The French windows, wooden interiors and the smell of freshly baked goods when you enter a café is the most comforting thing there is. At the Rolling Pin, you’ll be greeted with exactly that. Whether it’s the group of friends engaged in merry banter, or the two love birds tucked away in a quiet, little corner of the café, there’s nothing to not love about the ambience of this boulangerie-like vegetarian eatery.
We started off with the Paneer Pretzel Strips – pretzel coated, deep fried, melt-in-your-mouth bits of paneer served with a dipping sauce. The portion, however, seems a little unfair for the price (INR 310) and the size of the Pretzel may not please you. We then went on to try the Colonel Fries, and it was everything you’d look for in a cheesy fries dish – lots of fries dunked in lots of melted cheese, with jalapenos, onions and sriracha sauce.
Next up was the high-protein Pav Bhaji – a plate of mushrooms, lentils and blackbean based bhaji served with a Buckwheat gluten-free pav. While the bhaji was surprisingly tasty, the bread seemed a bit off and lacked taste, but if you’re a vegan, you might savour this option like we junk foodies savour the original high-fat, butter-laden classic.
We then tried the vegetarian Kheema Pav, which was soy kheema made in olive oil served with buckwheat bread, and to be honest, we weren’t the biggest fans of it. While the kheema was delicious, there seemed to be something missing. I guess being a hardcore meat lover spoils your taste for any ‘vegetarianised’ version of a breakfast staple. We even tried the Corn Chilli Pepper, which was tangy and quite light on the tummy (considering how much we’d already eaten) but it could have done with a more generous portion.
Then came the monster of all monsters – the One Pound Burger. The ‘double-decker’ burger contained paneer, a vegetarian patty and a couple of tasty sauces. If you’re a vegetarian, this is one dish you’ll definitely relish. And if you complete the café’s challenge to chomp down this bad boy in 15 minutes or so, you’ll find yourself an exciting reward, courtesy of The Rolling Pin.
We finished off our meal with a Dessert Burger, The Rolling Pin’s sweet twist to the classic. Slathered with cold ice cream, a generous spread of chocolate cheese and a slab of chocolate lettuce, served between a decadent chocolate brioche bun, this is one dessert that is as hearty as can be, and is total value for money. The flavor is absolutely spot-on and the dessert on a whole showcases innovation and creativity at its best. It can be a little messy to eat but hey, it’s chocolate and it’s delicious so we’re not complaining. You might not want to eat much before you devour the burger, and you might want to consider splitting it with your fellow diners (or not).
We paired our meal with a comforting and tall (really tall) glass of Hazelnut and Nutella Freak Shake, and it felt like a warm hug. The drink was so rich, creamy and the Nutella just sang through the drink. And if you’re the typical fresh cream walloper, you’re definitely going to appreciate the generous topping of fresh cream. We also tried the Berry Bliss Iced tea which was thoroughly refreshing and personally, was the best iced tea I’ve had so far!
While the food had a couple of hits and misses, the dessert and the drinks were definitely the biggest hits! All in all, the café is an excellent place to pipe down with a book or perfect for a coffee date, or just to indulge in your sweet tooth. And when it comes to pastries, the ones at Rolling Pin are second to none.
