United Coffee House, Connaught Place, New Delhi

United Coffee House(UCH), the legendary café-restaurant and bar, is one of the most celebrated in the city. It was conceptualized in 1942, the year of quit India movement, by an entrepreneurial magnate late lala Hans Raj Kalra. He was a suave liquor barren and a passionate hotelier with an experience of running a restaurant and bar called ESPLANADE in the famous Chandni Chowk, Delh, India and a country liquor manufacturing unit in Sialkot, Pakistan. It was the time when the talks were about India breaking free from the shackles of British and Delhi started evolving its own character from the way people dressed to acquiring taste for varied cuisines. It was opened with an aim to bring the diverse characteristics of Delhi under one roof and offered an open environment where the discerning clients could sit, relax, interact and have a rendezvous and hold a intellectual discussions. Being the center place for people from different walks of life, UCH brought change in the way people used to socialize and introduced flavors which even today, after 7 decades, ruled the palates of many. Throughout its long history the tables of UCH have been crowded with writers, artists, lawyers, journalists, actor, affluent businessmen, Philanthropists Travelers, Politicians, and Bureaucrats. UCH has also been appeared in clippings in newspapers and won many accolades by prestigious  organizations, nationally and internationally.

UCH is one place which brings back many memories with friends during college. I recently visited UCH with a friend of mine and we discussed the many memories we had of the place. 

The afternoon started with a Bellini and Sherlock which were both very flavourful and light. 

The first starter that we tried was the Shrimp cocktail which is a seafood dish consisting of shelled, cooked, shrimps in a cocktail sauce (usually a combination of mayonnaise and thousand island) on a bed of lettuce served in a glass. Personally the shrimp cocktail was a bit of a disappointment as the cocktail sauce was a little too much and the shrimps were lost in the sauce.

The Thai Prawn Tom Yum was an absolute gastronomic delight! The soup which is made of stock, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, lime juice, fish sauce, chili peppers, mushroom and prawns was perfect! I could have this all day every day. 

The Pepper chicken steak sizzler which we tried next was again delicious. The chicken steak was perfectly cooked and moist and was more than enough for 2 people to share. The crispy fries and the blanched veggies with the pepper sauce proved to be a great combination.  

The Braised duck Beijing style was well cooked Duck in an Asian gravy with spring onions and garlic, corn and mushroom.

A good meal had to end with good desserts - Kulfi and Tiramisu.
The kulfi was creamy, mouth watering and delicious.

The Tiramisu unfortunately was a little dry and there was too much cream , but nonetheless the taste was upto the mark.

UCH has recently revamped their menu and you must must must try out the items on the new menu! It is an experience you would not want to miss.
Happy eating!