She’s Here Knows How To Play Chic With Wafu Cuisine

The name was the first thing to catch my attention, while routinely scrolling all the new places about town. Call Me Ten’s sister-property, She’s Here is a playful announcement cum moniker for the new fun Asian place in G-Town, where some exemplary establishments already exist in stiff competition. Located in the hip new plaza that is HQ 27, She’s Here hit me as the sort of place you go to for the first date, a quiet moment with a friend, or when you need to spice things up with the significant other. Everything about the place, from the drinks to the food invites one to relax and get in the mood.

Interiors are done in intentional black and red colours, with attention to detail, jazz music and lilies in the bathroom, a robata grill and live teppanyaki for those who wish in the foreground, to avoid awkward stops in the conversation, while an intelligently done cocktail menu ensures there’s enough to do even if the date’s gone south.

She’s Here’s menu is inspired from Wafu cuisine, a colloquialism for the modern evolution of the traditional food of Japan that has taken notes from many comforting elements of Italian food and blended the two together for an entirely new dish. Think Japanese techniques and flavours meet Italian flair and ingredients, a match made in (our) heaven, as two of our favourite cuisines come together.

As soon as you arrive, you’re greeted with a basket of fresh breads (albeit a little cold) with three varieties of butter – sriracha, togarashi and truffle – all excellent, and leaving you wanting more. The appetizers are aplenty, as She’s Here has a running robata grill, from which we had some excellent yakitori, grilled cod. To freshen our palate, we had a sip of their exemplary cocktails, which I personally requested a zero-proof version of, as it was my alcohol-free night. For all our sober curious friends, She’s Here can make you drinks that feel like an exploration and not just lemon and soda in a glass.

For those who appreciate a good cocktail, I recommend their Japonesa Haiboru, garnished with a beautiful honeycomb, or the Ju-Hai which I enjoyed immensely with the Yuzu Garlic butter prawns, another favourite on the menu. This isn’t your typical Japanese restaurant, it’s an Omakase style bar that is technique driven and yet a relaxed experience, that a globally aware audience can enjoy.

Founded by Karann Chawla, Angadh Singh and Akshay Shokeen, the restaurant has a tongue-in-cheek menu designed by Chef Vaibhav Bhargava, where elevated comfort food is key.

It was time for the mains, and we went with the lamb chops, served with a delicious marinara sauce. Besides, we had some gochujang bucatini that we can add to our weekly rotation very easily. Dessert was a tiramisu French toast, which is an exemplary dish to showcase how chic places can also be comforting. She’s Here is not here to

play, and we see them grabbing the city’s attention real quick as a comfortable option in the sea of places for a night out.