Restaurants in Hauz Khas Village

The latest buzz in town is once again with Hauz Khas Village - Delhi 's
Urban Village No. 1 and getting to be foodie's secret haunt

Thanks to Kalmadi his Bistro will not open in a hurry! not to worry.
Hauz Khas Village's latest restaurant is Bagels with some fine sandwiches and Coffee. Or else Kunzum travel cafe for some real cofee on donation basis and enjoy the photographs! good idea
The Living Room Cafe & Kitchen is truly one of Delhis most affordable Mediterranean eatery with good music and booze . I believe the owner is starting another one. Good going buddy!!
Gun Powder Restaurant woith easily one of the best views in Delhi.for good old South Indian Non Vegetarian food. Place needed a bit of sprucing up the last time i was there. Also getting a little pricey!!!
Naivedyam doing brisk business for years with excellent south Indian Vegetarian fare.
Park Balluchi going strong with its Fontier non veg food under its foliage and ofcourse alcohol too.

My encounter with Hauz Khas Village first came about while pursuing my Masters in JNU in the mid-eighties on a frugal stipend . Descending upon Hauz Khas Village in our ramshackled motorbikes and famished looking for some food we found it had an unusual flavour compared to the more earthy villages we were used to like like Munirka and Mehrauli. The entrance to the village had long lines of smart cars warned us that it would be exhorbitant. Someone had quite aptly described it ""Hauz Khas Village preferred mode of locomotion is designer bullock cart, raising designer dust, causing designer dislocation of spine on encountering designer pothole!!!

Getting off our bikes we soon discovered this was also the only other place where one could ski on fresh buffalo dung! Things changed over the years. Even after so many years of ups and downs , a much improved parking lot and steet lighting most visitors cannot still get a taxi or an autorickshaw driver to come here without a minor scuffle. The great confusion about 'hoj kaj bilej' and 'hoj kaj markit' has still not been resolved. Then ofcourse the Metro construction on Aurobindo Marg sems to just go on and not to forget perrennial Delhi problems like the road leading to the Village continues to be " watering alley ".However cows have lately decided not to hold council in the middle of the street.

On the brighter side one of New Delhi's most fabulous patches of greenery surrounds Hauz Khas Village , a nice walkaway around a lake and some impressive monuments dot the region.Adjacent to the crowed lanes of the village another world thrives. Some very docile spotted deer roamed around quite abundantly in this lung of South Delhi being blessed with good vegetation and water bodies was a haven for the winged and feathered species ! TheIsland on the lake looks like a good breeding spot for waterbirds.

Many years and adventures later i did not percieve that in 2003 i would open my own office and bed & breakfast here in the back yards of the city of The Slave Dynasty.

Thankfully not too much designer hype but still very bohemian and good clothes , shawls, some decent food, gifts, jewelry, leather, art galleries, travel agencies, fashion institutes, advertising agencies, event managers but more importantly its quite quiet and laid back. Its quite stylish and has got some real wacky names and unlike a standard DDA shopping market with its Geekay store , Aarkay Studio , TeeVee Repair shop and Beekay chemist. We could survive without that but hopefully a couple more of "Peekay" waterholes facing the lake would suffice.

All in all its nice to be part of Hauz Khas village after the last two decades of rumble and tumble.Please visit and call me if you need directions.

Ramesh Nambiar ramesh@oasisworld.in
www.oasisworld.in
2 Hauz Khaz Village, Ground floor New Delhi - 16,