New Delhi: Superb Coffee, Fair Pasta, Excellent Value … Just Off Main Bazaar

Cafe Festa

1832 Laxmi Narain Street (Just Off Main Bazaar)

Chuna Mandi, Paharganj, New Delhi 110055, India

Phone: +91-112-358-8000

Prices: $$$$

I found Café Festa and decided to give them a try after reading numerous “rave” reviews, mostly by Americans. The restaurant is just a few blocks from the Ramakrishna Ashram Marg Metro station (opposite end from the train station) on a street just parallel to Main Bazaar. It was easy to find using Google Maps and because of the good signage in front. It has a clean, open, modern feel with a couple tables out front, a small dining area as you walk in, and a larger area downstairs. The waiters, and I use that archaic term only because there are no female servers in India as far as I can tell, speak passable English and are attentive and efficient. I was seated quickly.

The menu is thick with numerous beverage options, including coffees, teas, shakes and other local concoctions as well as vegetarian breakfasts, appetizers, pastas, pizzas, sandwiches, and Chinese dishes in addition to several savory options from India.

I was in the mood for something Italian, so I went with the spaghetti and vegetables (broccoli and olives) in a creamy garlic sauce. I thought that American restaurants unnecessarily drown their pasta in sauce, but this dish was closer to a soup than an authentic pasta dish. It was a decent size and accompanied by two pieces of what I thought to be Italian bread (by the shape), but had the consistency of Wonder Bread. The flavor was good, with a tad too much garlic, even for my taste, but could have used a lot less sauce, more broccoli, and a little more parmesan cheese. No bad.

Along with the pasta I had a Diet Coke, nearly impossible to find in Delhi along with other diet soft drinks, and a liter of water and the bill came to just under 300 rupees (about $4.80). Cheap by American standards for a decent meal in a sit-down restaurant.

Having become disenchanted with my hotel’s rooftop restaurant, I decided to try their coffee the next morning. I went for the “grande” Café Latte (95 Rupees - $1.55), an excellent value compared to Starbucks and their “regular” (80 Rupees - $1.30). The regular comes in a normal size cup and saucer, but the grande is probably twice the size with two shots of espresso. The presentation was nice with just the right foam to milk ratio and a nice leaf pattern made on top of the foam. The coffee was just hot enough not to scald the tongue and delicious. I can honestly say that I have not had a better latte in a long time, in the U.S. or in Italy for that matter.

If you are looking for a reasonably priced meal or drink in an area not abundant with clean, modern facilities, Café Festa is the place for you.

CombatCritic Gives Café Festa 7 Bombs Out of 10 … MORE BOMBS ARE BETTER!

Seven Bombs Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie





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Title: New Delhi, India: Superb Coffee, Fair Pasta, Excellent Value … Just Off Main Bazaar

Key Words: Cafe Festa, cafe. festa, CombatCritic, Delhi Coffee, Main Bazaar, menu, new, New Delhi, pasta, product, restaurant, review, service, Tabelog, travel, TravelValue, value, Yelp, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: S&G = "Shits & Grins"

Clean, Safe, Fair Priced and Unlike Anthony Bourdain … Some Reservations

Hotel Heritage Home

1603/4 Main Bazar, Pahar Ganj

Near RK Ashram Metro Station

New Delhi 110055, India 

Phone: +91-987-352-9223

Web: Heritage Hotel Delhi

Prices: $$$$$

New Delhi (Paharganj), India: I found Hotel Heritage Home on TripAdvisor and made my reservation on Booking.com after reading numerous good reviews. The hotel is just a few blocks from the Ramakrishna Ashram Marg Metro station (opposite end from the train station) on Main Bazaar and just around the corner from Café Festa. It was easy to spot because of the good signage in front. It has a clean, open, rustic feel with a long entry through automatic glass doors, a small reception along with a travel office, an elevator and a rooftop restaurant. The area around the station is seedy to say the least, but vibrant, energetic, and colorful although filthy as is the case around much of Delhi.

