Sunday Brunches are slowly but steadily becoming an integral part of Delhi’s culture. With hectic lifestyles having overtaken our lives, brunches have emerged as the ‘perfect family and friends time’. A few hours of indulgence that make you feel less guilty about the imbalance in our work life ratio! Not just 5 Star Hotels, but even standalone restaurants are aggressively pushing their Sunday Brunches. But the Brunch at The Pavilion, ITC Maurya stands tall amongst all of them. In accordance with ITC’s ethos of Responsible Luxury, ITC Maurya is doing a important job of promoting local and regional Indian cuisine. ITC Maurya has a Green Supply Chain that sources products from local vendors, thereby promoting domestic produce. A lot of ingredients are also produced in-house to decrease the carbon footprint. A variety of yoghurt based soft to medium hard cheese with flavours ranging from cumin to chilly will make you marvel at the talent on display. We start off with gigantic tumbler(the size of ones you drink lassi out of) full of Long Island Iced Tea and the classic flavours are on target.
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A walk around the buffet reveals a plethora of gastronomic experiences. We start off with old Delhi style Chat but that’s what you will find in every other buffet. What makes this one stand out is that even the roadside Kachoris are here. Dunked in the saunth chutney, the flavours are something that will transport you back to your childhood. But you ain’t paying a few grand to have some Chaat and this is where the sophistication drops in. Two rare kebabs, Doodhiya and Chapli will make an appearance and will leave you wanting more with stark contrasting textures and flavours.
The rain joins us, from across the glass and we now want something ‘garam’. A plate of unusual, piping hot Lamb Dimsums is godsent! A flavour which displays the true depth of ITC Maurya‘s kitchens. The two Bengalis at the table devour a plateful of grilled Prawns! So juicy and fresh. Count sixty seconds and it’s a clean plate! Quick to be sampled is the Roast Chicken. Now this is tricky. A roast chicken is usually the Achilles heel of most buffet as it tends to dry and harden over time. But here, we had it soft and tender throughout.
Let’s get back to the Indian part of the menu. By Indian, I don’t mean a domination of Punjabi food, it means a Beetroot Pokhriyal from Kerala and Lamb from the Kashmiri household. Executive Sous Chef Jayesh Karande and Chef Yash Rajpal then serve one dish that not only defines not only the finesse but also the top notch hospitality of this chain. It might have just been a simple classic Chholey Bhature but the knowledge of a guest’s preference takes your breath away. Maître-d’ Yashpal Dogra makes such marvels possible making customers come back for more. The Crispy Bhature and the Chholey rival major Delhi joints and we definitely recommend this before moving on.
Moving onto some sweet endings. We conclude our meal with some Rabri Jalebi and Dudh along with Kulfi in two flavours. Priced at INR 2500++ for soft beverages, INR 3000++ for sparkling wine and INR 3500++ for Champagne, this Brunch will excite your taste buds like never before. Although this review focuses majorly on Indian food, their range encompasses most of the major cuisines. The essential part being it’s often getting the simple things correct that’s difficult and this is where this buffet scores and gives you what you crave for the entire week- Comfort Food.
