After a successful run by the Dark House Kafe, the are back with a bang with the newly revamped luxury version – QRO Gourmeteriia. Dark House had epitomized Halloween as an year long celebration and was one of its kind spooky cafe serving Sheesha and a carefully constructed menu with bone chilling dishes and uncanny fusion fiestas. With a change in the ambiance from an eerie feel to a completely chic ambiance, they have expanded the menu as well, keeping their house favorites intact and they are still experimenting and are soon planning to add a desi section.
The interiors are done up most exquisitely. Leather clad couches, low seating, textured walls added with rustic pieces – flower pots, jute ropes, filament lamps and Edwardian carved chair backs. The amalgamation of colors and textures work very well together.
We started our meal with thirst quenchers – QRO Sunshine Cooler and Honey Almond Cake Shake. The QRO Sunshine Cooler is most refreshing and like the name suggests, a very jaunty looking drink. Cranberry and Orange Juice with a twist of lemon and mint – the cooler is very refreshing and gives you a much needed sugar rush during the heat.
The Honey Almond Cake Shake was a special recommendation. Chocolate being a weakness, I am biased towards a delish cocoa based shake. But the Honey Almond Cake Shake was most savory. A thick milk shake churned with almond cake topped with dollops of whipped cream and a piece of cake and honey.
Next, we devoured on some of their Old favorites – Chilly Spiky Momos – fresh, crunchy momos, stuffed with succulent chicken and tossed in a saucy gravy.
It is one of the few places in Delhi that offers the option of Half and Half Pizza – where you can savor the best of both worlds. We went for half a Lebanese pizza and half a Turkish chicken pizza. They offer thin crust and cheese burst crust options and we went for the latter having exhausted our taste buds with the former. The pizza came in with grandiosity and gusto. The Turkish half was inebriated with chicken balls, onions, capsicum and jalapenos. The Lebanese half with creamy masala sauce, onions, capsicum, paneer, chickpeas topped with chilly and coriander. The Lebanese half stole my heart with its special sauce and crunchy toppings. Excellent toppings and delicious cheese were only added onto by liquid cheese. The double thin crust felt just a little dried up as the pizza cooled down but what an amazing creation!
Although, already quite brimmed, we longed to try some more of their culinary delights so ordered slightly smaller portions of keema pav sliders and butter chicken pasta.
The keema pav was another well whipped up dish. Coarse keema with who spices, onions and garlic, the texture of the minced meat had a wistful, homely feel to it. The bun was well toasted with butter and the other accompaniments – mint chutney and spicy onions were rendered untouched by me owing to the full bodied flavors of the keema.
The show-stopper was the butter chicken pasta. My previous encounters with fusion food have been very varied, so I was a little skeptical about this fusion pasta but this was beyond my expectations. Rich butter chicken gravy topped with fresh cream, infused with tender pieces of chicken and penne pasta. The fact that an Italian dish could taste so tantalizing blended with a desi gravy was most toothsome. I still can’t stop drooling over this unique preparation. In fact, their garlic bread was undoubtedly the best the University cafe’s offer. More than often, the breads served are rather dry and lacking flavors, but this one was not only well baked but also delightfully flavorsome.
Brimming and our waistbands a little tighter, we were too full for dessert, but their Paan Kulfi happens to be a hot seller. I simply cannot wait to gormandize on their North Indian section, when they launch it and some more of their house favorites.
Butter chicken pasta, Chilly spiky momos and Almond Cake shake are not to be missed when at QRO.
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