Restaurant Review: Mistral

Why I’ve started this review with a picture of Apple Crumble is because it was, honestly, one of the best I have ever had. It was also the highlight of our night, and, yes, it did help end the night on a high!

Mistral is located in Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, on the second floor, right next to PVR Director’s Cut. Dictionary.com’s definition of Mistral is ‘a strong cold north-westerly wind that blows through the Rhône valley and southern France towards the Mediterranean, mainly in winter.’ The team at Mistral invited us over for a Chef’s special Meal as a part of the Spring Summer ’14 Menu Launch, which featured starters, main course and dessert. Below is the menu we were offered on the day:

 

I started off with the Beetroot Salad of the three from the set. The Beetroot was straight forward and tasted fresh, and even though I am not much of a beetroot person, I do think it hit the right notes with the rocket lettuce. The next was the Salad Nicoise, which was sushi-grade Tuna done up with a crust served with egg and some rocket lettuce, definitely worth a try. The highlight, and I know I have skipped through to this, was the Smoked Salmon & Rocket. The salmon was as fresh as one would imagine it right next to the ocean and the little dribble of sauce on top just completed the bite-sized dish. This little dish really set the mood and the benchmark for what was to follow and can, single handedly, represent what the Mistral team wants Mistral food to represent – Fresh & delicious!

 

Next up for me was the Baked Sole Fillet which was served on a bed on snow peas, broccoli and French beans, flavored with light soy and the Chef Mayank Tiwari’s own little touch, served on a bed of couscous. The plating of the dish was a big positive and did, in fact, go well with the overall theme of the restaurant. The snow peas were cooked to perfect, just like the French beans – Nothing to write home about but it was really well done! The couscous was as expected and went well with the sauce over the vegetables and the crunch of the beans and snow peas. The fish itself, for me, followed the vegetables. The sole was crusted with almonds on the top and baked. The fish broke apart just like I’d expected and did well for itself as a dish. While I personally like a dash of sauce on my grilled or baked fish, this particular dish was one that was meant to be eaten as a whole and not in parts, perhaps something I will stick to next time.

Just a quick one on the restaurant ambience before I get on to dessert. The setup is very classy with a clear-cut upmarket feel to it thanks to its clean layout and partly open kitchen. The bar menu is a mix of international and Indian liquor with a few cocktails that caught my eye. The sangria was bang on, just as one would come to expect from places like such. The overall atmosphere of the place was quite cozy and one that I would recommend for an intimate dinner as much as a dinner date. This place, with a nice view, would not find itself out of place in the best of hotels.

Now for the desserts. I started with the Apple Crumble and was very impressed. The crust was just perfect with the right amount of sweetness and the apples were in the right quantity. Each spoonful of the ice cream, the crust and the bits inside was very well balanced and hit the exact notes I had been promised at the sight of my dessert, served in a fancy bowl on top of a slab of granite. The dessert did, in fact, live up to the expectation its plating set. The balance of the dessert is something I cannot get over primarily because of the sheer number of times I have been disappointed with an overly sweet apple crumble in the past. Mistral did, in fact, pull out the finale with its most potent weapon (in my books). I did take a couple of spoonfuls of the Crème Brulee and loved the texture. It was smooth and the top caramel bit was thinner than paper and browned to perfection. While I’ll go ahead and say that I haven’t had my share of Crème Brulee’s in my time, I will take the risk of saying that the Chef out did the handful that I have had. Both desserts were top notch in my books and can single handedly hold the restaurant up in my books, to the point where I would recommend Mistral’s desserts to all in the vicinity of the restaurant.

Overall, it’s a mystery to me why Mistral hasn’t been able to make enough news till now, perhaps it is Executive Chef Mayank Tiwari who will lead this assault and put Mistral on the map for the Delhi foodie, especially if the focus on the fresh continues along with, as I am sure you can predict by now, the brilliant desserts. I’d recommend you head to Mistral the next time you’re in Vasant Kunj and try out the offerings. Don’t forget the desserts when you do!