Cafe Quirky

Mamagoto,the newly opened café at Khan Market,is quite a quirky space where childhood friends and restaurateurs Rahul Khanna and Kabir Suri want to play out some of their food fantasies. The passion runs in their families. Khanna’s family had previously owned The Claridges,Delhi,while Suri’s runs several restaurant chains,including Japanese eateries Zuma and Roka in London and Hong Kong . “I have a finance background and am deeply involved in my family business,” says Suri,a 30-year-old with a degree in business management from the US ,“but I always wanted to set up my pet project in Delhi .” “And we couldn’t have got a better location than Khan Market,” chips in Khanna,28,who also runs a lounge bar called Below 8 in Gurgaon.

Mamagoto,a 48-cover diner,has a brightly lit dining space on the first level and an alfresco area on the next level. Pop art on the walls — pandas and Power Puff girls holding chopsticks and noodle bowls with rainbows in the background — can be a mild entertainer while you wait for the soup. The menu is equally playful. “We are doing most of the sauces in-house and we sent our head chef to Roka for training. We are experimenting with café-style Asian food,” says Suri. He is right. Gomai Salad (Rs 215),which we forked out,was an experiment with blanched spinach bathed in sesame and sake dressing. Even Nasi Goreng (Rs 375) gets a peanut sauce lift here and there is Chiang Mai Noodles (Rs 315 for vegetarian) that blends coconut milk,burnt onion and garlic for a khao-suey-style flavour.

The diner also serves grills and our fish (Rs 350) was a pair of grilled fillets in a mildly sweet teriyaki sauce. Chicken Aniseed (Rs 265) would have been just ordinary but for the generous garnish of crispy spinach that adds a crunchy twang to the dish. While the restaurant is awaiting its liquor licence,Kiwi and Mint Collins (Rs 125) would do on sunny afternoons.

Meal for Two: Rs 1,200
Location: 53 Middle Lane,Khan Market
Contact: 45166060