En – The Japanese Restaurant, Mehrauli, New Delhi
The street opposite Qutab Complex houses a number of brand stores and classy restaurants. Each one caters for different cuisine and palate. This time the search narrows down to that one or two places which gives good food and a view of the famous Qutub Minar. Why ? Because tourists and visitors to the historic city of Delhi are not allowed an evening stroll around any illuminated monument except for India Gate. A candle light dinner within the fold of history in Delhi is at present an impossible dream. So the next best option is the hunt for a restaurant with outdoor seating and a view of the historic minaret to enjoy our anniversary dinner in style. And En – The Japanese Restaurant made our wish come true on our 13th marriage anniversary.
Short and Sweet version
- Traditional Japanese Food
- Authentic
- Great service
- Great outdoor seating
- Premium Pricing
- Outdoor seating might not always be great
- Raw fish should be interesting option, if you are used to Delhi local dishes
Location of En – The Japanese Restaurant
It is hard to miss this restaurant. It occupies one floor and three levels of terrace. The building housing the restaurant is right on the main road. Design of the complex suggests it might be an old palace or heritage structure or something like that. More exploration needed. It houses another restaurant and a few designer clothes showrooms. The restaurant occupies a majority part of the first floor.
A peek into Japanese Cuisine for first timers
We happened to be first timers to Japanese food while visiting En – The Japanese Restaurant. Japanese people are all about procedures and presentation. The same reflects in their food which has evolved over the years. Traditionally fish and vegetables were the main food items, but with modern times meat has also found its way in. A Japanese meal consists of steamed white rice, main dishes called okazu, side dishes with soup. Use of chopsticks is very traditional and you need to be deft. Also you need to develop tolerance to raw fish. Not all fishes are part of the raw fish experience. Only those fish who look and taste good are served raw. Their range is limited and expensive. Also authentic cooked food takes time for preparation. So come prepared for the wait. En – The Japanese Restaurant is the closest what you can get to authentic Japanese food in Delhi.
About En – The Japanese Restaurant
En – The Japanese Restaurant offers a lot of other things apart from great food. But first let us kill the pricing part. Japanese food as close to the original as possible also means no compromises. So pricing here is premium. That does not necessarily mean expensive. Expensive means a pair of grilled goat ribs at Rs 500 plus taxes. But at En, we have great service, great location, carefully selected ingredients and beautifully cooked food. Paisa Vasool.
View of the Qutub Minar
This is the only restaurant in the vicinity which has a great view of the minaret. There are two options. One of the rooms has a cute window specially made with a view of Qutb Minar. Other option is the balcony or terraces, four of them. All have good view of Qutab Minar. Depending on the time of the day and season, outdoor seating may not be always the right option. We selected the corner table on the first level.
There are three levels of outdoor seating. Top two are closed most of the time. Also this restaurant is not that crowded. So most of the time you will have the space for yourself. Qutab Minar is not illuminated directly. But enough surrounding lights fall on it to have an awesome view.
Food and Service at En – The Japanese Restaurant
Experience here is awesome. Right from the time of reservations to arrival and subsequent food order. Assuming that many customers are going to walk in without any first hand info about Japanese food, the waiters are well prepared. Our waiter explained each item on the menu in detail. Now I had plunged into the experience with a fair amount of research on Japanese food and reviews on Zomato. But the menu description was a wonderful experience. Full marks to that. There was always going to be a difficult choice between the tasting menu or A la carte. But we settled for later for more variety and adventure.
We started with the traditional Miso Soup and went on to order two snacks or appetizers. Appetizers cover about 70 % of the menu space. They can be quite a feast, so be careful of how much you order. We settled for Rainbow Roll and Chicken Roll. Each of the dish was served with garlic flakes and the famous Wasabi paste. The intensity of Wasabi is awesome. No idea whether it is original or the substitute. Cultivation of the Wasabi Stems outside Japan is rare and hence the substitute. For the main course, we went for Seafood Mix and Vegetable. At the end of it, we were so full that there was no place for dessert.
Overall look and feel of the restaurant is premium. You can have a meal here for any occasion. Group lunch or corporate lunch will always impress your clients. So also a good family meal. The only gripe perhaps will be that their outdoor seating is not well advertised and equipped.
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