GlassHouse: World Grill and Bar belts out borderless cuisine and much more

I write this, even as there are reports that vodka has been trumped by gin as the more popular white spirit among the Indian market, as it were. It is obvious really without anyone doing a study to tell it were so. Just move out and about in town, and a glance at people’s glasses will tell you it has!

But Glasshouse: World Grill and Bar in Gurugram is not just about the gin. The contemporary interiors – inspired from a greenhouse – has simple clean lines, lots of glass and tropical plants that leave a large role for the atmosphere to play a part. On a clear night, the night sky is to add to this 150-seater restaurant’s ambience with a retractable roof enclosing the space.

Glasshouse will make you sit up both with its drinks and food concepts. The diner serves borderless cuisine, where everything is familiar, but just foreign enough to be interesting and a conversation point. To start with, the place offers a special menu of curated gin drinks, infused in-house, with influences from all over the world. For instance, we tried a Mexico – a Habanero and Scotch Bonnet, while our companion tried an Africa – with notes of Hibiscus, Pomegranates and Orange. The menu had got the essence of every country spot on – and we played charades with our gin infusion menu a while – Sri Lanka, for instance, was Pineapple, ginger and lemongrass, while New Zealand had gooseberry, peach and kiwi!

All this drink needed something to go down with – and we ended up trying their most talked about starter – the Betel Leaves Sambal Hae Bee – a take on Indian paan combined with savoury south-east Asian ingredients such as golden fried garlic, roasted peanuts, sauteed rice and coconut. Distinctly Thai in its aroma, and yet very Indian, it was quite a party-in-the-mouth and a memorable dish at that. r

The goat tartine was excellent, pulled raan on sourdough toast making us think about how it makes perfect bar food. Similarly, the prawn jhingawala was a familiar dish, making us go back for more. The salli boti sliders – flame grilled shredded mutton with thecha served on brioche buns were also a winner. By the time we moved to the mains, our appetites had taken a hit, but a whiff of taftan, a Persian bread with milk, yoghurt and eggs was enough to get it back! The Angoori Kofta Pepper Makhni used bell peppers to make the familiar butter chicken gravy, adding the twist we were now looking forward to in every dish.

For dessert, we went for a vegan choice – and were not disappointed at all. The ‘Walk in the Forest’, with Vegan chocolate mousse and raspberry, was a dish that made us want more of it, despite really full tummies.

The menu is ingenously designed – while it isn’t facetious, it is inventive and smart, and above all, delicious! We had already made a mental note to refer to it when our weekly menu plans were boring us, or better, end up at Glasshouse: World Grill and Bar for some weekly inspiration.

Address: Second Floor, Worldmark 4, Shop No. 201, 202 & 203, Village, Maidawas Rd, Sector 65, Gurugram.
Cost: Rs 5,000 for two approx.