch and was quite inspirational, however in the end I still couldn’t figure out why was it called so, was it about cryptography and the codes or Alan Turing hiding his true self!! So on a Wednesday evening when I entered the Farzi Café, in DLF Cyberhub Gurgaon and seated myself by the bar. ‘Are you ready to get Farzified??’ asked one of the servers and  said to myself , ‘Yes I am and this time I will find out what was Farzification, read the imitation game all about!!’.

Mishti Doi shots were the first move; done with the spherification technique the sweet with the tang set our palates up for the evening. We started with Apple Foamintini a straightforward Apple martini with a twist of sweet mint foam on top. The acidity from the granny smiths was balanced well with the sweet foam. So much as I did, I am sure you got the hang of farzification with the meal opener.  The palak paneer Quesadillas came in makke di rotis than tortillas, the kachori with Imli foam was quite refreshing and so was the curry leaf martini which came topped with Aam papad chutney foam.  The karela (bitter gourd) calamari embodied the spirit of Farzification in earnest.  The Dal Chawal Arancinis however could have been a little moist; the chutneys saved them to a certain extent.

Their take on Manhattan came with apple and spice reduction instead of the sugar, moreover the whole technique of stirring the drink made the difference. Lastly the ice-ball put together with crushed iced instead of the Japanese way of carving one thoroughly made it a farzi cocktail. As we moved further into the evening the lights had dimmed, the DJ was on his feet and the percussionist was warming up on his drums.  Our last appetizer for the evening was Sarson ki Galawat and it went well with the herbed Manhattan.

For the main the Gucchi mushroom risotto was spot on, the spaghetti alio olio with tomato kut was deceptive as it came in a rich coconut sauce for the coastal boy that I am, cannot complain. The Ratatouille pav bhaji was a dampener and the Kadhi Chawal very common place; I would rather have eaten my mains at Made in Punjab next door. To pair with the mains we had a Kaffir lime and Orange refresher and it kept us good company.

It was 10 in the night and the artists were in their groove, the place was all full and it seemed like weekend. We started with farzified  B-52 shots for desserts. The Rasmalai tres leches a take on the South American classic was done very well and so was the Suji (semolina) and banana cake with pistachio icecream. The Firni Oxide disappointed, all the showmanship at the table to assemble the dessert was futile I thought.

Last thoughts a great place for quirky cocktails, banter and music, the food enthralled at most times but for the few misses.  Meal for 2 without drinks will go upwards of Rs 2000.  Go get Farzified!!