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Gucci, Fendi, Ferragamo, Jimmy Choo, Zest. That is right! Located right in the middle of the High Street shops, the restaurant is located on the top floor in this exclusive high- end DLF Emporio Mall in Vasant Kunj. It is the latest in a slew of fine dining restaurant openings in the last couple of months in New Delhi– as one passes shoppers in the stores of the marquee brands of the Emporio, it seems like there’s no recession on!. Well that’s what Zest would be definitely counting on to fill up the seats in what is probably Delhi’s largest fine dining venues –there’s just oodles of space for over 400 clients at a time. I suppose if you own the building, space is naturally the last thing on your mind!! It is also likely that the crowd coming especially for Zest may add to the business of these stores!
To the left as you enter Zest is a wraparound bar surrounded by casual lounge seating; reminds you of Zuma in London. This was the location for our aperitif –the Mueller Thurgau Frizzante 2007 Santa Margherita- a delightful semi sparkling Italian wine where the effervescence of the bubbles enhanced the apple finish and was a great partner for the finger foods where the highlights were the sushi rolls, lamb kibbeh and chicken salad in roasted rice cups. The sushi rolls in particular were well constructed and the wasabi freshly made –indicative of a fairly meticulous approach in the kitchens beyond.
And that was where we were headed – the entry to the dining area suddenly opens up to a large well-lit vista of space broken by a central enclosed glass display, with lots of minimalist light wood Scandinavian panels in the dining area and rough hewn Australian stone panels dividing up the gleaming open kitchens in serrated rows on the right hand side.
 From the gas fired pizza oven, the tons of stones for which have been imported, to the Arabic kitchen to the Peking Duck oven in the Oriental section to the grills in the Indian to the sushi and Teppanyaki counter – there’s plenty of shiny aluminum and metal on display. With the exception of the Indian kitchen , the rest of the cuisines have their own resident expat chefs –an indication of the commitment of DLF Emporio in not holding back on cost in their mission to providing a variety of high quality foods to its guests.
Zest is spacious and offers in addition to the main dining area and its attached private dining rooms, an outside terrace with semi formal and lounge seating – the piece de resistance being the mist showers that shoot up alongside you as you walk along the wooden walkways on the terrace –fancy indeed!! Talking of air management I must say that the air exhaust system inside is indeed very effective as with 5 different kitchens side by side, there are no mélange of aromas permeating the air.
Sitting down to dinner I noticed the chairs are all swivel – an uncommon touch not found these days in fine dining venues where the dining chairs are sometimes as heavy as tombstones. Thirsty after our pre dinner walk around, the Chardonnay DOC Alto Adige 2005 from Elena Walch was very welcome. It had a full body, floral aromas and a peachy and melony finish. An easy drinking versatile white wine which went well with the parade of tapas’ that the Zest chefs sent our way – high quality nigiri sushi, succulent crab cakes and some rarely seen quail eggs. The Salami pizza from the oven was over shadowed by the crispy thin fingers of Pizza Foccacia – a vast improvement on a fusion item pioneered first by the La Piazza.
 Whilst this mouthwatering feast continued , the first red of the evening was a Pinot Noir, which like its white counterpart the Pinot Grigio, is a somewhat lesser known wine varietal but in terms of softness and mouth feel is right up there with a Merlot or a Shiraz. It was a classic example of an elegant pleasant- to -drink New World wine from Chile . This medium bodied ruby red wine had a berry aroma , good structure and a slightly oaky but long finish.
Whilst waiting for my pre plated main course choice of the oven roasted sea bass , I sank some of the crusty baguette bread from the bread basket into a bowl of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Hats off to a great bakery chef at Zest – the bread was crusty and was toasted just to the right amount of crispiness. It went just great with the star wine of the evening – the Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2003 from Félsina, an estate located in the most south-eastern part of the Chianti Classico zone. Enjoying the berry and tobacco aromas of this very typical Sangiovese wine with well rounded and silky tannins, good balance and a long finish , I realized that sometimes just a simple pairing with great bread and olive oil can offer a great platform to appreciate a great wine.
The unveiling of the dessert buffet saw many members rushing for their after dinner sugar fix from the mouthwatering array and then moving on to the dessert wine –the Guntrum Riesling 2007 from Rheinhessen in Germany –a pale yellow wine with an apricot flavoured finish and just about the right sweetness for a dessert wine.
 Having eaten and drunk well, it was time for a vote of thanks to the team of chefs who brilliantly executed the plans visualized by Prasenjit Singh, the CEO and his very competent right hand man Abhijit Mukherjee. The courteous and efficient table service in particular also needs to be brought to the forefront –in fact at our table towards the end of the dinner, a cry went up for another plate of Nigiri Sushi which our server served up without blinking an eye lid!! At this juncture it may not be out of place at all to also thank the Wine Club management for keeping an eye out for the latest foodie openings in town and organizing our events there in double quick time !! Zest met the quality bar the Club has set for itself and our members did not go home disappointed.
So what about Zest? Is it a glorified food court or is it a mutli-cuisine fine dining restaurant or is it a bar cum lounge with gourmets and gourmands in mind? I think labels will be irrelevant if the bank of chefs in their glass and aluminum stations can keep up their standards of that evening , the DLF Emporio have a winner on their hands and a concept that can be a runaway success across the country.
Arun Batra
Arun Batra is a Delhi based management consultant, a food and wine enthusiast and a long time member of the Delhi Wine Club
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