Some chocolates for Easter?

L’opera Easter Collection

This year, L’Opéra brings you auburn delicacies for your Easter-time enjoyment. During this festivity, celebrating the resurrection of Christ, you can enjoy one of the world’s most beloved ingredients—chocolate in three different flavours, laid on a lovingly platter in adorable shapes and sizes. In line with the traditions surrounding Easter, chocolates have been prepared as chickens, hens and eggs. Gifting eggs is a very old tradition that symbolises, in line with the resurrection, a rebirth and represents renaissance and revival. For this reason, a suitable Easter celebration is in order. Chocolate lovers will have plenty to celebrate, with white, milk and dark chocolate options available.  Also, L’Opéra’s Chef Amit Sinha has made a special effort to create a delectable chocolate and pear tart, bringing together the sweetness of the fruit with  smooth, velvety taste of chocolate.

L’opera Easter Collection

“Well-sourced chocolate is one of my favourite things,” says Laurent Samandari, co-founder and Managing Director of L’Opéra.   “Having aesthetically pleasing shapes just makes the whole experience much more special. Such an important celebration merits a fitting premium, fine product and L’Opéra does it best,” he admits.

L’Opéra launches ‘Salon de Thé’

L’Opéra launches ‘Salon de Thé’

Décor: One of the very first French pastry and bakery enterprises in India, L’Opéra, brings forth the brand new concept of Salon de Thé to its Epicuria outlet at Nehru Place, New Delhi. I went there on a very cold afternoon and a cup of warm cappuccino, served as soon as I reached the eatery, comforted me deeply. Salon de Thé means the tea room; and with all its whims and fancies, this place looked like a page from Alice in Wonderland. Quaintly cornered, with pistachio green chairs placed contouring a patch of moist green lawn—this place was so soothing for the eyes. A transparent sheet outlined the space to give it a private feel and cut it off from the rest of the food mall. A staunch Victorian lamp stood with much pride at the centre of the outdoor area and a romantic Parisian terrace blanketed us with much French concoction. The setting only got dreamier, with classical French music floating in the backdrop. Basically, the ambience and décor had me at hello!

Cheese Croissant at Salon de Thé

Food: Apart from its array of mouth-watering cakes and pastries, this outlet serves light meals and assorted bite-sized pastries and snacks. These include the well-known Vol au Vent, flaky pastry enveloping delightfully fresh ingredients such as chicken or assorted vegetables, with France’s much-loved Béchamel sauce or the similar Feuilleté, filled with select cheese. I loved the quiche that they served; crusty pie with a filling of chicken and cheese. There Feta cheese salad served with toasted homegrown bread with a touch of fennel was another super hit!

Vegetable Quiche at Salon de Thé

Also served on L’Opéra’s toasted house bread, is Brouillade, the velvety, buttery, French version of scrambled eggs, which will give you a taste of food from authentic French Provence region. For those looking forward to binging on light snacks, try their Croque Monsieur; it is toasted house bread with ham and melted cheese—elegantly delectable. Also, its fried egg version, called the Croque Madame is equally worth lusting for. All dishes are served with fresh salad.

Mixed salad at Salon de Thé

Lastly, what left me drooling was Café Gourmand, a selection of bite-size signature pastries and snacks served with a brewing cup of hot coffee. The assortment of mini pastries was like celebrating a mélange of flavours. They also serve select fruit juices; the sparkling apple juice was very refreshing. Also, they have a meticulous choice of selected aromatic teas to soothe your soul. Be here for a sophisticated French high-tea experience! The ambience is unhurried and food is impeccable.

Vault Café—Redefining British Raj Era

Vault Café

Ambiance: Nestled in the heart of Connaught Place, New Delhi, this brand new eatery joint resonate a certain industrial ambiance that will remind one of a store house of British East India Company. Dark emerald, teal, brick brown and red dominate the colour palette of this place. Leather and velvety seating arrangements placed spaciously across 6000 square feet area makes this place a party paradise.

Vault Café

Like the name suggests, the entrance of the restaurant is like a huge vault. The classy décor elements only add to the vintage vibe of this thematic space. The notion of dine and party inside the vault was customary in the past of the Queen’s nation, which acts as the core mantra of this restaurant. The rustic undertones of the interiors have transformed this café cum lounge bar into a colonial space with influences from the British Raj era. Interestingly, classic vintage note has been subtly blended with concoctions of grunge finishes; for instance, exposed iron bracing, non-processed cement walls, occasional patches of distressed walls, raw wooden effigies and more.

Vault Café

The lounge bar also has an attached terrace where you can sit and enjoy some unusually splendid flavored hookkas. This area overlooks Connaught Place and Palika Bazaar; and it is quite a visual delight. Plus what makes a lunch better on a winter afternoon in Delhi! Overall, this place made me feel adventurous at some subconscious level; maybe because looking at the vaults and chambers (small cubicles of seating areas recreated inside mini vaults) made me feel like, I am on some sort of a treasure hunt.

Penne bacon and mushroom

Food: The menu housed dishes from many different cultures. It was a very impressive spread. I started with some Pokchoi and Water chestnut dim sums. These delicate little dumplings of joy were mouthwatering. The flavour was new to my palate and the concept even newer. The coating was crystal-like gentle and the stuffing was moist and velvety. After this, I ordered for a serving of extra spicy chicken wings; and boy-o-boy, was it smoking hot or what?! The chicken wings were six in pieces and I wished they made it eight because it was so delightfully spicy with subtle hints of sweetness. I love hot, spicy sauces and this particular ‘extra spicy’ sauce made the meal apt. And oh, it went well with my second serving of sweet, crimson sangria. Post this, I opted for prawns red chili; it was spicy as expected and the prawns were soft and well-cooked. Lastly, my super appetizing ‘starter’s’ expedition concluded with a serving of traditional fish fingers.

Mint and lemon chicken

Moving on to the main course, I ordered for a nice serving of grilled chicken breast with mushroom and peppercorn sauce. The chicken breast straight out of a charcoal grill was crisp on the topmost layer and juicy in the center. This was accompanied by a small portion of grilled seasonal veggies and cheddar mashed potatoes. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. The lunch ended on happy, wintry notes with a large slice of tiramisu cake. Did someone say #awsomesauce? Well, I did!

FIsh and chips

Recommendations: The crew here is extremely polite and well-versed with the menu. Ask them for specials or maybe let them know your ‘taste’ and they sure will help you zero down upon the best delicacies the restaurant has to offer, suited best for your palate. Also, if you are a fan of seesha, ask your steward to guide you with the flavours available. Personally, I would recommend a rich and mild blend of paan masala and green apple. This place has something for everyone—be it brunch with the ladies or a bachelorette party, a boys night out or lunch with family, you will have a great time; I can vouch for it.

Find them at: F 60, Connaught Place, New Delhi

Call them at: 011-33105674