I entered Maquina in Hauz Khas Village where I could the waiters & bartenders in hats & unusual costumes. I could see the bartenders juggle with the glasses which was very interesting to watch. The lights were dim & I could feel the Goan zing as everyone was rejoicing in the music which filled the entire space with lots of enthusiasm & cheers.
One look at the menu & to say it, it was 80% Mexican menu. They have a lot of Mexican starters with the main course being American. We met the New York based Chef, Chef Ajay Chamoli who has more than 10 years of experience in food making and is now in Delhi since 6 months.
We ordered the Chicken Tortillas Soup which had tomatoes, zucchini, carrot, beetroot, chicken pieces & coriander with the after taste being spicy. The soup was served with fresh garlic bread & tortillas which were crispy to bite. It was a healthy soup with salt perfect as seasoning.
For the drinks (mocktails) we ordered Spiced Apple Mint Twist which contained fresh apple chunks, mint leaves, cinnamon syrup, black pepper, lemon juice & lemonade. It was spicy on the tongue (high spice quotient). It was the black pepper & cinnamon blend that made it spicy.
Next was Orange Bloom with orange juice, peach syrup, flamed star anise & lemon juice which was quite refreshing. It was sweet & also a little tangy.
We also tried Kiss Me Pink mocktail. It was a blend of orange juice, cranberry juice, apple juice & grenadine. It was sweet & tasted nice.
Spiced Apple Mint Twist, Orange Bloom & Kiss Me Pink (L-R)
We then tasted their Tex Mex Caesar Salad (Chicken) which was made with cabbage, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, black & green olives and marinated in mayo. The creamy texture in salad was great to taste with the Mexican spiced chicken.
The Chipotle Chicken Skewers were 3-4 pieces pieces or chunks of boneless chicken in chipotle sauce layered on a stick served with sour cream, tomato salsa & their special Guacamole sauce. It was very nice & unique. The sour cream was nice with good consistency, the guacamole had a sweet, sour & spicy taste, the chicken was tender, juicy, fresh, saucy & spicy and the tomato salsa made it all the more spicy.
The Peri Peri Paneer tikka was served with onion rings, lemon slice & pudina chutney. Though the paneer was soft & chewable, I found the Paneer tikka too salty.
The Desperado Flautas were seasoned shredded chicken rolled in flour tortillas & deep fried. They were served with refried beans, sour cream & guacamole dipping. The stuffing was of onions, capsicum, tomatoes, rajma (kidney beans) & olives. It was made little bit more on the oily side. The outer covering was crispy & soft from the inside with the Mexican spices wrapped inside the tortillas.
The Thai veggie spring rolls were crunchy, crispy & very soft from inside served with a Thai chilli sauce. The spring roll layer was thin & crisp which gave a full flavour of the veggies inside.
Next came the Chicken El Rancho burger. It was a 180g chicken mince patty spiked with jalapeno, ancho chilli, red & green bell peppers, grilled & put together with tomato salsa, onion rings & English cheddar & topped with ranch dressing.
The chicken used in the patty was juicy & had a smokey taste. The chicken was very spicy, soft & melted in my mouth. The bun was also very soft, nice & warm. There were also grapes, apple, pear & lettuce kept at the side of the wooden plate.
Then we tried the Mexican Grilled Veggies Quesadillas. The stuffing was good, tasty, yummy and full with flavours & vegetables. There was lots of cheese in the recipe made it more tastier.
The Assorted Bell peppers & corn pizza had all the 3 bell peppers with dollops of cheese. It was soft & mushy overloaded with cheesy goodness & surprise. It had a really nice flavour & it was not really spicy.
The Caribbean Chicken Sandwich was cheesy & sweet with pineapple filled inside. The chicken tasted absolutely delicious. It was served along with fries & a dip.
Finally came the Chef’s special recommended dish-the Grilled Chicken Roulade. It was a mushroom & cheddar stuffed chicken roulade, grilled & drizzled with red wine jus & served along with butter tossed veggies. It was a really unique concept that veggies were stuffed inside the chicken. The butter tossed veggies just melted in the mouth and I loved it!
For the desserts, I tried the Toblerone Shots.  The chocolate was mixed with Jack Daniel’s. Well, I am not an alcohol person so didn’t like it much but am sure if you are one of those who is fond of alcohol then this one’s a much try.
Overall the food was good. My favourites were the soup, chicken roulade, pizza & quesadillas and would love people to people to try them. The quality & quantity is good & a huge variety is there in the menu. I will surely get back here.
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