Head to Leela Palace’s Library Bar and Megu in Delhi for a reimagined menu

Picture this. A dimly-lit bar where columns of rare leather-bound books witness your gradual ascent to indulgence as you are comforted in their company. Aptly named The Library, The Leela Palace Delhi, one of the most iconic addresses of Delhi, has revamped its bar menu to reflect the mood of the place and its discerning patrons. The air is heavy with memories of conversation that place has on a regular basis. This is far removed from the noisy pubs of the city, even as lively jazz ensures you’re in a good mood for great conversation and even better tipples.

The menu has been designed in keeping with the theme, and may be found in a slim bookmark, placed in one of the books from The Library.

Our eyes fall on Pablo Picasso, and we must go for it. On the spicier side, the drink is named to reflect Picasso’s style – with tequila, grapefruit, peach and mint salt. My companion chooses the Song of Solomon, another drink on the savoury side, with citrusy vodka, herbs, savory wine, citrus and lavender, inspired by the famous novel’s magic realism.

Similarly, the rest of the drinks are deliberately matched to the characteristics of the novels or authors that they’re cleverly named after – Goldfinger, the famous James Bond novel has saffron gin, with honey and citrus. The bourbon-heavy Raymond Chandler, with Coconut Bourbon, Campari, Amari Montenegro and Coffee bitters, is named after the author who allegedly only drank bourbon for two straight weeks! The witticism is in keeping the drinks and the jokes relevant within the closed circles of patrons who frequent the bar. We accompany our drinks with a slice of mushroom flatbread and chicken chimichurri, both excellent, and then head down to a very special meal for their Omakase menu at Megu by Chef Arindam which launched earlier this year.

Delhi is landlocked, and therefore we must truly thank modern logistics for the recent omakase style meal that we had at one of its most iconic restaurants, Megu in Delhi.

The meal started with a vegan dish, the only one of that night. The classic Shira Ae salad, a Japanese mashed tofu salad, had been assembled in the centre of the plate on a bed of  blanched spinach, in a sea of a tangy nutty roasted sesame soy sauce, decorated with thinly sliced cucumbers around the assembly. It tasted delicious, the umami from the sesame seeds complementing the buttery tofu, with the spinach adding another texture to the dish.

This was followed by Yellowtail Carpaccio, in an aromatic citrusy soy emulsion. This is when Chef Anurag came and discussed how Carpaccio and ceviche are closely related, in fact, ceviche might be inspired by Japanese emigrants to South America who inspired Nikkei cuisine in Peru. Our next course was a finely chopped version of Salmon Tartar, served with wasabi soy. At this point, we were just exclaiming about the quality of ingredients that shone in every dish, lulled into a calm state in the presence of the massive Buddha statue that was right next to us at the restaurant.

Rock shrimp tempura, a classic Japanese dish that no fine meal is truly done without, was next. The juxtaposition of the crisp fried tempura batter, with smoking hot and tender prawn inside was a match made in heaven.

A sushi platter was next, showcasing the superior knifing skills from the Megu kitchen. Some blue fin tuna made it to the platter, fresh off the catch from the evening, we were informed to our delight. Megu’s impeccable service and attention to detail extends to the quality of its produce, and the kitchen’s personal attention makes sure our evening is as pleasant as it can be. Overall, after a long day, the new Library Bar is just the kind of place where it would be nice to mope away or curl up with a good book and good grub, to be anti-social in peace, while not being along at home. And Megu, the right place to end up with a bunch of friends or family whenever there’s a special occasion to celebrate!