Garam Dharam, Connaught Place
Garam Dharam - Dhaba Te Theka is the first of its kind restaurant in Connaught Place and is inspired by the veteran film Actor- Dharmendra (Also called Dharam Paaji). His roles in action films earned him his nicknames - "Action King" and "He-Man". One of his most notable roles was the one he portrayed in the major hit film - Sholay.
The restaurant itself is co-owned by Dharmendra, Umang Tiwari and Mickey Mehta. We were invited for a tasting of the food and drinks to the restaurant last week on a Thursday evening. We headed to the restaurant pretty early as we had heard that there is usually a waiting of about 30 minutes to get a table. Thankfully by the time we entered, the place was not very crowded.
A Bioscope which serves as a table and the bright and filmy entrance is just the start of the decor. As soon as you open the doors, you will be surrounded by Dhaba themed interiors, posters of Dharmendra's popular films, famous dialogues from his movies and a huge graffiti style Painting of the actor himself. The restaurant is spacious and well lit and the the classic bike from the movie "Sholay" which is also featured in the unforgettable song "Yeh Dosti" is also a part of the decor and a major attraction too. Each and every person that walked into the restaurant took pictures of the bike at least if nothing else.
The menu is Dhaba+Dharmendra inspired too!The manager, Rajat, told us that Dharam Paaji himself was also involved in the design of the menu and has added a personal touch to the menu by adding "Dharam Ji's specials" to the food as well as the drinks menu.
The Signature drinks are what we tried first - Parimal's Paan Gulabo and Khatti Meethi Chulbuli.
Both the drinks were served in the Theka bottles and we were told that these were specially procured keeping the theme in mind. The paan and kewra flavoured concoction, Parimal's Paan Gulabo,was quite sweet and tasty. The taste was similar to the Paan flavoured toffee - Pan Pasand that I used to have when I was a child.
The Khatti Meethi Chulbuli made of Kokum, rock salt and jeera was sweet and tart and was my favourite.
Since we had already tried 2 of their signature drinks, we went on to try Garam Dharam's in house Banta. Banta at Garam Dharam is available in many flavours and is not limited to the lemon flavour . The He- Man G.D. Cola that we tried was Cola flavoured RTD with Rum and was served in the Banta bottle exactly like the original and was delicious but tangy. Soft old songs, including those featuring Dharmendra played in the background while we enjoyed our drinks at Garam Dharam .
Since it was a tasting, instead of individual starters, we were brought a platter containing 2 pieces of the popular starters- Dahi ke kebab, Mutton seekh kebab, Chicken Kali Mirch, Galauti kebab with Ulta parantha and Andhra Chicken dry.
The Dahi ke kebab was sweet, crisp on the outside and soft creamy and loaded with ghee on the inside.
The Mutton seekh kebab which was prepared in house from scratch by marinating meat overnight was juicy, spicy and well cooked. The Chicken Kali Mirch was well cooked and tender and the preparation was similar to that of Chicken Malai Tikka. However, the Kali Mirch flavour was almost absent. The Galauti kebab served on parantha was melt in the mouth delicious. The Andhra chicken with the southern flavours minus the coconut was good too.
Moving on to the mains, we were served the Balti Meat and Home style chicken curry with Lachcha Paranthas. The food was served in heavy steel plates. The chicken was cooked well and the curry was quite average. The Balti meat on the other hand was undercooked but the gravy was spicy and flavourful. Definitely a major let down after the delicious starters.
The service was taking quite some time and because we had to drive back to Gurgaon , we skipped the desserts.
The 4000 sq feet space with the charm of a dhaba,with different coloured bulbs inserted in utensils and buckets hanging from the ceiling and Dharmendra inspired art work was worth the visit mainly for the drinks and starters.
The absence of blaring music and a comfortable ambience is what makes Garam Dharam a restaurant that you can visit with family and catch up with friends.
The restaurant itself is co-owned by Dharmendra, Umang Tiwari and Mickey Mehta. We were invited for a tasting of the food and drinks to the restaurant last week on a Thursday evening. We headed to the restaurant pretty early as we had heard that there is usually a waiting of about 30 minutes to get a table. Thankfully by the time we entered, the place was not very crowded.
The menu is Dhaba+Dharmendra inspired too!The manager, Rajat, told us that Dharam Paaji himself was also involved in the design of the menu and has added a personal touch to the menu by adding "Dharam Ji's specials" to the food as well as the drinks menu.
The Signature drinks are what we tried first - Parimal's Paan Gulabo and Khatti Meethi Chulbuli.
Both the drinks were served in the Theka bottles and we were told that these were specially procured keeping the theme in mind. The paan and kewra flavoured concoction, Parimal's Paan Gulabo,was quite sweet and tasty. The taste was similar to the Paan flavoured toffee - Pan Pasand that I used to have when I was a child.
The Khatti Meethi Chulbuli made of Kokum, rock salt and jeera was sweet and tart and was my favourite.
Since we had already tried 2 of their signature drinks, we went on to try Garam Dharam's in house Banta. Banta at Garam Dharam is available in many flavours and is not limited to the lemon flavour . The He- Man G.D. Cola that we tried was Cola flavoured RTD with Rum and was served in the Banta bottle exactly like the original and was delicious but tangy. Soft old songs, including those featuring Dharmendra played in the background while we enjoyed our drinks at Garam Dharam .
Since it was a tasting, instead of individual starters, we were brought a platter containing 2 pieces of the popular starters- Dahi ke kebab, Mutton seekh kebab, Chicken Kali Mirch, Galauti kebab with Ulta parantha and Andhra Chicken dry.
The Dahi ke kebab was sweet, crisp on the outside and soft creamy and loaded with ghee on the inside.
Moving on to the mains, we were served the Balti Meat and Home style chicken curry with Lachcha Paranthas. The food was served in heavy steel plates. The chicken was cooked well and the curry was quite average. The Balti meat on the other hand was undercooked but the gravy was spicy and flavourful. Definitely a major let down after the delicious starters.
The 4000 sq feet space with the charm of a dhaba,with different coloured bulbs inserted in utensils and buckets hanging from the ceiling and Dharmendra inspired art work was worth the visit mainly for the drinks and starters.
The absence of blaring music and a comfortable ambience is what makes Garam Dharam a restaurant that you can visit with family and catch up with friends.
Rating
Service - 2/5 | Variety- 3/5 | Taste- 3/5 | Price - 3/5
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