Indego by Vineet | Grosvenor House

Good food never goes out of fashion. And especially so when it is created by a renowned chef who, with his brilliant team, dishes out magic through every plate. I’m of course, referring to my dining experience at Indego by Vineet. A true gem from two time Michelin Starred Chef Vineet Bhatia, this fine dining restaurant located at Grosvenor House Dubai has been around for a very long time, and has truly aged like fine wine.

Chef Vineet Bhatia, who I’ve only seen on TV, but really hope to meet some day, has crafted a menu that brings together a fusion of flavors and compels you to think outside the box. So no, you won’t see molecular gastronomy, live cooking or theatrics at your table, but what you’ll experience is a combination of classic ingredients and modern concepts like the dahi bhalla ice cream or doughnut shaped samosa.

It’s rather rare to come across a restaurant that serves up a selection of dishes so good, it becomes difficult to choose which dish was my favorite. So I will instead relive my gastronomical journey through photos I clicked and a little insight into each dish.

We started with the signature mocktail called One Night in Kerala which was a refreshing blend of passion fruit and South Indian spices (think curry leaves). Along with the drink came in the papad basket with a chutney trio and the amuse bouche of the day, which featured a sesame crusted veg tikki placed over a bed of bell pepper chutney. Their amuse bouche changes everyday, which I feel is a remarkable, at the same time challenging feat.

Our list of starters started with Corn Cravings – a creative style of tikki chaat prepared with a base of sweet corn tikkis topped with crispy corn kernels in chaat style and finished with crisp okra. Next on the list was one of my favorites, Chowpatty Bhaji – a true spin on the classic Juhu style pav bhaji, albeit with pav and chhena (curd cheese) pinwheels placed delicately over the spiced bhaji. Southern Seas came in next all skewered up with gunpowder coated prawns and a delectable coconut chutney dip on the side. This one was another favorite, not only because of the prawns, but also that coconut chutney which I saved for later just to eat it on its own. Our starters continued with yet another chaat spin, this time a Samosa Doughnut. Your typical samosa, but made in a doughnut style, replicated the classic samosa chaat featuring all the trimmings of chickpeas, yogurt, spicy and sweet chutneys, et al. Smoked Chicken Tikka was another classic on the menu, the twist here being the smoked tomato and red pepper flavor, as well as the black garlic raita. Another one of my favorites, despite my love-hate relationship with fish was the FIsh Kasundi. A Bengali classic, this tandoori smoked mustard flavored dish came accompanied with a mustard potatoes side topped with a dill based labneh.

You might think that was the end to the starters, but we had 3 more to go. The next one, and my ultimate favorite from the evening, was Chaat Trilogy. A true representation of the food we have come to expect from celebrity chefs and fine dine Indian restaurants these days, this creatively structured dish featured a trio of three famous chaats, starting with a bed of spiced potatoes, followed by papdi hay (imitating a papdi chaat), and ultimately topped with a dahi bhalla ice cream. Needless to say, the ice cream was my favorite. Then came in the Gilafi Seekh in all its herb flavored glory and melt-in-your-mouth lamb mince. We wrapped up this first round of dishes with the humble Paneer Pasanda. An otherwise main course dish that was reinvented as a starter, this dish came with tandoori paneer, coated in homemade pickle and served over a burnt aubergine spinach compote and garlic labneh. What I loved the most about its presentation was the wheat coral on top.

Before we started our mains, we were offered a pomegranate sorbet to cleanse our palate while we waited for the next round of dishes. Our mains comprised of different meat based curries and biryani along with breads. The Coconut Lemongrass Prawns curry was a fragrant coastal stew made with coconut milk base and spiced with lemongrass, kaffir lime and roasted red chillies. Murgh Makhni on the other hand was a classic creamy tomato based gravy delicately flavored with fenugreek, featuring chicken tikka chunks. Ghee Mutton Roast, a must have, was enhanced with flavors of Mangalorean roasted spiced and cooked in rich ghee. And another one of my favorites, the Prawn Xacuti Biryani brought in a Goan essence to the table with basmati rice and fresh grated coconut elevating the classic biryani spices.

For desserts, we tried the Carrot Carat, a unique carrot based dessert featuring different version of this super veggie – in the form of gajar halwa, carrot kulfi, carrot cream and carrot sponge cake. Chocomosa, as the name suggests was a petite samosa filled with chocolate, served over chocolate soil and paired with banana ice cream on the side.

It was lovely meeting Chef Irshad at the restaurant who very generously made sure we try as many items from the menu as possible. Which dishes will you pick from the menu when you dine at Indego by Vineet next?

Indego by Vineet

Location: Lobby Level, Tower 1, Grosvenor House, Dubai Marina, Dubai
Contact: +97143176000

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