Plush interiors, upbeat music and great cocktails.
ATMOSPHERICS
In the 1980s, this corner of Connaught Place, right opposite the Fire Station, used to buzz with three ground floor restaurants owned by Sardar Charanjit Singh of Campa Cola. The intervening decades have not been kind to the M Block, with all three restaurants having been boarded up, but now it is set to slowly spring back to life. Chew Café is on the first floor, Garam Dharam is on the ground floor and Niche occupies the second floor. The third floor terrace is slated to open in about a month’s time. The sprawling restaurant is divided into cleverly designed zones that include a semi-private room, a dining area under a see-through canopy and a dimly-lit bar area. There is a pizza terrace at the back of the restaurant and a pleasant sit-out facing the Outer Circle. A lift takes you to the second floor.
TABLE TALK
Niche is a resto-bar with a very fine cocktail menu. The bar is the star of the show; the food is just the accompaniment. The menu consists of an array of light snacks, soups and salads. Some of them have an Indian sensibility; others an oriental twist, but in the main, it is western all the way. The star of the show is the unmissable Pulled Kathal Tacos (Rs 215), in which the humble vegetable, only now being seen on restaurant menus, has a chewy meatiness to it. Served with sour cream and salsa, it is the best starter that combines novelty with familiarity and a range of textures. New age Caesar Salad (Rs 145) was a novel take on this signature. Crumb fried grapes took the place of croutons, parmesan foam and parmesan chips, a sous-vide egg yolk was the substitute for the mayonnaise, and only the anchovies were missing in action. Don’t worry if progressive western food does not appeal to you. Pappu Chicken (Rs 285) is sure to appeal with its chatpat Chinese sauce, or the main course Lamb Shank (Rs 385) served with roghan josh curry and a roti.
PLUS AND MINUS
The prices are unbelievably low but a bit more care of the ingredients is in order: our smoked salmon had been frozen and hastily thawed; chicken legs were past their sell-by date.
Must Try: Confit Halibut, Smoked Mushroom Risotto, Beets and Goat Cheese Salad
Niche Lounge Bistro will be hosting a gig by BLOT and Kohra who will be playing an audio visual set.
BLOT! (Basic Love of Things) is a powerhouse of experimental techno and electronica led by Gaurav Malaker and Avinash Kumar. One of India’s foremost live acts, the multidisciplinary duo has become famous for delivering impressive audiovisual sets.
Kohra aka Madhav Shorey is a frontrunner of the new wave of underground dance music producers in the country. His live sets comprise of his own productions presented in a deconstructed manner. Kohra has performed at some of the most well-known venues and festivals across the country.
Hard Rock Cafe brings to you Lost Stories live, an electronic music duo, recognized as one of the pioneers of this genre of music in the country. Their debut single was a major hit, followed by a successful tour as part of which they performed at Tomorrowland and other big festivals. They have worked on official remixes for international artists such as Marcus Schulz, Nadia Ali, Andy Moor and Afrojack.
Entry: INR 750 (Entry) (Ticket grants entry to one person, price inclusive of taxes)
Antisocial is bringing the third edition of the Various Artists series, this time featuring a performance by Chilean producer Flako. His music draws inspiration from a variety of sounds like funk, soul, garage and swing. Joining him at this gig will also be homegrown artists Moniker and Lifafa.
Antisocial is bringing back the 501 Friday music nights and this time the evening will feature sets by menwhopause, Blackstratblues and Tejas Menon.
Menwhopause is a Delhi-based alt-rock band and one of the first ones to distribute their music on the internet for free. The band has won several awards and has also performed at the prestigious SxSW festival.
Mumbai-based Warren Mendosa’s Blackstratblues is a music project which mixes blues and rock music. The lineup includes Jai Row Kavi on drums, Beven Fonseca on keyboards and Adi Mistry on bass.
Tejas Menon is an acoustic singer songwriter known for his love ballads. He has performed at events like the Ragasthan Music Festival, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival and NH7 Weekender.
To RSVP, visit Insider.in
MAP (My Alternative Pop), one of the most fun bands in town, will soon be performing at Boheme. Led by singer and songwriter Manta Sidhu, the band also includes Jishnu Banerjee on guitar, Shivam Khare on keys, Rahul Rai on bass and Reuben Narain on drums. Their sound is an edgy mix of funk, blues and rock and they released their debut album in 2013. Currently they are working on some singles and music videos.
To RSVP, visit Insider.in
Chayan Adhikari, Vasundhara Vee and Tarun Balani, three popular musicians from the city, have come together to form The Next Collective and they will be performing soon at The Piano Man Jazz Club. As musicians coming from various backgrounds of musical genres, the collective’s music is forever stretching the boundaries of song compositions. The band also features Utsav Lal, Jayant Manchanda and special guests.
The Pink Post presents Summer cut 16 by the founders Sharnamli Adhar Mitali Wadhwa. The event has summer collection at unbelievable prices. Everything is under 30k! Few participating brands are Outhouse, Carousel by Simran Arya, Devnaagri, Shahin Mannan, Rusaru, Crimson Bags, Atelier Mon, Needledust, Fizzy Goblet, Prerto, Micare, Papier Project.
The month long Persian Food Festival at Foodhall, brings along with it the authentic and delicious flavours of ancient Persian food. Persia included perfumed stews flavoured with cinnamon, mint, and pomegranates; elaborate stuffed fruits and vegetables; and tender roasted meats, and Foodhall comes with a touch of same.
Indulge into tasting these delicacies, as the live counter there will not only cook but also teach food lovers how to prepare dishes like Persian Berry and Rice Pilaf, Jujeh Kabab, Kabab Koobideh, Reose Petal Ice Tea, Doogh, Dill and Fava Bean Rice, Ghormeh Sabzi and a traditional hearty Eggplant and Tomato Stew.
