Soul Sisters

Having heard a great deal about the birth of a new Elma’s in Meherchand Market,though a meatier version as compared to the Hauz Khas Village offspring,given that it’s a brasserie rather than a bakery,we visited Meherchand. Cloaked in a discreet,green wooden and glass door,Elma’s Brasserie can be easily missed at first pass.

The restaurant,like its siblings Elma’s Bakery and Edward’s,is tiny (a family trait perhaps?),but given that it’s still in its adolescence,not as well-appointed. The first floor is as yet unfinished,and there is still some touching up to be done in the ground floor sitting area and the mezannine level bakery counter. Still,with its parquet flooring,chalkboard menu,antique-like side dresser,Elma’s Brasserie promises the same old-world cutesy charm its family possesses in buckets. There’s good news for those more bacchanalian than baked goods-inclined,as the cake counter will soon be replaced with a bar. The service is as warm and comforting as a cup of Earl Grey,with the manager beaming paternally over you,making menu suggestions and attending to other dining minutiae.

Given that this avatar of Elma’s is open from morning to night,the menu is correspondingly more elaborate. Compact yet diverse,it wanders around both India and the continent,with an offering of dishes ranging from crepes and pastas to Malabari mango prawn curry. Since the weather was dampening,both meteorologicaly and appetite-wise,we decide to keep it simple and have a Chicken Caeser’s Salad and Rosemary Lamb Chops. The salad is Caesar in its most classical form,and we don’t mean wreathed in laurels. A medley of iceberg and red oak leaf lettuces,with shredded grill chicken,croutons and Parmesan,it makes for a monsoon meal in itself. The dressing is minimal thanks to dietary constraints,but if your palate desires,the management is more than happy to serve more on the side. The lamb chops are well-cooked,but unfortunately suffer from an overdose of rosemary,lending it a strong flavour. On further reflection,this mishap is diverted with the call of the cake counter and the veleveteen treasures contained therein.