The new smart casual

You want great food without the stiffness, a place you can hang out and relax? There are two great new options in Delhi and Mumbai.

The Oak Tree
Where: C-002, Super Mart 1, DLF Phase 4, Gurgaon
Open: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Contact: 0124- 4225341/42
Meal for two: Rs 2,500 (including drinks)
Must try: Hainanese Chicken, Grilled Mediterranean Veggies

The chill factor
Located in a quaint little corner of Gurgaon, The Oak Tree has thrived on word-of-mouth publicity alone. No hoardings, no advertisements, no ostentatious launch. So, it must be doing something right. The brainchild of a young entrepreneur, Ajay Dhar, the 71-cover bistro has a warm, lounge feel—yellow interiors and brown felt screens with the oak tree motifs repeated throughout the décor. The well-stocked bar has even been recreated to resemble age rings around an old oak tree. But it’s the food that’s the main draw.

Mediterranean is the speciality, but dishes from Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand are also on offer. The Head Chef Anil Mohan has a suggestion:“Try the roasted or grilled meats. We use a lava stone grill, which is recognised globally as one of the healthiest forms of cooking.” So, we start with the 48-hour Chicken Nuggets, marinated until they’re almost pickled, and then served with Garlic Mayonnaise in a Butter Paper Cone. For the main course, it is chicken again—Hainanese style— with rice and a spicy dip. Excellent stuff. And vegetarians need not despair—there’s an exhaustive “veg only” menu (the grilled Mediterranean Veggies look especially good). But leave room for dessert if you can—there’s Molten Chocolate Cake…

Indigo Caf

Indigo Café
Where: The Clifton Trishul Co-op Housing Society, Mumbai
Open: 9 a.m. to 1.30 a.m.
Contact: 022-2633 6262
Meal for two: Rs 2,000
Must try: Salt-rubbed Chicken, Mushroom and Tofu burger

The chill factor
Tucked away in the suburb of Andheri in Mumbai, Indigo Café isn’t exactly a mirror image of its south Mumbai cousin, Indigo Deli, in Colaba. However, just the fact that Indigo, rated as one of India’s better restaurants, has decided to make the crawl to the other end of the city should be adequate reason for suburbanites to cheer.

Indigo Café has few of the pretensions of its Colaba counterpart. It’s simply a bid to break new ground in the quest for hassle-free food. The menu covers the expected range of salads, sandwiches, pizzas, pastas and desserts. It’s all dependably high quality, and manages to mix the old standards with newer, more inventive fare. So, you’ll find classics like the BLT or Eggs Benedict alongside a Roasted Mushroom and Tofu Burger with Garlic Spinach and Aioli.

And there’s plenty of solid comfort food on offer—try the Sea Salt-rubbed Grilled Chicken with Red Wine Gravy, or the Linguini with Aubergine and Goat’s Cheese in a Smoked Chili Tomato Sauce. Arrive early—since it opened in August, it has frequently been packed for lunch. But like all good cafes, it has a constancy about it—it’s open till late every day and offers an all-day breakfast menu. Andheri just got better.