It’s cute, I’ll give it that. The Darjeeling Café is tiny, nostalgically designed café-restaurant in Karama which has Zomato buzzing. If you’re into the cuisine of that part of the world, including some of their teas, you’ll like this place. In addition to an assortment of momos, they’ve also got Maggie Noodles, Wai Wai Soupy and Thupka.
You get nine (9) momos per portion. Wanting to try as many variants as possible, I asked if I could have a mix of several. The good news is, yes you can. You cannot leave a restaurant like this without also ordering noodles. For me it was a toss-up between the Wai Wai Soupy or the Thupka. I chose the former and regretted it the minute I took my first sip. And that’s because it’s nothing special. If I must be bluntly honest, it’s actually quite bland. I must go back to try the Thupka.
The momos were served in a slightly too small bamboo steamer basket, unceremoniously piled onto one another, with absolutely no way of distinguishing which was which. Well, except bite-guessing, a game I am not fond of. I think it was the mutton which was slightly better than the rest. Overall, the momos were good, not great.
Service was smiley rather than friendly. I got the impression the young waiter, who spent more time in the kitchen than out, did not fully understand English. I had to keep repeating and repeating things. But he was a pleasant enough chap and brought my food out quickly. The Darjeeling Café is a welcome addition to the Karama culinary scene. It’s a fun, youthful, hipster place which serves affordable food…and well worth a visit.
Waste NOT. Want NOT.
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