Mexican speciality restaurants have never really taken off in India. Now, that may be about to change.
The overcrowded South Extension Part II market in New Delhi is an unlikely destination for a new restaurant.
Thanks to more fashionable real estate elsewhere, the market, a pre-malls favourite in the Capital, bursting with shiny showrooms selling branded apparel, fancy footwear and wedding jewellery, has not really had a restaurant opening in a long, long time. That is, until now. A bright sign on the first floor of a corner building proclaims “Sancho’s”.
It’s a place where you may or may not end up after a stroll in the market. On the other hand, it is a destination that foodies will definitely be headed to in the next couple of days because, after all, Sancho’s is that Delhi rarity — a legit Mexican restaurant, surrounded by a sea of Chinese, Indian-Chinese and downright Punjabi establishments.
On the other hand, now that we do have fancier options, from a Brazilian churrascaria to a tiny Russian gem, it is time that serious diners make their acquaintance with authentic Mexican food as well.
Thus, Sancho’s has, at least, chosen its moment of reckoning well. Besides, everything from its refried beans to Inca masks on the walls spell authenticity —always an encouraging sign — but we’ll come to that later.
For the longest time, Indian diners have had to contend with what goes for “Tex-Mex” at places like TGIF, a smattering of nachos and fajitas at “global cuisine” restaurants in the metros — say, Indi Joe in Bangalore or the more recent Hard Rock Cafes in both Mumbai and Bangalore — or even at places like Rodeo’s in Delhi, the only restaurant serving up Mexican exclusively for close to a decade (even though it is now more an option for relatively cheaper cocktails than for serious dining).
Despite the fact that Mexican cuisine bears close affinities with Indian cuisines (think chillies, though not a mole, or sauce, made of both chillies and chocolate!), as well as the fact that its Texas-inspired version is a street favourite in the US, the cuisine has never really taken off in India itself. Now, that’s changing.
Sancho’s in Delhi is the first of a chain that will see new links spring up in the NCR, in Mumbai and Bangalore by this year end. And Dish Hospitality, the company that has built the brand, says it intends to set up a total of 36 restaurants, casual, upscale, in the country in five years’ time. So don’t be surprised if you find Mexican to be the flavour of the season —the next season.
Roger Narula, CEO of the hospitality company, that comes armed with a huge corpus of Rs 200 crore to bring in foreign restaurant chains into India as well as to develop its own products like Sancho’s to occupy all segments of the Indian F&B space, admits that inaugurating the company’s operations with a Mexican restaurant was a bit unusual but “just right because there has never been a restaurant that has given a true experience to the Indian customers before”.
Delhi fitted the bill because of the larger expat population and in the few weeks since the restaurant has opened, none other than the Mexican ambassador has apparently given it the thumbs up.
For the record, Sancho’s imports quite a few of its ingredients (refried beans, tortilla flour, chilli varieties et al), has a Mexican chef in charge, a unique “salsa bar” where you can sample “gourmet” nacho chips with salsas, verde, habanero and pico, and incorporates both the Spanish and Texas influences: Check out walls painted by Spanish artists, for instance, within the Delhi restaurant.
The menu itself includes everything from burritos to enchiladas and the staple black bean soup (that has not been on too many other Indian restaurant menus before). But before you tom-tom the authenticity, like all sensible enterprises, this one will be open to experimentation too.
Narula says that the menu at the moment, which looks pretty substantial in comparison with what Indian diners have had till now, is a “pretty basic one” and there will be constant changes, including addition of fusion dishes (to justify the restaurant’s tagline “All Mex’d Up”) such as hamburgers with salsa or even nouvelle chicken tikkas with a Mexican touch!
While Sancho’s may be the place with the buzz, in Delhi, another new Mexican restaurant has also made a somewhat quieter appearance: Mismo, which is apparently Spanish for “life”, has come up at Hotel Janpath — another unlikely location. It is a rather charming little place done up in the most un-cowboy kitsch style popularised by older places like Rodeo’s and thank god for that.
The menu is competent even if it throws up little by way of surprises and while you may even order a pasta here if you like, Mexican dominates the menu.
Periodic flea bazaars and other such activities have recently livened up the place even more and on the whole, Mismo is a welcome addition considering the dearth of Mexican-speciality restaurants in the country.
Mumbai may be deemed very adventurous as regards its palate but even here, you draw a blank when it comes to a full-fledged Mexican restaurant. Possibly the only such exclusive place in the city at the moment is something called Sammy Sosa, a small place in Oshiwara.
This one is rather kitschy with posters from Mexican films passing for décor but the food itself is reasonably good and authentic.
Apart from the usual suspects (fairly unIndianised), also on the menu are some kebabs (!) done in a Mexican grill/Iranian way besides which, their best-selling dessert would be the pistachio crepes. Try something new this week.
