Farzi Cafe Dubai: Ready to get Farzified
Review of Farzi Cafe Dubai and Farzi Cafe’s Best Dishes
Farzi Cafe Dubai: Everything about it is absolutely farzi (not real)… Its not really a cafe and not really Indian cuisine. What it dishes out is an absolutely lip smacking melange of Indian ingredients with molecular cuisine twists. Zorawar Kalra has created magic in rethinking Indian delicacies, some as close to home as Dal Chawal. The plating is super chic doing justice to art in the appearance just as much in the flavours.
It is one of my all time favourite restaurants and I whole heartedly recommend it whether in India or in Dubai. A restaurant absolutely worth going to atleast once.
If you’re asking what is Molecular Gastronomy, and don’t want to go through the science of it explained on Wikipedia, here is the simple answer for you: Imagine powder that turns to bhujia, foam that turns to chutney, yogurt that comes in the shape of a ball in the mist of liquid nitrogen… you get the sense!
Cuisine: Twisted and Farzified Indian
The founder of this restaurant chain, Zorawar Kalra has taken the daily and homely Indian dishes like wada pav, kulche chhole, dal chawal and kadhi chawal, and applied molecular cuisine along with food fusion to create gastronomical magic. Some very distinct flavours are fused together into Farzi Cafe best dishes a lip smacking delicacy like their Rajasthani Kadhi Chawal. I know what you’re thinking, what could they possibly do to something as mundane as a kadhi chawal… you’ll know when you try it out. And this one was ordered after I’d said I’m done.
Location: City Walk Mall
Farzi Cafe is a chain of restaurants which started back in India (present in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Gurugram and Bangalore) and has been an instant hit in Dubai ever since it opened its doors for diners
Our Order:
Starts with a palate cleanser, served in a small round dish in a larger plate with liquid nitrogen oozing out. the cleanser is nothing but a spherified yogurt ball (spherification is again a molecular cooking technique). Unlike other fine dines, they do not serve any on the house starters.
Having been to Farzi Cafe almost 4 times by now (in India and Dubai combined) I have tried almost everything on their food menu. They do concoct great drinks too (or so have heard). Sticking to my most recent visit, we ordered the following:
(These are some of Farzi Cafe’s best dishes)
Dal chawal arancini balls
Spinach ricotta quesadillas with water chestnut and cucumber
Bombay bhel
Kulche chhole farzified
Raj Kachori and mint chutney foam
Pan tossed summer vegetables with khow suey curry
Chermoula Crusted Paneer Tikka which is served with laccha paratha
Kadhi Chawal with a twist
Rasmalai Tres Leches, Carrot Cream, Rose Petal Net for dessert
All the dishes are a perfect blend of experimentation and flavourful art. you can skip the ones with certain flavours you are not fond of (like khow suey or ricotta) but you cannot go wrong no matter what you order.
They have a substantial vegetarian menu and a pretty interesting desert menu too.
Just so you know we were 5 adults and 2 children (of whom only 1 ate 1/2 laccha paratha and nothing else). Should give you a sense of their portion size. Actually its the starters with really small portions. The mains are close to regular portions. With huge portions in desserts, Farzi absolutely lives upto its name.
Service:
Farzi Cafe Dubai has great service, quick and with a smile. Someone is always around to take an order and even the cheque doesn’t take time. Helpful with the menu and rightly suggested us a few additions.
Ambience:
There is a smartness and attitude to the servers. While some people may find it a bit snooty, for me it just adds to the Farzi ambience they are trying to create. The servers are dressed up formally complete with suspenders and tie. There is a bit of antiquity and quirk to almost everything in Farzi, be it the decor, the typewriter in which they present the bill or the way their servers dress up.
Cost for 4 (including 2 kids): AED 500
Rating on Zomato:
