Bukhara - One of the most iconic brands for fine dining at ITC

Bukhara is one of the most iconic brands for fine dining among the ITC hotels. It has won the 'Restaurant Magazine Award' for the Best 50 hotels in the world 7 times. This is definitely a must visit if you are in Delhi. Once you go inside and sit they have aprons instead of napkins that you can wear while having your meal.

The menu is brilliantly done - with very few items engraved on a circular wooden panel. There are separate ones for both vegetarians as well as non vegetarians. This completely blends in with the theme where you see all the waiters wearing pathani suits.

We started off by ordering the most iconic Dal Bukhara which is a harmonious blend of black lentil, tomatoes ginger and garlic, simmered overnight on slow charcoal fire, finished with cream and served with a dollop of unsalted butter. The quantity was only sufficient for one person and we ended up ordered a couple more.

To enjoy the Dal Bukhara we also ordered the Naan Bukara which is a giant Naan that completely covered our table. We also requested them to add butter to the entire Naan which they generously did. We couldn't finish it among four of us. The sides I felt were a bit crunchy as opposed to the center which was soft.

Among the starters we had ordered the Tandoori Jhinga. This dish had jumbo prawns marinated in an "ajwain" flavored mixture of yogurt, red chilli, turmeric and garam masala, skewered and roasted over charcoal fire.

Then we ordered the Sikandari Raan which was a whole leg of spring lamb, braised in a marinade of malt vinegar, cinnamon, black cumin, red chilli paste and finished in the Tandoor.

We also ordered the Tandoori Pomfret which was a whole pomfret mildly spiced with yellow chilli, garam masala, turmeric powder, and flavored with 'ajwain'. It is then skewered and roasted in the clay oven. We felt that the pomfret was bland in taste and was also slightly smelly.

In the desserts we first ordered the Rasamalai - which is poached dumplings of fresh cottage cheese floated in saffron flavored reduced milk sauce.

Next was the Phirni. This is a light dessert of milk and ground basmati rice flavored with cardamom, set in an earthen mould, topped with pistachio and almkond slivers. I have tried Phirni in a lot of places and I must say that this was just heavenly.

Overall: Although the food is definitely good, being a foodie and having tried similar cuisines at a lot of places I felt this was overhyped. The Phirni though is a definite must eat.

Ambiance:4.5/5

Service: 4.5/5

Food: 4/5

Price: Expensive