Peppermill restaurant in Abu Dhabi: Regal flavours of India

Abu Dhabi: Fine dining in a mall milling with people is a concept I thought too hard to sell. But the newly opened Peppermill restaurant in the new extension of Al Wahda Mall has done it. Regally!

The interiors were nothing less than opulent, somewhat resembling the movie sets of a Bollywood period drama. The spacious dining halls, including five private dining rooms, were lavishly draped with flowing velvet curtains. Ornate chandeliers, candelabras, heavy and opulent furniture laid out in exceptionally vibrant colours, portraits of maharajas and nawabs adorning the wall — everything seemingly endorsed the extravaganza around them. In short, Peppermill managed to recreate the splendour of colonial India.

Interestingly, the highly impressive opulence and grandeur did not end there. The 101-dish menu was diverse enough to cater to even the most pampered palate.

The starters menu alone had 13 dishes to choose from in both cold and hot varieties.

We started off with Karare Palak Chat, which I can vouch is the best vegetarian starter I have had in a very long time. The batter fried fresh spinach drizzled with mint, tamarind chutney and sweet yoghurt, sprinkled with ground spices and Indian savouries, was a dish in itself.

Karare Palak was an invitation to try out more vegetarian delights and we ordered a dish of Mushroom Kebab to go with our all-time favourite Murg Malai Kebab. Surprisingly, the mushroom won over the chicken as we unanimously voted for the juicy and spicy Khumb Khazana (fresh mushrooms stuffed with spinach and cheese, topped with cashew nuts and spices and cooked in tandoor oven).

When it was time to order the main dishes, I left it to the restaurant manager’s discretion to suggest the best out of Peppermill’s kitchen. And to our surprise what arrived was an army of dishes — Chicken Tikka Masala, Sikandari Raan, Aamras Ke Aloo, Makai Methi Palak and Machli Kalimirchi. I would not even know whether I missed any names. But of one thing I was certain. The man did try to outnumber the number of toddlers I took along by the number of dishes he laid out on our table.

Sikandari Raan (an entire leg of lamb marinated in aromatic spices and slowly cooked in the stock and served with a side of spiced roasted potatoes) was an absolute delight for my photographer. Aamras Ke Aloo was voted the best by my companion who loved the sweet and tangy flavour of the mango gravy and the baby potatoes. My personal favourite was the cubes of fish cooked in the unbeatable pepper-based creamy gravy (Machli Kalimirchi).

Being a sweetaholic, I fell for the Lychee Panacotta — chilled fresh cream and lychees served with warm caramelised banana and coconut coulis. Desi Tiramisu, a coffee-flavoured Ras Malai layered with vanilla mascarpone and dusted cocoa powder, and Gulab Jamun with Rabri (deep fried milk dumplings stuffed with almonds and pistachios served with sweet condensed milk) were equally tantalising to our sweet tooth.

Details:

Location: 2nd floor, Al Wahda mall Extension

Timings: 11am to 11pm weekdays (midnight weekends)

Call: 02-622 5586