Teddy Boy– a gastropub inspired from British subculture – is an ode to the classy pubs of 1950s that were extremely popular among the youth of Britain. Teddy boy (or Ted) was the name given to any young man of this subculture that was characterised by their Edwardian dressing sense (normally drape jackets, drainpipe trousers, a brocade waistcoat, and a narrow tie, with their hair neatly done up, usually in the form of a quiff) and a liking for rock-and-roll music.
The interiors, the menu, and the theme of the restaurant are all dedicated to the Teddy boy subculture. Proof of this are the big British flag on the right hand side wall as you enter and vintage pictures of Teddy boys on the menu. The interiors of the Pub have been done up quite stylishly, the plain brick walls creating a laidback atmosphere and big couches providing comfort for seating. Even the lighting, which uses dim tungsten bulbs adds to this relaxed feeling. We also noticed a large wall clock and wall mountings of antlers (not sure if they were real). The exceptionally high ceiling also lends a royal, rich feel.
There is an upper level too that is open to the sky. Compared to the lower level’s more than 100 covers, this one had fewer (around 30-35). The theme here is completely different than the lower floor, with white being the predominant colour, seen over the furniture, the walls, the woodwork, etc. Since we wanted to get the feeling of being Teddy boys ourselves, we opted for the lower floor.
The team of Chef Doyel Sarangi (of Masterchef India 3 fame, and our host), Chef Dinesh Bahrani and restaurateur Priyank Sukhija have done a great job of recreating the era from the 1950s. The menu designed by them has a mix of European classics and delicacies from the Bengal and Mumbai regions, and most of the dishes have been provided a special twist by the two chefs. For example, the Thai Chicken Biryani with Coconut Lemongrass Salan was traditional Indian Biryani with the Thai twist in it (more about this dish later).
We started off with the soup of the day, which was Chicken Thukpa. It was served in large, heavy tea cups rather than in bowls which was a delightful change. The soup was hot and flavourful with the chicken stock flavour being predominant but at the same time, one could make out the spices and the vegetables in it.
After the soup, we ordered some starters. First up were the Kakori Kebabs, which were served with warqi parantha, onion rings, and pudina chutney. 4 paranthas were rolled out on a white plastic container (that looked like a bed) and each of them had a kakori kebab on top, along with the onion rings. The kebabs were melt-in-the-mouth soft and tasted great.
The Chini Kamal Kakdi had lotus stem, stir fried in a sweet chilli sauce. It was crispy but a little sweet, garnished with beans, cabbage, carrot and capsicum.
The Chicken Spring Roll had a juicy chicken flavor and was nice and crispy at the same time.
Kolkata famous Kathi Roll (veg) was Chef Doyel’s creation, filled with potato and onion. We loved the distinct flavor!
Kolkata Churmur, Imly Water felt like golgappa filling without the pani. Cucumber, whitepeas, coriander, tomato, onion and aloo made for an awesome combination full of flavours.
The Camembert Lollies from the small plates section were served with Mayonnaise sauce. The cheesy lollipops went smoothly down the throat giving the right cheese consistency, though with gallops of calories.
The Kulcha Taco from Butter Chicken special, favourite snack with favourite filling arrived in style wrapped in a green patta on the passenger seat. Wondering how innovative can one be with our desi butter chicken.
The Tikka Masala Paneer from the Kulcha Tacos section again came on a colourful cycle. Even though this was a kulcha, it gave a kathi roll flavour. Don’t know how but it did bring along the Kolkata vibes.
The Chana Dal Pattice consisted of tikkis stuffed with soaked chana dal and fried to a golden brown colour. It was served with small sized pavs, that were slightly browned in butter and white chana and aloo cooked in red gravy.
We also ordered the Palak Patta Chaat, which had a base of batter covered deep fried spinach leaves and was topped with dressing of curd, coriander, and chutneys. The taste was okay, but make sure that you have this as soon as it arrives on your table because it tends to get soggy very quickly. It is also quite oily so the ones who are watching what they eat should stay away from this one.
The Chilli Garlic Chicken Momos were deep fried and were smeared with spicy Tomato Garlic sauce that added to the taste. The fillings in the dumplings were also quite generous. The momos were garnished with chopped spring onions. The momos were accompanied with clear soup which made for a great combination.
The Keema Tikki consisted of mutton keema balls deep fried and served with buttered pavs and more mutton keema that was cooked in red gravy. The tikkis were crisp and delicious and the mutton keema in gravy was spicy and rich in flavour.
From the chaat section, we also ordered Samosetts, which was the chef’s version of India samosa. Instead of the typical pyramid-like structure of the Indian samosa, these Samosetts came in neat triangles with a thin outer layer. The filling that we opted for was chicken. The Samosetts were deep fried to a light golden brown colour.
To quench our thirst, we ordered the Pink Musketeer – a combination of strawberry, litchi juice, watermelon, and lemonade. The interplay of these tastes felt quite nice on the tongue and left a sweet aftertaste in the mouth. It was a nice refreshing drink that is perfect for summer.
Next up was Kejriwal Eggs, a dish that we ordered partly because of the name. It included a fried egg served sunny side up along with cheese covered bread and French fries. The contents were simple and the dish was cooked and presented nicely. The French fries remained crisp for a long time and were not over-salted, a simple thing that a lot of places tend to get wrong.
From the Small Plates menu, we ordered Thigh High which had 3 pieces of Kalmi kebab, each with a different marination. The colours chosen for the marination were red, white, and green – giving it a tiranga look. The Kalmi kebabs were wonderfully done, being juicy, full of flavour, and spicy.
Another item from the same menu was Teddy Boy’s Chicken on Fire. This consisted of boneless pieces of Angara Murgh that were flambed on the table and tasted delicious.
From the Large Plates menu, we ordered Thai Chicken Biryani with Coconut Lemongrass Salan. This dish was a traditional Indian chicken biryani with a Thai twist added to it. The salan served with the biryani had the ingenious taste of coconut and lemongrass that came out very well.
Lastly the desserts menu, from where we asked for Chocolate Mist and Ferrero Rocher Golgappa. The Golgappas are Chef Doyel’s creation, filled with chocolate boondi and served along with shot glasses filled with strawberry flavoured white chocolate sauce. One is supposed to fill the sauce in the golgappa themself and have it. This was delicious – an absolute must-have for all fans of chocolate. The chocolate mist consisted of a rich chocolate pastry that had a smoky flavour and was served with chocolate rolls.
We also caught up with Chef Doyel Sarangi of Masterchef India 3 fame who has been an integral part of the restaurant. The lady is crazy about food and handles a team of 45 people. She joined the restaurant within 2 days of her interview call. She says all food items here are fusion but Sushi is her favourite.. Everything she creates “pyaar se”. At the same time MasterChef India is one platform she learnt a lot from. She can never forget some incidents which happened during that time specially the incident when a knife went into her hand (the day Ranvijay came on masterchef) while making mooli ka aachar but the confident lady didn’t give up and continued working.
Wondering how we ate all this in one go? We actually went twice…the first time we had starters and were too full to have main course but a review can’t be complete without it! So, we went again the second time!
Disclaimer: We had requested for small portions. The actual portion size is bigger than what is shown in the above pictures.
Review Credit: Arjun Budhraja
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