The Lane Less Taken

Intriguingly,even though the three Delhiites run an “art café”,there’s isn’t the barest inclination to connect with mainstream art. And that’s what the catch is. Designed by Laul,an architecture graduate from IIT,from an old office space owned by a travel company to what it is now,the ‘lane’ of Kuzart has a “wall of fame” laden with unrecognisable names and artwork. Behl says these belong to local fledgling artists who want to use their space,which is available for free. At any given time,the collection (put up for sale) features four artists and changes every two weeks. This week,we saw some works presented by Caste Away,a Delhi-based project that addresses caste issues,along side works by three college students. An ostentatious squid created by street artists Mattia and Matteo on the interior as well as exterior walls,comes across as a fresh and unintimidating concept,to say the least.

Now for the “cafe” part. The seating is limited and the menu has too many options. The food is served with a plethora of raw vegetables — baby corn,lettuce,differently coloured capsicums,followed by a saucer of complementary nachos with dip. We order the mutton Hulk burger,which is,thankfully,not obnoxiously big. The Green Apple granita is a perfect coolant,helping down chunks of vegetables and the mutton preparation. The platters are an interesting Continental take on the usual thalis. The desserts taste rich and home-made,done by Saad’s mother,Chef Ruksana Siddiqui. We tried the truffle cake and a very soft coffee cupcake — with just about the right amount of succulence.

People send requests for artwork and interact directly with the café owners online through its Facebook page.

Address: 2,Hauz Khas Village

Contact: 9810688447,9871817334