OKO Restaurant at The Lalit Delhi a Pride of Delhi

As you walk in the OKO Restaurant on 28th (top) floor of the Lalit Hotel in Connaught Place, the memories of old days when it used to have two of the top restaurants in Delhi- Blue Elephant on the left and The Grill on the right, flash instantly through your mind- firstly because they provided the rare view of Delhi and secondly because of the excellent food though the former seemed to be ahead of its time.  But the view seems to have got even better after a couple of decades when seen from that height. On a clear day, one can see, Jama Masjid and the old walled city, Birla Mandir, Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium and even Bahai Temple though the smog keeps it blurred. Modern School does look magnificent from the extreme right side.

It must have been a very bold decision for Keshav Suri, Executive Director of the Lalit Hospitality group to make a big and beautiful restaurant with 3 distinct sections you can walk through, with each offering a unique, expansive and plush feel with a couple of open and yet Private Dining Areas , party rooms if desired, including separate music in one of the sections. You walk into the restaurant from the left as you come out of the elevator and walk out from the right hand side (the old Grill Room exit). Furniture and settings are plush with enough room to sit and wait on the sofas, have a drink while waiting for a table or simply spending the time nursing your drinks. Understandably a few more seats will be carved as the need arises.

Refurbishing had been on for almost a couple of years with both the restaurants dismantled to give way to the new chic Pan Asian Restaurant OKO which has been in operation, albeit on a smaller scale in four cities in Udaipur, Bangalore, Goa and Chandigarh.  Grill Room unfortunately, has been a major casualty as it is now boxed in with no windows but a lot of beautiful memories of the past, howsoever distant, shifted to the 3rd floor.

As you are offered the  thick Menu, you marvel at the choice of various cuisines-Japanese being the focus but also Vietnamese, Korean, Thai and Chinese. Food is quite authentic and very flavourful, the taste actually accentuated with the ambience inside and the view of Delhi –old walled city, Lutyens Delhi and the extended New Delhi visible from the large windows giving the magnificent views.

Sushiri with wine and sake

Along with the regular Menu is a Sushiri Menu-with 3-5 dishes listed under different flights, each matched with an appropriate wine or Sake. Don’t go around googling Sushiri as it will tell you it is a musical instrument ; that  `Sushiri,' is a chip of sandalwood 4.5 cm long, 1.5 cm wide, one mm thick and weighing just half a gram. The chip has four rows of minute holes on it, and when held close to the lips and played with fingers, it produces notes similar to those of a saxophone or a flute.’

The name Sushiri has been apparently borrowed from Nannery, a specialty of Baluchi Indian cuisine restaurant where different Indian breads are made in front of your eyes and served with appropriate wines by the glass. It is a special Menu that lists ‘Flights from Japan’.

Fine dining prices

The prices are not outrageous but are not cheap either. It’s a fine dining restaurant and you expect to pay for the experience. It can easily set you back by Rs. 3000-5000 a head with meals and decent wines. Fortunately, the Lalit Hospitality Card rates are applicable for this restaurant too-so you could save around Rs. 2000-3000 on every visit by 2 people. The card pays for itself in 4-5 visits-you still have hosts of benefits which otherwise are not necessarily relevant. If you love to eat in style or take your guests to fancy places or even would like to celebrate the special occasions, OKO is definitely the place to be.  Think of ordering one cuisine in every visit and choose a different area for sitting and you can have a few years of enjoying different experiences, without getting bored.

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