Food Review: An Indian adventure at Farzi Cafe, Dubai

Photo: Braised lamb boti tacos with fried garlic and pepper cream served on wheels at Farzi Cafe, City Walk, Dubai.

Tables at this restaurant, where the dishes are a molecular gastronomic version of Indian food, are awfully hard to get. But is it worth the hype?

As any chef worth their salt will tell you, good food has more to do with chemistry than with the quality of produce used, and that’s certainly true at Dubai’s Farzi Cafe. The Indian bistro at the emirate’s new City Walk strip mall experiments with both technique and presentation, and the results of this quasi-molecular experimentation are both memorable and Instagram-worthy.

Indian cuisine as it is understood abroad derives from the imperial kitchens of Delhi and Lucknow. However, in recent years, chefs such as Farzi’s Zorawar Kalra have embraced recipes beyond these narrow constraints and have elevated middle-class fare and street food to fine-dining status. As the home of 2.5 million Indian expatriates as well as significant numbers of Indophiles among the local population, the UAE is a natural market for this “hipsterised” fare.

THE RESTAURANT

It makes sense, then, that tables remain hard to get at Farzi Cafe six months after the Delhi brand opened its doors in the UAE. Booking several days in advance is essential, but the experience, for that’s what it is, is certainly worth the wait. The mocktails are cold but steaming, the desserts are flash frozen, and your order is as likely to arrive on a wooden box as on a ceramic plate. Every single recipe has been engineered to maximise its sensory impact.

Photo: Farzi Cafe's blood orange and grapefruit spaghetti flash frozen with liquid nitrogen

The gilded interiors, wall decals and wooden tables make for beautiful photographs, and the seats are packed together tightly enough to stimulate a buzz. The accidental contrast with the relatively empty mall simply adds to the allure.

Photo: Farzi Cafe interior

THE FOOD

Prepare for any preconceived notions of Indian cuisine to be well and truly squashed. An example is the traditional papad starter, which Kalra serves with a filling of mashed rice and lentils. Dal Chawal Arancini, as the dish is called, is an Italianate version of the Indian comfort meal khichdi, an unspiced mash-up of lentils and rice that is usually eaten with tangy pickles and lentil crisps. Don’t be put off by the fusion, though; this innovative and comforting recipe certainly wins the genetic lottery.

Less inventive but a sure favourite among traditionalists is the chicken tikka masala. The UK’s national dish was served in a small, red novelty telephone box. The smoky meat and the home-style gravy were paired with an excellent naan, proof that some combinations should not be tampered with.

Photo: Farzi Cafe's Chicken Tikka Masala served up in a telephone box

There were some disappointments, though. The Farzified biryani is a deconstructed version of the classic, with the lamb served on an upright skewer in the centre of a mound of rice, all plated on a wooden tray. The flavours didn’t seem to come together as in the more popular dum or sealed version, and the spicing had an abrasive edge.

Photo: Farzified lamb biryani

SWEET ENDING

All was redeemed by the dessert, however. We prudently chose to share the Risotto Phirni Oxide. This Eton Mess makeover of the classic rice pudding is built and served at the table, with nitrogen-frozen kulfi or ice cream, meringue, almond cream and crushed pistachios. It’s a chemical romance packed with explosive flavours and textures: sweet, crunchy, cold, creamy and very moreish.

THE HIGHLIGHT

More than the food, though, it’s the drinks that stood out. Beverages lend themselves beautifully to molecular experiments, so diners really are spoilt for choice. They might be served in unusually shaped glasses with little fruit spheres, as in the case of the Pina Colada, or whiffs of smoke might drift from the glass onto the table thanks to the liquid nitrogen. Our favourites were the bantas—flavoured, spiced sodas served in olde-worlde Codd bottles stoppered with marbles; nostalgia as a fizzy soda.

WHAT WE WOULD CHANGE

Our main complaint was getting a table. Diners at the Delhi flagship have complained about the same thing, but Dubai residents (and travellers) simply aren’t used to booking in advance. Waiting longer than normal for the hostess to find our reservation was also irritating. But the service was the biggest irritant.

There’s a theory that the word “bistro” derives from the Russian word for “quickly”, and the staff at Farzi Cafe certainly seems to have that attitude. The food arrives far too quickly, and the diners next to us sent one course back because they weren’t ready for it.

FINAL THOUGHT

Farzi Cafe’s mall location ensures its halal status (in Dubai, only restaurants attached to hotels serve alcohol and pork, and the latter requires a separate kitchen), so it’s a great option for those keen to check out the fad for progressive Indian cuisine. The quirky and playful recipes alone make Farzi Cafe a noteworthy addition to any Dubai visitor’s list, but the cramped seating and the hurried staff detract from the experience considerably.

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