Royal Brewery Bistro at Janpath has the blandest food ever!

We arrived at the porch of Royal Plaza Hotel in Janpath with a lot of expectations. As we were ushered in, a world of antiques welcomed us. The lobby of the hotel looks right from a vintage movie set of Hollywood in the 70s. There are antique statues, mural paintings and lots of metal to firm your belief. The tea lounge was beaming with crowds. We are here to review Royal Plaza’s bistro – Royal Brewery Bistro, right across the pool. There’s a pool party ongoing and young people are having the fun of their life. With water getting splashed all across, we enjoyed a slice of pool party while walking towards bistro.

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While the pool was crowded there weren’t much footfall in the bistro, though it was weekend and lots of offers were on. We gave the benefit of doubt to the timing – an early sunny evening in July. The look and feel of the place is quite vintage and retro. The furniture are of solid wood and gives you a certain ‘Great Gatsby’ high. The props include old lamp shades, railway signals and showpieces that have antique vibe.

We ordered some mock tails from the menu and a plate of beer battered fish as starters. Let’s reveal you in the beginning, the service is slow. It’s really slow! And there’s not much method to it. We thought of trying some chef’s special but he was nowhere to be seen, though we asked for him a multiple times. You would need to decide for yourself because the attendants lack knowledge about the cuisine and have nothing much to share. The beer batter fish arrived almost half an hour later. The tanginess or hint of beer was lacking. Beer battered food is quite common in Delhi and there is no way you could go wrong. But they managed to. The waiters lack proper expertise and courtesy. So you may require to request for a fork, a knife, a spoon each time you can trace them. And unlike fine dining places, here you need to cry out for the waiter, although there aren’t many guests.

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On asked for ketchup, the waiter simply put a whole bottle of ketchup on the table and disappeared. We thought of sampling a wood fired pizza, which the place takes credit for. Unfortunately the pizza on arrival was found to be overbaked to the level where the crispiness has up. We could feel a burnt aftertaste on our first few bites. The cheese was good. When the waiters were asked about the kind of cheese in pizza, they couldn’t respond after much consultation among each other.

For main course, we ordered a lamb burger with barbecue sauce and fish & chips. The menu is too limited and there’s not much to try. We thought of these two as there is no way you can go wrong in making two of these dishes. Fish & chips and lamb burgers are like making an Indian chicken, which should anyways taste good. But then these flopped as well. ALSO READ: House of Soy has the best vegetarian delicacies for your Thai obsessed tastebuds

We never imagined a fish so bland. The basa seemed like the Vietnamese one but the crispiness was nowhere. Basic thumb rule for fish and chips is crispy outside and fluffy inside and the chef seemed to have reversed the rule. The waiters wouldn’t serve it on your plate. Though the plates were heaved with leftovers of the pizza, the waiters didn’t bother to change unless we insisted.

The lamb burger was worst than a QSR. Why would someone pay Rs 755 for a burger that’s not juicy and tender! Well, searching for the answer to this question we left the place. We didn’t have the guts to ask for dessert as those didn’t look very promising.

At a time when five stars are experimenting with their food and making the chef the hero of the place, hiding the creator and keeping a limited menu won’t help the place get quality customers. Making money with pool parties is one thing, but building a relationship like Radisson, Sarovars and Crowne Plazas would need some extra level of creativity.