The human mind is designed to release endorphins when a person discovers something new. This is precisely what happened to me and my fellow foodies when we discovered - The Back Room.
Tucked behind Toy Hotel in Sector 34, this place goes undiscovered by most. Just walk behind Toy Hotel and you'll reach the gates of wonderland. Designed to reflect the old world charm of British era pubs, complete with wood, leather and blacks, The Back Room is anything but a room.
We were a group of about 12 eatlings and we crashed here on the invitation of Angad Singh, the owner of the place. Our menu, was designed to expose the finest that this place has to offer. And so it did.
The extravaganza on this Sunday afternoon, began with a box of spicy barbecued peanuts. Presented in a black box with the Back Room logo, these were pretty good. The next two tidbits that came in were Layered Greek Dip and Sun Dried Tomato & Feta Dip. Usually when you go to restaurants, the portion of pita or garlic bread outshines the quantity of dip that comes along. At this place, it is just the opposite. The dip outweighed the accompaniments. I would make a special mention of the sun dried tomato and feta dip. It tasted divine and you could actually taste the cherry tomatoes which were neither over powering, not underwhelmed for a dip. I usually do not like tomato based dips/sauces but this one stood out.
Next came the Broccoli with Stuffed muschroom tikka. Served on skewers, these had a melt in the mouth consistency which is rare for a vegetarian tikka. The tandoori momos that came next were very unique and extremely flavourful. Unlike their steamed cousins from the land of thukpa, these were Punjabified to perfection. And I mean, in a very very good way. Presented for the a-la-meat bunch, the Saigon Summer Rolls were gorgeous with chicken and vegetables wrapped in a delicate and translucent shell that exposed just enough colours to attract the hungry bees that hovered around it. Another show stopper was the Kaffir Char Grilled Fish.
I must point out that the Back Room specializes in presentation. I've rarely seen food presented this good in the tricity region. But unlike places where presentation scores way above quantity and taste, the Back Room hits a home run on taste and quantity as well.
Now, all this while, we were served with some of the most amazingly presented mocktails (this place specializes in cocktails but as a bunch we opted to avoid being tipsy). The photographs with this review should give you a fair idea of the beauty of these drinks. And though they took quite a long time to serve, the result was well worth the wait. I was presented with a Lemon Ginger mocktail in a bottle with mint leaves and no, this was not lemon soda in case you're wondering. The lemony tang and the spikey ginger was a great combination. More importantly, this was done well. The same mocktail was also presented to one of the eatlings in a dry ice laden bowl which fumed its way to glory on the table. There was also a watermelon based mocktail which looked equally amazing.
The menu at this place comprises up of platters featuring an assortment of goodies from world cuisine. So, don't expect to get a Dal Makhni and Chicken Rahra here. But this is what is great about the place. Your platters offer you exquisite taste from regions afar. So, for the main course, the first thing that landed was a missile from Maharashtra - Misal Pav.
I hate most of what Maharashtrian cuisine has to offer. Hate me for saying this, but most of it is overly spiced, laden with oil and offers practically nothing in terms of taste. And so, seeing Misal Pav on the menu, had me in fits already. But what came was quite decent actually. I won't give it any marks because I hate the dish in the first place, but the Back Room version was atleast flavourful and more imporantly edible for this particular dish.
Next up was the Iranian Berry Pulao, an amazing biryani of sorts that was laden with cashews, golden brown onion shards, all mixed in with a delicate amalgamation of vegetables cooked with mild spices. It was divine and by itself, is quite the dish.
The Salan Kofta served on skewers, dipped in gravy with shredded pieces of onion kulcha was amazing as well. For the non vegetarians, there was the Chicken Skewers with Choori Roti. This is the Back Room's version of Butter Chicken that is not typical and yet offers the taste, all wrapped up in a uniquely new experience.
The Tofu Mein were essentially noodles presented with a tofu based tangy vegetables on top that were quite flavourful. The tofu pieces were crispy and perfectly done. The other side were presented with the Chilli Chicken Mein.
The last and final dish was the Hummus B'lahmeh, a traditional middle east delicacy comprising up of lamb chunks in a bed of hummus served with pita shards. I can't offer any taste advice on this being a vegetarian but as a former hardcore meat eater, the sight was an absolute delight. I'm sure my meatling friends would concur with me on this.
If the main course represents the excitement of reaching the summit, the desserts offer the pleasure of closing your eyes and experiencing the serenity of the moment, a sweet and obsessive feeling that is hard to let go. Our desserts menu started with Gulab-e-Laden. Read 'Laden' in English and not as in Osama - bin - you get the idea!
For the first time in my life, did I see a torus shaped gulab jamun and it was served with gulkand flavoured ice cream. This was an outstanding dessert to say the least. Next came the TBR Kulfi. Quite like the standard malai falooda kulfi, this was presented in a glass bowl with dry ice fumes setting the ground for an incredible experience.
Overall, The Back Room is a hidden gem in this tricity. It is a treasure waiting to be discovered and this is much of what it is founded on. The staff serves with a smile which is always an added plus.
I'm cutting 1 mark for the fact that the vegetarians including myself, were not served too well. The servers would end up extinguishing the vegetarian platters across the table, before it reached the vegetarians. The distribution of dishes across the table was not even and we couldn't taste a few things and had to specially ask them to get it which was embarrassing at the end. The crusted beetroot bonbons are one such example. It never arrived on my side of the table. And the Tofu Mein had to be requested, which arrived after all the plates were removed for the desserts. The servers need to recognize the vegetarians from the non-vegetarians after they serve the first round and then give preference to them whilst serving vegetarian dishes.
Despite the lack of synchronization in serving the dishes, I would still rate this place extremely high on the overall experience index and would highly recommend it. The food is incredible, is presented in an outstanding way and the ambiance adds to the mix to create an excellent experience.
The place also plays host to indie bands, performers and artists from all over. This is quite a USP and is not like the typical experience you get at Peddlers and other places. The performers here are carefully selected and managed by an organization exclusively for this place.
Try the Back Room experience. I know I will be back very soon, for more.
Angad, you're doing a terrific job running this place.
Highly Recommended!
UPDATE : I went there again to sample their Som Tam salad (Thai Raw Papaya Salad) and I can confidently say that it was as close to what I found in Thailand as it could've been. I love Som Tam so imagine my excitement!
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