What: Spicery, a modern Indian eatery
Opened on: August 1
Where: Acropolis mall
Covers: 98
Timings: 12.30pm-11pm
Meal for two: Rs 700 (including taxes)
Street faves and comfort food from across India in a contemporary, swank ambience — that’s the latest offering to the city from Speciality Restaurants Ltd, one of the country’s foremost F&B groups.
Housed on the fourth floor of Acropolis mall (where Barcelos used to be), Spicery is the group founder and MD Anjan Chatterjee’s passion project. “Spicery is about modern Indian soul food,” Chatterjee tells t2, when we catch up between food trials, days before the restaurant’s opening.
“One always had a dream to do a street food thing. Now, while we have the best of Indian restaurants and chefs, one can’t leave street food to just them; they are not on the street. So what we did was, we got people from all these places on contract basis to come and train our chefs. Like, from this place called Natraj (in Delhi), which is famous for its Natraj Ke Bhalle. So we have got a guy from there who will train my chefs to do the exact thing,” he explains.
From Samosa Chaat, Aloo Tikki Chaat, Palak Patta Chaat to Fried Idli, Phuchka and Bun Tikka Kebab, the street food fare spans the entire country. Traditionally famous dishes like Dacres Lane Stew, Kake Da Mutton, Machher Jhol, Parsi Fried Chicken and Calicut Chicken Lollipop find place on the menu, with authenticity of taste being Chatterjee’s prime objective. Expect regional specials like Malpua and Delhi Ki Barfi on the dessert menu.
Most of the dishes on the all-day dining menu are served as whole meals, and come with an accompaniment.
The interiors of the 98-cover eatery are warm and bright, with wooden furniture, brick walls and multi-coloured bright lights lining the ceiling. A highlight wall features iconic street food photos. Retro Bollywood tunes playing on loop let you relax as soon as you enter. A small and cosy seating area outside the restaurant has a few tables for two.
Chatterjee wants to keep the ambience as casual as it gets. “In a mall you stroll around, you do your shopping and then come in here with the shopping bags; you don’t need to dress up. Not intimidating service, you relax with Bollywood music,” he says. He was even toying with the idea of breaking the glass entrance to the restaurant. “The more barriers you put for the customer, the more intimidated they are,” he adds.
The bar area is a little set off from the restaurant space and this zone Chatterjee plans to call ‘theka’ (meaning liquor shop in Punjabi).
After Acropolis, Chatterjee plans to take Spicery to other malls in the city as well as Sector V. “This is one location-agnostic brand that can go to any part of the city, or actually it can go to any part of the country,” he says.
Text: Smita Roy Chowdhury
Pictures: Rashbehari Das