Accor Hotels is one of the biggest names in hospitality the world over. They have a host of brands from economy to luxury hotels and have expanded in various cities in India. We had recently dined at Honk, Asian street food restaurant at Pullman, a luxury Accor brand and were most impressed. This post is about another Accor restaurant – Spice It.

Accor had brought about their budget hotel chain ibis in India some years ago and established a property on Golf Course Road in Gurgaon. We remember dining there and spending some lovely hours during their elaborate Sunday breakfast before they started renovation. Golf Course Road is springing surprises every other day, and a revamped ibis is one of these. Spice It, the hotel’s all day casual dining multi-cuisine restaurant was unveiled recently and we were invited for a first look.

We liked what we saw here. Bright and colourful interiors flooded by natural light, comfortable sofas and high chairs and desi chai – coffee and tiffin counters. Enameled tiffin carriers in red – yellow – blue completed the look. It took us back to a retro Indian era where things were simple. This was in sync with the new avatar of this ibis restaurant. Positioned more like a neighbourhood eatery, the innovative food concept is tailor made for India. Featuring a scrumptious buffet and a la carte menu of favourite International and Indian cuisine with a desi twist, the colourful and quirky Spice It offered guests a relaxed dining atmosphere.

The buffet was elaborate carrying a host of cuisines and we spotted Lebanese pita – humus combo, Malaysian Nasi Goreng, Kolkata chicken kathi rolls and our all time comfort food – naan and dal makhni. The salad counter had some ready items as well as ingredients such as cherry tomatoes, gherkins etc. and dressings so that a diner could toss his own salad. The soup and dessert sections had items that resonated hints of Indian flavours. We tried a bit of this and that and loved everything. Having said that dal makhni was a real surprise. This dish is often a disappointment at branded places. However, it was finger licking good at Spice It. Mild yet rich, we could not resist taking a second helping.

The beverages section had some basic but soul satisfying masala chai and coffee. We had the brewed tea which was as tasty, as satiating as ghar ki chai. Post food, we tried their coffee, the hand frisked frothy variety that grandmother would make during winter vacation evenings. It was time travel in great days of yore.

The friendly attending staff at the restaurant score high in hospitality. They were conscious of all our requirements and were a yes to everything. Including our request for the badge on one of their shirts that read – “Why wait? Pehle dessert, phir main course #TadkaMaarke”. The Bengali was absolutely delighted!

They also presented us with some arty collectibles – colourfully patterned mugs, cookie jars and card holders.

On a hot summer afternoon, Spice It at ibis was a cool experience, #TadkaMaarke.