If cocktails and kebabs are what's on your mind, don't miss this place. We loved the regulars as well as the experiments here

If cocktails and kebabs are what's on your mind, don't miss this place. We loved the regulars as well as the experiments here

What is life without drama? I expect a lot of it while providing my body its daily nourishment. So the preferred choices are the food courts in malls compared to fine dines. Unless plump aunties sporting their latest Zara loots reeking of Estee Lauder cut me short in the queue or their howling kids bring the house down, pushing grub down the throat is a drab affair.

But once in a while I prefer a little solitude. My trip to Spice Market, the regional cuisine restaurant behind Select Citywalk mall in Saket was inspired by such a desire. Its interiors give a feel of having your meal in a market with all the aromas and colours minus theu00a0racket.

While the restaurant has been around for some time now, they've recently acquired bar license following which they've come up with a variety of 'spiced' cocktails. Their pineapple pepparoska is Absolut's peppar vodka muddled with pineapple and mint leaves toppled with sprite. Now the world's first flavoured vodka, (the pepper in Bloody Mary motivated it in 1986) when teamed with pineapple and mint is a stimulating drink, only if the vodka had been a tot stronger it would have won my undying admiration.

Their Bull Shot has the basic dash of Tabasco, lime and pepper but with vodka and Red Bull, something that can be tried with their kebabs. Their veg and non-veg platters are equally lip-smacking. The chicken tikka red and chicken sarson tikka are appetising visually and have the same affect on the palate. If you are a vegetarian, do try the kachey kaley ki tikki and the rajma ke shammi.

However, the main course still eludes the multi-regional flare it aims for. Boatman's curry, the southern dish served with and kind of white or oily fish is cooked here with prawns also. But the altered copy for the north Indian taste didn't work for me. The mushroom Chettinad, however, lived up to the restaurant's name. The Chettiar community of Tamil Nadu has given us one of the spiciest cuisines and this spicy button mushroom version of their dish was a hit especially with their rotis. And since most restaurants serve the chicken or lamb version of the vindaloo, the popular Goan dish, I ordered a gosht vindaloo. The dish's popularity inspired a song by the same name to become the English team's unofficial anthem during FIFA world cup in 1998, but this year avoid it here (though my money is still on the English).

I left the place with a happy face. Some dished worked for me, some didn't, but adventurousness needs to be applauded. And after all I had my share of solitude.

The Spice Market
Food: Healthy
Service: Attentive
Ambience: Good
At: Southern Park, Saket
Meal for two: Rs 1,500 plus taxes
Timings: 1pm to midnight
Ring: 9958453636