The Spice Room, Vatika Business Park, Sohna Road, Gurgaon

TSR or The Spice Room is one of the newest outlets at Vatika Business Park, Gurgaon. The interesting aspect of visiting The Spice Room was on the table buffet service, a unique idea in modern fine dining. They only have buffet at a very reasonable cost. The ambiance is good and the seating arrangement is either on chairs or sofa. Their liquor license is pending and soon they would be running a full time bar including a range of mocktails. We reserved a table for 8. The business park gets crowded during lunch hours it is always advisable to book a table. The Lunch buffet has the same price for Veggies as well as Non-veggies!

The Buffet started with fresh fruits that included Watermelon, Papaya and Pineapple. The next course was of fresh vegetables including Tomato, Cucumber and Carrot. We then had an option to try either Chaas, the Indian classic homedrink or Aam Panna or Jaljeera. The Jaljeera was tangy and lightly spiced. The Aam Panna was sweet and tangy. The Chaas was fresh.

The starters had Palak Bhutte ki Shami, a superb preparation and goes really well with the fresh green chutney and Imli ki chutney. The Kebab just melted in the mouth as it was prepared with a lot of cashew nut. The Panner Tikka was another hit! We though missed having raw onions and lemons with that! The Bharwa Khumb were 2 mushroom cut in half and then filled with exotic dry fruits. The Khumb were as soft as silk. Delightful!

The main course had 3 curries like the Dal TSR, a modified and tastier Dal Makhani. There are only a few places where you can find this kind of taste and this one really knows how to make its Dal. The Dal was thick and the spice combination was remarkable. A must try! The Panner Tikka was usual and had soft panner cubes in a very fresh Palak gravy. The green spinach gravy was looked at a low temperature preserving the color and making it rich in flavor. The other item on the main course was Mix Veg Kalimirch. A unique combination of fresh vegetables was an irresistible combination. The freshness of the vegetables made all the difference.

TSR has a range of breads to choose from so we had a mixed bread basket. The Butter roti was soft and the other item to try was the Sheermal which comes straight from the kitchens of Lucknow. The Paratha styled bread goes well with all the curries.

After a satisfying meal we still had left with Desserts. The Pan Ice Cream was delightful and I loved it so much that had to keep asking for more. A scoop of icecream in a cup is not enough! The Pan icecream had all the flavors of a complete Pan not just the betel leaf. If you haven’t had it, you’re missing an incredible item. The Moong Dal Halwa was a bit of a disappointment. The Halwa didn’t have the right amount of Ghee in it. Also the flavours were flat and tasted like a lot of flour had been added to it. The Firni was good and had a creamy texture. The meal ended with a handful of Indian condiments and mouth fresheners.

We also had Honey Lassi and Thandai as extra beverages. Both the items were delicious. The Lassi was unique in taste and the Thandai was delicious.

The service was quite sloppy and every now and then we had to remind the waiter to bring our order to the table. The waiters lacked experience which comes with years of practice.

The Scorecard:-
Food/Taste – 8/10
Service – 6/10
Value for Money – 9/10
Ambiance – 8/10
Quantity/Quality – 8/10

Overall Rating – 3.9/5

Great food but service needs a lot of improvement.