MISTRAL,DELHI
This is a review of the restaurant,Mistral.You might also like to have a look at the restaurant's lunch and dinner menus before reading the review.Simply Fahad-istic! also has their beverage and wine menus for your convenience.
"Genius!",I exclaimed cheerfully and experienced pleasure as I took another bite of the very crisp,caramelly cigarillo.Velvety smooth sweet cream filled my mouth.I then had a mouthful of the chocolate slab and as it melt my taste buds followed it with a spoon of rich creamy and milky vanilla ice cream...Dear Lord!
"This is really good!",I spoke again.This time with peaceful satisfaction.I looked at 'Traveler' Rohan ,author of partner blog ' Path Rarely Taken - The Travel Blog ',who was barely listening,busy enjoying his Souffle!
Our lunch at Mistral,the newly opened restaurant in Ambience Mall,Vasant Kunj,had been a mix of highs and lows,but desserts were certainly the best part of it.
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| The magnificent and stylish open kitchen(Some might argue that it cannot be called an open kitchen because of the glass wall separating it from the dining space.However,beautiful nonetheless!) where the cooking happens.Since I believe in the philosophy of "Applaud every restaurant that has an open kitchen",(Open kitchens are as much of a liability for restaurants as they are assets,according to experts.Imagine guests noticing the chef tasting every dish with the same spoon.Or worse,his/her sweat dripping into food!) I take my hat off to them! |
From classic Italian Margherita Pizza to Aloo-Gobhi Paranthas,from Australian Lamb Chops to Chilean Sea Bass,from Sandwiches to Burgers - you say it,they have it!
Goes without saying,the menu is vast and diverse,the restaurant multi cuisine.The cuisines being European(Italian,French,British) and Asian(Indian,Persian) .They also have a deli and a pâtisserie/bakery section.
A multi cuisine menu,a deli,a pâtisserie - Mistral offers great variety,so much so the food choices are unlimited!
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| The Mistral Lemonade,the classic drink,is one of the best ways to beat Dilli ki garmi,particularly if you are a teetotaler.A soda water based beverage,the rock salt in it only makes it better.Order it with Norwegian Salmon or Chilean Sea Bass from the European grill on a hot afternoon you wish to make the most of summer! |
The lemonade is certainly nice and refreshing.But is it so exceptional that they put their restaurant's name on it?Now,that's another question!
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| Another drink that the restaurant has its name on is Mistral's Delight.Priced at Rs. 155,it is a sweet and sour passion fruit drink.Sweetened with gomme extract(Commonly called gomme syrup) and garnished with mango wedges. |
Does this one deserve a restaurant's name?It is simple,yet unique,so I say yes!
They have 3 bars - a cocktail bar,a vodka bar and a whisky bar.Not just the food choices,the drink choices are unlimited too!
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| The impressive wine display. In the mood for a cocktail instead?The Cotton Club,a raspberry flavored,gin based drink offers a high. |
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| The Focaccia,served complementary before the meal,with Garlic In Olive Oil With Herbs & Chili and Sun-dried Tomato Pesto,has all the characteristics of good bread.It is light,soft and flavorful.The quantity of herbs on top is just perfect! |
Bread reminds me of cheese,which in turn brings me to the deli again.You can order a Cheese Platter from the deli,or even a cold cuts platter if you like.
If you want to pick up a quick bite,or have a cuppa before a movie at the neighboring cinema(Director's Cut) ,I recommend sitting in the outside area and ordering a snack from the pâtisserie.The range consists of cup cakes,eclairs,cake slices and tarts.Sacher Slice will specially go well with coffee.Try a quiche if you don't have a sweet tooth.
From pros,to the cons of the menu now.
While the menu is a vast one,it certainly isn't a flawless one.Foremost of them is the complete absence of Indian desserts.Imagine ending a meal of Murgh Tangri and Mutton Barra with a Crumble!Absurd,eh?
Secondly,their biggest Indian specialty,Dal Mistral,is not served for dinner.
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| All burgers,including this (avoidable) Mediterranean Burger come with a side of potato wedges/fries/mixed salad,green apple slaw and a dip.Even though a spicy tomato dip accompanies the Mediterranean burger,and can be easily spooned inside it,the burger is rather dry.The vegetables in the patty are so not Mediterranean as claimed by the menu!(Potatoes and peas are found the world over,no?) Also,they are so finely chopped,almost minced,that they fail to give any bite or additional texture.As for the slaw,it is unusually sweet. |
Minus the emmental cheese it reminded me of the typical veg burger served at fast food restaurants.Not bad,but worth the Rs. 395 price?I think not!
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| When at Mistral,do try the pizzas,which are done rather well.The crust is thin,crisp and slightly browned.The tomato sauce and cheese,in appropriate quantities,complement each other. |
Seafood lovers,the Seafood Pizza shown in the above picture is a good choice.Its topping,consists of mussels,prawns,scallops,clams,squid,caper and garlic chip.
Mine did not have any capers but hopefully yours would!
The service is slow.However,the lack in speed is made up by the friendliness and politeness of the staff.I also like the fact that they recommend dishes,thereby making the experience more personalized.
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| One of the best parts of dining experience at Mistral is the desserts!Toffee Banoffee is probably the biggest star of the menu.Layers of golden,caramelized banana slices,luscious and silky cream-filled very crisp cigarillos and chocolate.All topped with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream and a squirt of berry sauce.What a treat! |
The menu states that Toffee Banoffee contains butterscotch ice cream while mine had vanilla.However,butterscotch or no butterscotch,it is sublime!(In fact,I am sure it tastes better with vanilla than it would with butterscotch.)
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| Chocoholics,for you,the best way to end the meal is with a Souffle.Made with rich and intense 70% dark chocolate!The sweetness of the souffle is strongly contrasted with the tartness of coconut & lemon sorbet,its accompaniment. |
If dark chocolate scares you,don't be,the Souffle has ample sweetness.
It was rightly recommended to me by the waiter.
A couple of hiccups,but overall Mistral is a pleasant restaurant.Worth an occasional visit.
DISCLAIMER
All property/entity i.e. restaurant/dhaba/streetfood/takeaway reviews on Simply Fahad-istic! express only the blog author's opinions and are strictly for educational purposes only.They are not to be considered endorsements or warnings for/against purchasing the products or services of these properties/entities.Since there have been no discussions with the owners of these properties/entities,no kitchen or back of the house visits,assumptions have been made about some situations pertaining to operating procedures and may not necessarily be true.Menu prices mentioned are of the time of the reviews and are subject to change.These reviews are not paid for by the property/entity owners.
This work by Fahad Khan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
