Dum Pukht, ITC Maurya Shereton, New Delhi

Summary
Location 9
Ambiance 3
Taste 5
Value for money 2 (Would've been 1 if I had been mugged in the parking-lot)
Crowd 2
Service 5

Detailed report

5 star hotels create quite a hype for their restaurants over the years. It works both ways, positive as well as negative. Positive because when you feel like having a good dinner to celebrate a real occasion, you get tempted to give them a go. Negative because they don't live upto the hype they come with. Dum Pukht at ITC Maurya Shereton is a point in case.

Located in the NDMC area, the location is spot on. Wide roads, disciplined traffic lead you to the Hotel and thus by the time you arrive there, you are in the mood to order a beer the moment you settle down. Super. 9/10

The restaurant is all white for some incomprehensible reason. I admire the workmanship of the dhobi, but that is where the admiration stops. Those who have been to United Coffee House in CP would say that this is just a more spaced out version of the same, no differences otherwise. Also a very small bar counter. They use INDIAN bone china!!! I have nothing against the Indian bone china, but in a fine dining restaurant this is very local. Un fukkin believable. Oh yeah, the valet gave me a smart salute when he took the car. That's a bonus mark. 3/10

The food arrived in ages. Tasted NOT better than the food I've had in less "upmarket" places. There isn't much variety on the menu either. For the record we had giant prawn, kakori and chicken kebabs, the customary kaali (blank) dal, pomegranate chops, chicken bemisaal and a mixture of breads. And yes, we also had a biryani. No fault of mine here, it was forgettable indeed. What is impressive, is the wine book(yes its a catalogue, not a one page list). For the taste and variety, 5/10

I have had better tasting food in better ambiance at some of Delhi's other fine dining restaurants. No that's not a good enough comparison. Let me retry.
I have been mugged, but even that felt value for money. The abovementioned food, plus two medium grade Merlots cost 17k above. Add another appx 2k for the tips and the net results was 20k. I've eaten at Bukhara in the same hotel, and did not feel the pinch this bad when I had to dish out a similar amount. This is grand theft! Arson. 2/10 because 1/10 is reserved for a mugging + beating in the drive-way.

There were some people wearing Italian suits and diamond jewels, but they were foreigners being hosted by their respective Indian business partners. Then, there was a middle aged gent sitting next to our table and singing out loud whatever gazal was being played by the live two man band. No one pushed a sock down his throat. Neither did anyone ask him to shut up. I think I saw the king of an oil rich arab country dine at the table next to ours. Is that a plus? 2/10

Service. Leaving aside the non-restaurant staff of the Hotel, I would give the staff here 2 points below the invisible man in terms of visibility and accessibility. Also, despite reservations, we were put on a table for 8 (there were 5 of us), and had to ask them to move us to a more correct sized table. The staff didn't know a thing about the portions either. 5/10

We went in a very good mood with some very fine chaps. I do not want to forget the fine conversation we had there, else I would have slaughtered these guys in this review.