I had first come to know about Barbeque Nation when one of my friends told me about its opening at Janakpuri, which is 5 minutes from my office. I was not aware of Barbeque Nation till that time, and when I came to know that it is one of pioneers in serving grilled kebabs, it was just a matter of time before I visited it.
Barbeque Nation, FYI, is in Gurgaon also. The one in Janakpuri is right next to
It so happened last night that my friend from
Barbeque Nation offers everything that you can relate with a fine dining or high-end restaurant. Valet Parking, live singing performances, nice ambience, excellent customer service and its share of USPs. The USP of Barbeque Nation is that the starters are grilled on the table. So, you can have them hot and watch them being grilled! I was told later Pooja Bedi had come to inaugurate the Jankpuri outlet, but that is totally irrelevant to me.
The concept is same as the Great Kebab Factory. It is a buffet system. The starters, usually comprising 4 vegetarian and 4 non-vegetarian dishes, are served on the table. The service is excellent. They immediately start delivering the stuff. But I would like to warn you here. Do not stuff yourself too much with starters, otherwise you won’t have stomach for the main course, which certainly does not deserve a miss. It costs Rs 450 for each person, plus 12% VAT. The starters we had comprised prawns, murgh, shammi kebab and fish tikka. For the veggies, there was Libyan Grill Vegetables, Veg Kebabs, Paneer Tikka and one more which I have forgot now. The only thing that I found missing amongst the starters was a beverage. Like in the Great Kebab Factory (I am making that comparison again), they serve amazing lassi.
All in all, the starters tasted good, and for the first-timers quite exciting because you can see them being grilled at the center of the table.
Amidst all this, I must mention that unlike many restaurants, the customer service and staff was excellent. The ambience was welcoming and there was enough room between tables, which ensured there was privacy. There were two firangs singing Smooth Operator on a makeshift dais when I entered. First, I thought it was recorded music being played because I had my back towards the singers, and I only got to know that there was a live performance going on when people applauded the effort.
Now coming to the main course (you can safely ignore the soups), it was well laid-out with a bit of variety. There was one dish each of mutton, chicken and fish, and Biryani. Everything was well-made. The choice of salad was good, and I admittedly feasted on then wide range of salads, including the chicken and fish salads. I did not really explore the vegetarian zone so don’t have much to say there, but it looked like regular dal, paneer and mix vegetable. The non-vegetarian food was good and thankfully less spicy.
There is nothing much to write about the desserts. It was the usual Vanilla, Truffle, Gulabjamun and Phirnee.
Overall, Barbeque Nation in Janakpuri is well-planned and they handle a full-house capacity pretty well. A must try for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. No, I am not being paid to write this! My opinion is 100% mine!