Smokehouse Deli

It remains an enduring mystery to me.

Why is it that some eateries offering great food often combined with attentive service languish whereas other rather mediocre places become the toast of the town for reasons that continue to elude me. It is to this latter category that Smokehouse Deli belongs. As an early disclaimer I did try to like the place........and I mean REALLY REALLY try (read visited repeatedly in the hope of a miracle occurring) .....and in all fairness there are some elements i.e. location and the ambience into which a great deal of thought and effort has gone in with great results. However the great ambience makes the mediocre food and the disastrous service even more of a let down.

However before I ramble and rumble on further caught up in a wave of righteous indignation, let’s begin at the beginning. The Smokehouse Deli opened in 2009 as the new outpost of the ever popular Smokehouse Grill in Greater Kailash II. Considering the consistently high standards maintained by the Grill, expectations were understandably high and the Deli does not disappoint at least so far as the decor is concerned. Diners have the option of choosing between the indoor seating and alfresco dining and the indoor area is quite inviting with white seating, black squiggles on the walls providing slightly kitschy appeal and sunlight streaming in through the French windows. But it is the outdoor area with its covered awning which shelters from the rain while letting cool breezes tickle you which is the real winner. Ideally suited for lazy brunches in the warm winter sun or leisurely dinners in the unusually mild April evenings we are currently blessed with in New Delhi; it remains a feasible dining option even in the sweltering heat of the summer months due to the thoughtful provision of air coolers and spray machines. The decor again is predominantly white and for those inclined towards an 'Evening in Paris' kind of experience, the water fountains facing the deli also burst into a periodic sound and light show (yes yes I know it is NOT the 1960's but is still retains a cheapie kitschy sort of charm :))

However while the decor never fails to charm, the food seldom impresses. One of the few strengths of the deli are its salads and one which I would definitely recommend for its interesting interplay of flavours is the pear and artichoke salad. The artistry unfortunately does not extend to the main course with even a basic ravioli dish proving to be a big disappointment served as it was with rubbery pasta and a supremely uninspiring spinach filling and tomato concose. In fact messing up the basics seems to be the signature move of the Deli with a cottage cheese burger (and really do you get any more basic than a burger?!) proving to be quite disappointing (for my money some of the best vegetarian burgers in town are to be found at the News Cafe located 2 floors above Smokehouse Deli but more on that in the next post). Nor did many of the other dishes impress. We ordered the wild mushroom and artichoke crepes with the fontina melt and while the crepes themselves were lovely and light, the melted cheese on top ruined the entire dish. Fontina was too strong a cheese to complement the delicate taste of the crepes and the overall effect was that of an avalanche of melted cheese obliterating all delicate flavours in its path!

One of the few saving graces of the menu was the capellini with grilled vegetables kalamata olives and feta crumble. It has been one of the most interesting pasta dishes I have had in a while (I do wish more chefs would broaden their horizons beyond penne, fettuccine and spaghetti and explore pasta options like capellini) but unfortunately this dish was part of a time bound promotion and is no longer available on the menu. In terms of desserts, while the tiramisu was definitely good, the banoffee was really reaaly bad and once again left me wondering how could such a simple dessert could so wrong in supposedly trained hands.

A word now on the service....it is non-existent !!Throughout my various visits I have always found the servers to be polite but sluggish and unresponsive to simple requests. However the pinnacle of indifferent service was attained when a friend was served his pasta dish without any accompanying cutlery (this was leisurely supplied when he politely enquired whether he was expected to eat the spaghetti with his hands). Good service is one of the essentials of an enjoyable dining experience and indifferent service is unacceptable anywhere but especially so at an establishment which for all its pretensions of providing a casual dining experience has priced itself at par with several fine dining outlets.

All in all if you must visit Smokehouse Deli, do so for the ambience, enjoy a round of cocktails there and then move on to the several infinitely better dining options available in the Vasant Kunj malls now.

Ambience: 4/5
Food: 2.5/5
Service:2.5/5
Average Cost of Meal for Two: Rs. 2000