Normally, we head out into the sun and attack random establishments but this time it was a different scenario.  We were back home after quite some time and we wanted to try out a very well known restaurant which we didn’t try before. 

This review is one of the “Durga Puja Specials” and the name of the restaurant is Jhaal Farezi located in Circus Avenue, Beckbagan in the Park Circus area. We were really looking forward to this experience due to the well known punch the food here packs.

The restaurant looks like a big old house, which is gorgeously renovated and it has several sections for different dining experiences. The place of entry has a courtyard with wooden dining tables with umbrellas for dining out and a bar which is made out of stone! The place of entry is similar to that of a royal mansion and we were escorted to the first floor to start proceedings ;)

The decor was quite fun, elegant and vintage! There were 3 rooms on the first floor and in each room there were portraits: each of different story line ups and they were rather interesting. The seating arrangements were very comfortable but the table space was a bit cramped. Old candles in the corners, high ceilings and beautiful chandeliers added the extra spice!

Now coming down to the lip smacking 4 course meal:

Cream of mushroom soup

Mulligatawny Soup

First we ordered cream of mushroom soup and mulligatawny soup. The mushroom soup was thick, creamy, had an aroma of fresh herbs and every sip tasted of fresh mushrooms. The mulligatawny soup on the other hand is a lentil soup and it was quite different in taste. The taste was a bit similar to sambar, it was also thick, bit sour and rich.

Then we ordered the main course with the mocktails. Our order included aam ada posto murgi, robibarer kosha mangsho, nizam tarkari biriyani, yellow rice, masala kulcha and for mocktails we both had blue lagoons.

The main course: non veg preparations beneath and lentils on top

Aam ada is an ingredient commonly found in east India—mango ginger and posto means poppy seeds. The chicken prepared in this style had a tangy mango flavour with the zing of the ginger combined with the flavour of the poppy seeds was simply mind blowing! The chicken was boneless, perfectly cooked and all the flavour of the dish seeped in making it a sensation.

The other preparation means Sunday’s mutton kassa and it was rich, soo rich! The gravy was thick, super spicy and irresistible. The mutton was boneless, had slight fibre and the preparation was blackish red—indicating that your ears might emit smoke. If you like an authentic home style rich mutton preparation, then this would be the one!

The rice preparations were very aromatic indeed. The biriyani had loads of fresh vegetables, had a slight brown colour and an amazing fresh aroma. The yellow rice had a flavour of saffron throughout and it was slightly sweet. They tasted excellent with the chicken and the mutton preparations.

Blue Lagoon

The masala kulcha was delish! Almost oil free, slightly spiced with herbs and was very soft and stretchy. The filling was made of mashed potatoes, vegetables and masala and it was very tasty!

The blue lagoon was nothing so special—portions of sprite and soda with the attractive blue colour with a slice of lemon on top. 

Lastly, for dessert we had hot gulab jamun and vanilla ice cream! The Gulab jamun’s had uniform colour, had the right amount of softness and had a core filling of pistachios. (and they were piping hot!) Normally, we do not review vanilla ice cream but this one was really different. Creamier, richer and that burst of vanilla flavour with every bite in spite of the cold—sensational.

This luncheon was definitely an unforgettable experience!

Now it’s time for scoring:

Taste: - 4.5/5

Quantity: - 4/5

Ambiance: - 5/5

Service: - 5/5

Hope you enjoy this review as much as we enjoyed writing it! Till next time—bon appétit ;)