My dining experience at “Peacock” restaurant

Every time I heard the name of this restaurant – Peacock, I wondered why such a name for an eatery, what could be the reason behind etc. I found out the answer when I dined here recently as an outcome of an invite to review their food. They serve both buffet and Ala-carte and I went for the Ala-carte along with a blogger friend Ajay Arora (www.foodntraveldiaries.in).

According to them, the restaurant strives to take a step further from being majestic and perfectionist just like our National bird with one motto – customer satisfaction! I at least finally got my answer, more or less.

AMBIANCE

The place is on the 2nd floor having another outlet of theirs in the same building called “Rendezvous” on 1st floor. Right from the entrance at the Ground floor till the dining area is quite spacious. It looks neat, calm and seating is not too cramped up. The main highlight is the area of the buffet spread. A couple of separate private area is also available for dining.

FOOD

So what did I eat and how was it? Well, we settled for some stuff from the menu that caught our attention and here’s how the experience was.

CHAATs

Dahi puri and papdi chaat – both were nice, the thick and fresh curd made the difference.

STARTERs

NON-VEG PLATTER:

Consisting of:

Fish fingers – Light golden fried basa fish fingers with a crunchy outer layer. Very simple, yet tasty and a good try.

Chicken wings – A delight to try, no complaints.

Mutton sheekh kebab – Well marinated minced meat, flavorful and well cooked. I only fet they could have been more juicier or moist, but the taste does justice.

Chicken tikka – Another flavorful and tasty dish but not boneless. I would prefer this being boneless to enjoy it much more.

The salad accompanied had no seasoning or flavor although it looked inviting and definitely healthy. A good dressing or proper seasoning is recommended to go well with the above items.

CHEESY VEG TIKKA:

This one was just WOW! Initially I just saw a light topping of melted cheese and thought, this can’t really be called cheesy!

When I cut it into halves, the amount of cheese that oozed out made me waste no time to just take the first bite. A must try dish!

DRINKs

Mint mocktail and watermelon cooler – They both were nice and refreshing. The mint cooler was a tad sweet.

Buttermilk – Wasn’t too thick but packed with flavors and such a cooling drink to go with the heavy food.

MAIN COURSE

Ajwaini fish tikka masala with white rice:

The curry looked quite appealing and tempting with its glossy colour. The slight sour-sweet and hot flavors from ajwain (carom seeds) was a great combo.

The long grain steamed rice was a perfect way to enjoy it. The fish used was basa, although it tasted nice this is the first time I have tasted a basa fish in ajwaini fish masala/curry which was surprising. I am used to a seer fish or other meaty fish. I would suggest them to mention in the menu about the fish that is being used so that the diners are aware what to expect.

Chicken dum biryani:

Irrespective of how many times you eat “biryani”, it’s always exciting when it arrives at the table. The long grained masala coated rice was something I couldn’t resist for long and straight away digged into it. Every grain was flavorful, the look was beautiful and the chicken pieces were succulent and tasty. Another good dish. THe raitha too was excellent!

DESSERTs

Kajar ka halwa:

Let me tell you, this is a very common dessert in any restaurant. But it’s also a fact that not everybody manages to pull it off every time. This one here had the sticky goodness which I like and just right amount of sweetness. A great way to end the meal with, although a common dessert but worth the money.

Kheer:

Brilliant dessert! There is nothing I would like to change in its taste or presentation. The pistachios topping on this creamy white dessert looked like tiny emeralds on a white beach…literally! This was part of their buffet menu for the day and not available in the actual menu (why not?). If a dessert in the buffet itself is this good, then people will be really content with it. A must have dish.

My take on the dining experience:

I had my apprehensions when I committed to come try their food and wondered why the low ratings on zomato. I have no answer to it as we didn’t try their buffet.

But overall, the experience was quite delightful. The food was good and some dishes really stood out. The only thing that really needs improvement is from the service front – not hospitality, but about the pace/time in serving food. Although the menu states a wait time of 20 mins for a dish, we did have to wait for longer time once and felt this is something that can make people feel stressed and lose patience. Which in turn could make them remember this instead of a good eating experience. Otherwise, all good.

Food – 4

Cost – 3.75

Service – 3.5