I’m usually not a fan of food chains because in my experience there are invariably those few outlets where the food and/or service sucks leaving one (often literally) with a bad taste in the mouth. However Chili’s is one restaurant which I would definitely say lives up to its name and is smokin’ hot be it in terms of great food, prompt friendly service or value for money.
Chili’s is an international chain serving Tex-Mex dishes, with a presence in more than 30 countries. In India, in addition to the Delhi operations, the chain has outlets in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai The Delhi outlet opened its doors in December 2010 and has been doing roaring business ever since(with repeat customers like me undoubtedly contributing a not inconsiderable amount to the total profits). Though vegetarian options are limited vis-à-vis the non vegetarian menu, the food is almost uniformly good and almost always excellent value for money.
One of my favourite items on the menu is a vegetarian (I suspect made-for-India) version of the traditional Chili Con Carne or Chili for short. The vegetarian version uses tomatoes, black beans (or good ol’ rajma) veggies like carrots, zucchini etc, assorted spices and I suspect strong lashings of cheese. The result is a thick gooeeey soul satisfying mass of goodness. Amongst the starters, the vegetarian nachos are a good option. Don’t expect TGIF style nachos heaped tall with salad veggies and cheese. The Chili’s version consist of individual nachos baked with oodles of cheese with an ornamental jalapeno slice providing just the right amount of bite to the dish and a sweet-spicy dip complementing the whole rather well. We also tried fried jalapeno and onion rings which were nothing more or less than jalapeno pakodas and onion pakodas, crisp crunchy and filling! A real value for money option are the bottomless party chips, bowls of crispy tostada served with a lovely refreshing salsa and repeated as often as one desires. One of the few dishes on the menu which actually disappointed were the veggie and cheese quesadillas. The quesadillas had a filling of spinach, sauted mushrooms spring onions and cheese but all that one could taste was overwhelming quantities of cheese drowning out all the more delicate flavours.
While the quesadillas disappointed, the burgers definitely did not. The stars of the menu at Chili’s, each one is more mouth watering than the last. My personal favourite is the vegetarian Mushroom Swiss Burger, a mouth watering concoction of a southwestern soya patty, sauted mushrooms, sliced Swiss cheese, tomatoes, pickles ( gherkins not 'achar' :)) and mayo in a sesame seed bun. If mushrooms are not your thing or spicy is what you crave, then try the Jalapeno Burger which teams the southwestern soya patty with mayo, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, jalapenos, cheddar and fried tortilla strips. Yummmmmy though the southwestern patty is, it does have a slightly ‘mock meatish; taste which may not appeal to some vegetarians. For them I would recommend the Bombay Burger. At the heart of the Bombay Burger is a well seasoned potato patty made with carrots, peas and beans. This is brought together with a supporting cast of pickles, shredded lettuce, tomatoes and onions to create a deeply satisfying burger.
A word now on the desserts and that word is scrumptious! One of my pet peeves with the dining scene in New Delhi has been the lamentable lack of establishments capable of serving up even a semi-decent cheese cake. The cheese cake at Chilli’s is definitely not semi-decent, it is absolutely DELICIOUS and served with a fabulous strawberry sauce, once cannot help gorging right to the last mouth watering morsel. The molten chocolate cake topped with vanilla ice cream is decadent and one bite is enough to convince you that sometimes sinning can actually be sooooooo good for your soul. The fried banana fritters actually tasted more like the banana pancakes which were once so ubiquitous in every self respecting Chinese restaurant serving ‘Sino-Ludhianavi’ cuisine. However they were quite nice on the whole.
I would also like to mention the service; it has been uniformly good with staff who are attentive but not overbearing and friendly but always polite. Chili’s is no fine dining establishment, but definitely a great place to enjoy a relaxed evening with family and friends without burning a hole in the pocket. Watch out TGIF, there’s a new kid in town and he’s definitely a lot hotter than you!
Food: 4/5
Service:4/5
Ambience: 3/5
Average Cost of Meal for Two: Rs. 1200
