Despite a few misses, Roadies Cafe makes for a cool place for its light bites, says Ayushi Sharma
As I sat at the Cafe Roadies on a chilly winter evening, I stared blankly at the golden Edison bulbs spread all across the ceiling, wrapped in green climbers. On my left were glass windows splashed with what looked like melted chocolate. The TV show Roadies has always had a separate fan base and this newbie cafe at Gardens Galleria, Noida, is based on the very theme. Its set of wooden tables and chairs gives a very rustic and rugged feel, similar to that of the show. To make the decor look more ragged and rough, a bullet stood right in front of a wall as though breaking it through. It could have easily won the tag of an “insta-worthy picture spot,” only if there was any such contest. Some quirky quotes on the wall, too, resonated with the theme and the vibe of the game show.
Coming to what I was here for — food — they suggested that I should start with hummus. Well, if you want to up your hummus game, you should try your hands at Hum-Mus Sath Sath Hai, an authentic variety seasoned with tandoori pickle and served with pita bread. Prepared using chickpeas, it was cooked, mashed and blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. The only variation, here, was that it had a touch of tandoori pickle. Just for the record, I am a huge fan of hummus and usually like to add a swirl of yogurt to bump up the creaminess factor but this one was just complete in itself. Initially, I wondered why would anyone like a bland bread as well as an almost bland dip together? But this triangular pita bread cleared the apprehension.
Before I could even realise, the next on the plate was Roadies Fry-Yay, one of the finest preparations of potatoes loaded with sesame and goodness of honey. Let’s just say that they came straight from the wok. When you eat honey chilli potatoes, what really matters is how crisp the potatoes are in spite of being tossed in the sauce. The key to making the dish super crispy is to batter fry the potato fingers twice. Deep frying them only once results in potatoes that don’t hold their shape and get soggy after a few minutes. These really stood out for their crunch. Ideally, I should have used a fork or a toothpick but to enjoy the real flavours, I ate them with bare fingers.
After munching on to the starters, I hopped on to trying something different and cheesy altogether. And wait, the place actually had ‘my’ kind of combo — It’s Cheesy. It was a combination of melted cheese served fondue style with toasted bread sticks and crispy naan fingers. Even though it was an amalgamation of five kinds of cheese, the dish tasted bland and the graph of my expectations declined a bit. Let’s say, to soothe the tastebuds or just as a mere accompaniment, I ordered Old Fashion and Margarita. While the former cocktail was blended with Bourbon, sugar cubes and orange bitters, the latter had tequila, triple sec, sweet and sour. I could taste all the different flavours, which seemed perfectly blended, and the drinks — not much diluted — certainly made a mark.
Moving on to the main course, I ordered the special vegetarian tandoori platter. The two-levelled plate was filled with Achari paneer tikka, Kagazi paneer barfi on the first base and Beetroot seekh, Tandoori mushrooms on the second. The former, Achari paneer tikka, was yet another variation of the regular paneer tikka, flavoured with pickling spices. If you enjoy pickle and relish the sour taste of lemon or mango, you might love it. However, the Kagazi paneer barfi was the ultimate of all. Filled with crushed dry fruits, while its outer layering was extremely delicate and soft, it turned out to be a complete opposite when I bit into it.
Next up was the Peri peri chicken, which was overnight marinated chicken patty, served with homemade peri peri sauce. The dish, topped with jalapenos, melted yellow cheddar and emmenthal, had its success mantra in its sauce — both spicy and hot.
Then the Cottage cheese steak, paneer slab marinated with cajun spice, got me going. A huge burger, after eating four dishes, sipping and repeating cocktails, was certainly a bad idea. However, the very first bite made me go to ‘I need more of this’ from ‘I think I am nearly full’. The grand burger was crunchy from the outside and tender on the inside. It was a great combination of lettuce, sliced tomatoes, onions, cottage cheese and spices. What made it look appealing? — The bite-sized tomato or one may confuse it with a cherry on the top.
For accompaniment, there was subliminal music for a relaxed evening. And also, because I finally found the best burger in town.
