Saatvik

What better way to start a herbivore food review blog, methinks than with the review of a pure vegetarian restaurant. Sattvik, located in Select Citywalk, Saket is a fine dining restaurant providing a plethora of options for vegetarians. The interiors of the restaurant have been done up in muted shades of brown and beige. This combined with the dim lighting; provides an ambience of understated elegance to the place.
Sattvik offers a plethora of (strictly vegetarian) options to its patrons. The menu culled from the cuisine of different regions somehow manages to do justice to them all, though one may be a tad disappointed if one is looking for several options from A particular region. We started with the till walle khatte tandoori aloo (tandoori potatoes with sesame seeds) and paneer basil tikka both of which were quite competently done though I have to say that the basil did not infuse the tikka with any of the extra zing which one would have expected. However it was definitely the flourless yogurt cheese kebab(or dahi ke kabab for the less la-di-da-da amongst us) which stood out as the undisputed champion amongst the starters. Deliciously crisp from the outside, and soft on the inside, the phrase ‘melt in the mouth delicious’ was more finger licking reality than overused superlative when applied to this kabab. Amongst the soups. The tamatar aur pudina ka shorba (tomato and mint soup) was quite nice while the badam aur tulsi ka shorba (almond and basil soup) was superb. I liked the fact that the recipes themselves had a slight twist since traditionally basil is paired with tomato in soups. However at Sattvik it was the almond soup which was flavored with basil to provide a slightly unusual but soul stirringly satisfying soup.

In the main course the nariyal aur dahi ki subzi is a must try especially if you like the cuisine of Kerala. Essentially a variant on the ‘avial’ the reworked dish tastes as good with parathas as it does with the traditional appams. The kadai hari subzi (green vegetables cooked in a wok) and paneer (cottage cheese) jaisalmeri are definitely worth a try though the guncha ki kadai and dal-e-saatvik were both quite average. The deserts were all uniformly good, be it the warm sugar poached gulab jamuns or the cool kesaria phirnee( saffron rice pudding) or rose petal kulfi.

Though I was not very pleased with the service (the staff seemed slightly hassled and unable to cope with the rush) some friends had shared positive feedback when they visited the restaurant on another evening. Hence it’s possible I might just have caught them on a bad night when they were short staffed. However all in all Sattvik is definitely worth a visit, chances are that like me you will leave planning your next meal there!

Food :4/5
Ambience:4/5
Service:3/5

Average cost of a meal for two: Rs. 800-1000