Note: The Persian Food Festival is taking place across all outlets of Foodhall, in Delhi (NCR)
The Pizza and Beer Festival at @Links, combines some of the best comfort food along with a delicious range of domestic and international beer brands. So get your gang and head to bite into a combo that offers a pizza of your choice along with s of two pints of beer, as part of the deal.
Price: Rs 1,900
Liquid Sunshine invites all the ladies out there, for an interactive whisky tasting session, as part of Bombay Velvet. Remembering the time of Helen and Gauhar jaan, the event will be hosted by Nida Mahmood, a talented fashion designer along with Anchal Kaushal, the whisky expert from Liquid Sunshine.
The event comes with a exciting twist as these two narrate four fun stories of ladies from the yesteryears. Further, there will be a group guessing game, live cocktail making session with Ajay Nayyar, the brand ambassador of Diageo.
The whiskies that one can taste, include Johnnie Walker Black Label, VAT 69, Black White and Black Dog Triple Gold Reserve, along with some delicious finger food.
Entry: Rs 1,500 per head
Tickets available on Insider.in
Learn the art of Madhubani paintings hands on, with this work shop being conducted by Ptah. The workshop will be teaching the ancient art of Mithila and Madhuban paintings, with the distinguished regional artist- Santosh Paswan, son of Urmila Devi (State Awardee in Madhubani Painting) from Bihar. During this six hours workshop one can learn how to use earth colours, creation of patterns and the technique of sketching here.
Price: Rs 1,400 onwards
For more information and registration, click here
With winters bidding adieu to the capital and summers in tow, Perch brings you a cup of something cold and yummy. Coming to cold coffee, if the only option you have tried is with or without ice-cream, then this is something that will surely interest you.
The new range of cold coffees at Perch brings to town unique recipes from Japan, Germany, Italy, Colombia and Vietnam.
Price: Rs 950
Zu Tisch is all ready with it March edition of The Delhi Pub Quiz. The quiz will have five rounds of with your Quiz Master Samir Krishnamurti. It will begin with a picture round and move on to topics like film and TV, Sports, Music, Current Affairs and General Knowledge, in that order. Teams can be a minimum of one and maximum of six.
So grab your buddies, take along that pen and paper and brush up on these topics, as the winner will get special prizes from Penguin Random House.
Entry: Free
The Spring Summer Festival hosted by London Market exhibits everything from clothes, accessories to shoes. On display will be big and bold earrings, lingerie’s, boots, slip dresses, floral dresses, jump suits and more; inspired from 2016 fashion weeks runway, Spanish-influenced flounces and the paperbag waist.
Get set to party like never before at Raasta who’ll be handing over the charge of their playlist to Deepali Gupta, Editor for What’s Hot, and Prashant Kalra, Founder of Primo Privilege. With lots of booze and great music, this one promises to be a banger!
Director: Kim Yong-Hwa
Star Cast: Kim Ah-joong, Joo Jin-mo, Sung Dong-il
Korean Romantic Comedy film titled “200 Pounds Beauty” is about an overweight ghost singer who goes through intensive plastic surgery to become a pop sensation.The movie is based on Japanese manga Kanna#39;s Big Success which is about a ghost singer who goes under the knife to get slim. The movie has won several awards and nominations.
Duration : 2 hours
Entry : Free( First cum First basis)
Adaptation Direction : Saleem Shah
Cast : Jay Prakash, Aparna Upadhyay and Saleem Shah
Insey miley , a Hindi comedy play depicts lives of 3 individuals Mr. Shaamnath, Mrs. Anubhuti Kumar and Janaab Ghulam Rasool. Shaamnath who has been is hosting a dinner for his boss faces a major hurdle. He is all apprehensive what if the Boss meets his mother and the downfall of his performances are revealed. On the other hand is Anubhuti Kumar who is trying to conceive. But then societal pressure takes a toll on her till a ‘Divine Power’ rescues her. Will a Boiled egg help her through this phase.
On the other hand is Janaab Ghulam Rasool who has seen it all in his life and is not at the peak of his prosperity. He wants to do some philanthropy in his life, but he is not convinced by the mundane charity methods. So he finds his own way to provide that ‘lasting solace’ to Mankind.
The play sees flavours of humour, wit, sarcasm and more.
Duration :1 hr 15mins
Tickets: Rs 500, Rs 400, Rs 300
Note : Suitable for 5 years old above
Cast : Ritu Mago, Anshu Bhogra, Mehak Kapoor, Gaurav Alugh, Rajneesh Singh, Nikunj Agarwal, Naresh Kumar, Rohan Batra, Madhukar Pandey, Avijit Basu, Niten Mehta, Naveen Kumar
Run for your wife is one of the longest and funniest comedy play in the world presented by Behroopiya Entertainers Harfkaar Foundations in association with Prism theatre. The play is all about a taxi driver ‘Sabby Gill’who has two wives in different homes. Sabby gets into trouble when he goes through a head injury. The situation gets more worse when the two inspectors at both his homes are looking for him and are interrogating the matter. The best part of the play is when Sabby makes false stories to get out of this situation.
Duration : 2 hours 30 mins
Entry : at Rs. 300, 400 and Rs 500
Note : Suitable for 14 years old and above
Transition 106 brings you just the right note to flag off your weekend. Brian Sanhaji, the sound of progressive music will be playing at Summer House Café, this Friday the 19th to wipe off your weekday blues. This techno music maverick from Frankfurt will be playing alongside SHFT and Bass Pilots from Delhi to bring your evening to a heightened culmination of techno and house music.
Entry: Free
