Venue: Delhi University-GTB Nagar
Date: 20 December 2015

An impromptu dinner plan with a friend led us to The Hudson Cafe. The cafe is located in Delhi University’s North Campus area which is a hub of pocket friendly restaurants with cool youthful themes. We had tried food at adjacent Ricos, which was very impressive, but to avoid long waiting time and monotony, we went to The Hudson Cafe this time. And what a discovery this was. The cafe justifies its soaring Zomato ratings by serving great food and decent service.

We reached early so there was no wait to get a table. The “cosy American Cafe” kind of décor, though clichéd, had very positive vibes.

The menu was not too extensive to make it difficult to decide. We ordered their signature dishes – THC Pao Bhaji and Hudson Medley. Waiting time for our food was reasonable and we liked the fact that they served the dishes one by one. It shows the maturity of the staff and their sensitivity towards the diners. THC Pao Bhaji was Thai spiced pao bhaji served with some salad and pickled green chilly. It looked sumptuous but there was very little Thai flavour in it. Our server offered to temper the dish to increase the Thai quotient but we liked what they had cooked. Thai or no Thai… we didn’t mind, as it tasted awesome from the first bite till last. Not just presentation, even the taste was different from a roadside pao bhaji and wasn’t very oily or spicy as they make it in some Indian fast food outlets. We loved the pickled green chilly that they served on the side.

Hudson Medley was rice served with crunchy vegetables in a creamy tomato sauce. The presentation was absolutely mouth-watering. Slightly spicy and tangy and crunchy and fresh, this was so good, it made us believe in the power of well cooked vegetarian food once again. This dish can, by all means, give any non vegetarian dish a run for its money. We polished the plate in no time.

We could have stopped there but the serving size wasn’t great and we had room for dessert. We ordered a slice of red velvet cake which was rather mediocre. Especially after the great food they served, the dessert appeared lacklustre.

Meanwhile, by this time, all tables were occupied and there were diners waiting for their turn. But even then nobody rushed our orders. Nobody hovered over our table to make sure we leave as soon as we are done. We liked it. And we also liked the spa like restrooms – super clean, tastefully done and well maintained.

All in all it was an awesome experience and we will not think twice before going to The Hudson Cafe again.

Highly recommended.