The din of the city seems to trail off as I turn towards a leafy avenue of sprawling urban farmhouses in one of south Delhi’s uber-opulent neighbourhoods. The walls here run high and almost continuous, with breaks only for majestic gates and winding driveways leading up to massive mansions. Amid them, along the main road, stands the white glass-fronted façade of Elina Vara.
The airy dining space is welcoming. The interiors are done up elegantly in white. Natural light streams in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, the harshness of the summer sun muted by soft white curtains. The biophilic-inspired space revolves around the concept of bringing the outdoors inside, with lush plants, an aquarium, natural terrazzo flooring and stone-wall cladding incorporated in the design. The décor in earthy browns and greens is restrained; two hand-painted murals adorn two arched alcoves form the highlight.
Founder Simran Kochhar takes us through the concept behind the restaurant: sustainability and allergen-free dining. The inspiration for Elina Vara — which means “pure blessing” in Sanskrit — is personal; it stems from the time her daughter started facing allergies caused by chemicals commonly used in food preservation. Witnessing her daughter’s struggles prompted Kochhar to create safer dining experience for everyone.
Hailing from Uttarakhand, Kochhar was privy to a farm-to-table experience, in the original sense of the term, from childhood. With Elina Vara, she seeks to bring that same goodness to the urbanscape of Delhi, wherein most of the produce is sourced directly from the restaurant’s own farms, one of which is located a short drive away.
At a time when every new restaurant on the block is trying to outdo others with innovative and outright whacky dishes, it’s refreshing to see that the menu here is quite simple. The amuse bouche is followed by a Caesar Salad and a Minestrone soup, with prawn kataifi and chickpea pillows as appetisers. A choice of lasagna or salmon for the mains is rounded off by a decadent chocolate almond mousse or a tart raspberry sorbet for dessert.
Pretty straightforward, almost uninteresting, you might think. Until you dig into each dish. From the crunch of the lettuce in the salad to the velvety smoothness of the tomato broth in the soup to the profusion of vegetables in the lasagna, the most basic food can be delicious when made with farm-fresh ingredients.
The food is complemented with alcohol-free drinks — a selection of mocktails made with sober spirits and a range of cold-pressed juices, of which I particularly liked the Energizer made of carrot, apple, pear, lime and ginger. Kochhar says she is in no rush to secure a liquor licence, and would, in fact, prefer Elina Vara to first become known as a space where families, the elderly, groups of friends and couples can all dine on wholesome food, without it turning into just another party place.
Next arrives a choice of pizzas, made in the Romano style where the base is first cooked and then loaded with sauce, toppings and cheese, and baked in their clay oven. The result is a thin, crunchy and flavour-loaded crust, which even a crust waster like me can’t resist polishing off. Rounding off the scrumptious lunch with steaming cups of coffee — their beans are sourced from Chikmagalur and roasted in-house — I leave Elina Vara, making plans to return soon.
Elina Vara, Vatika Greens, Sultanpur Mandi Road, Chhatarpur Farms, New Delhi; Price for two, Rs 2,500 approx.
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