Arriving at 1:30 AM after a 30-hour journey, I decided to defer to the hotel to pick me up at the airport. My driver spoke little English, but was right where I was told he would be with my name on a sign. The drive took about 25 minutes with little traffic due to the early hour. The trip was quoted at 900 Rupees ($14.65), not unfair by American standards but 500 Rupees more than the “standard” (400 Rupee - $6.50) fare from the airport to Delhi. In fact, when I inquired about my return trip to the airport, I was quoted 400 Rupees, so maybe there was a “late arrival surcharge”, an not totally unreasonable assumption.

I booked a “standard” room (1200 Rupees/night - $19.50), but found out the next say I was upgraded to a “deluxe” (normally 1800 Rupees - $29.25). The room was basic with marble floors, a large king bed, flat screen TV and cable, a small wardrobe, mini-sofa and table, and a bathroom that also serves as a shower due to the lack of a curtain or door. The room was fortunately in the back away from the street with no windows, which is not a bad thing considering I am sensitive to light and noise when I sleep and Main Bazaar is extremely loud due to the crowds below and the incessant honking of horns that Delhi drivers seem to thrive on.

The hotel’s travel office is convenient and helpful, but based on the prices I was quoted you may be better off booking your (train/bus/hotel/sightseeing) reservations online or directly with the provider as travel agents (and most other businesses) in this area are notorious for overcharging tourists. I will defer my opinion until I can compare quoted charges with online/counter prices through the respective purveyors.

Their rooftop restaurant is “relatively” quiet and inviting with plants, three parakeet cages, and local furnishings with several tables sitting below their own canopy for shade from the warm Delhi sun. The waiters speak barely passable English, but are attentive, efficient, and friendly. The menu has few beverage options, including bottled water, coffees (30-35 rupees – 55 - 60 cents), teas, shakes and other local drinks as well as vegetarian breakfasts, appetizers, pastas, sandwiches, and several options from India. There is no Diet Coke or other low calorie soft drinks and the coffee adequate, seemingly instant and likely Nescafe. The offerings are cheap by American standards, but not great. In two visits, I tried the egg and potato breakfast (80 Rupees - $1.30), accompanied by two pieces of toast (butter and jam), and a coffee with milk (35 rupees). It was adequate, but an excellent value. For dinner I went with the butter chicken (170 rupees - $2.75 – normally, one of my favorites) and an order of garlic cheese naan (60 Rupees - $1.00). The butter chicken came in a tomato-based sauce that tasted like sweet spaghetti sauce, not the creamy, savory variety I have come to love in restaurants in the U.S. and England, and the naan was slathered in butter/oil, a bit too much for my taste.

My biggest disappointments were the unexplained airport surcharge mentioned earlier, the horrible and nearly non-existent internet, and the phantom (500 Rupee) SIM card charge for my iPhone. The internet seemed to work OK upon my arrival and I was fortunately able to Skype with my wife and let he know I was alive, but it was “down” the next two days (the manager said it was their service provider’s fault) and accessible the next two, but so slow that my browsers gave up trying to load. Google also locked me out of all my email accounts because they thought someone was trying to hack me from India, but I could not access my ten accounts to resolve the issue due to lack of internet. What fun! When I told the manager that I wanted to get a local SIM card for my phone, he gallantly offered to have a colleague help me out. I was quoted 500 Rupees ($8.15 for a SIM card) and 495 Rupees for 2GB of 3G data. The data is an excellent value compared to American standards, but when I went to the Vodaphone store in Connaught Palace the next day because I could only get 1G data service throughout Delhi, I was told that “SIM cards are free, you should not have been charged for one”. Oh well, live and learn!

There are much cheaper (and more expensive) options available in Delhi, but if you are looking for a reasonably priced hotel, centrally located near the Metro in an area not abundant with clean, modern facilities, then Hotel Heritage Home is a good option, but be careful about add-on services as they are likely highly inflated.

CombatCritic Gives Hotel Heritage Home 6 Bombs Out of 10 

… Would Have Been 8 If Not For the Airport Surcharge, Internet Fiasco, and Extraneous SIM Card Charge .. MORE BOMBS ARE BETTER!

Title: Clean, Safe, Fair Priced and Unlike Anthony Bourdain … Some Reservations

Key Words: Hotel Heritage Home. hotel, heritage, home, New Delhi, new, Delhi, metro, train, Main Bazaar, main, bazaar, budget, travel, value, TravelValue, CombatCritic, TripAdvisor, trip, advisor