Amour - The Patio Restaurant Cafe & Bar

Critic´s Review

• Buzz: 2.5 / 5
• Service: 0/5
• Decor: 3 / 5

-By Rinku Madan

Amour - an illicit love affair.

And Amour rooftop at Hauz Khas Village - well, a first passionate kiss place maybe? love will soon come with the spectacular view…or atleast lust will, that's for sure. There's probably only one other place I could easily fall in love in, and if you knew me, you'd get it...

I went on a cold, chilly night but I came prepared…of course you have the option to sit in the indoor lounge, but I wouldn't come here for the indoor experience. The rooftop is kind of romantic, they were decorating it for Christmas, was great to see the place lit up and a 700 year old fort as a backdrop all in one glance. My advice go early . This place is great to start off the evening as it won't be too crowded and the drinks will be nicer when you're sober to enjoy them.

But unlike some high end hipster trendy joints in Delhi, Amour was down to earth while being a couple of stories high. In December, Delhi gets cold, this place has many heat lamps and 'angeethis' to keep you warm, and we ended up turning one away from our table because we were comfortable.

The Scene

Wind your way through an incongruous maze in the haphazard Hauz Khas village to this rooftop resto -lounge. While the guys sit back pouring their bottles, most ladies are scantily clad (always remember fashion comes first, pneumonia can follow). The crowd was really a mixed bag - saw many people my age and younger and a pretty big number of significantly older - late 40's, 50's and even two guys who looked about 70!! But hey, if they can stay up and party in the cold at their age, kudos because I was ready to hit the hay by 1am!! The scene is a bit pretentious, but sometimes you want that. Speaking of which, prices are pretentious too. But to be fair, you're in the heart of South Delhi, on a roof top..don't expect cheap drinks.

I'm going to critique the nightlife on a few points - music, crowd, ambience, drinks:

1) The music isn't anything to get up for. So if you're looking to bust a move, this is not the venue for you. Except on Saturdays from 4-7pm, when the Dj plays. The lounge and House music lends itself to the true lounging experience.

2) A mixed crowd, an escape from the normal 18 -25 club scene. So you'll see an eclectic mix - suits, tourists, regular joe's, dudes arguing who's got the bigger Rolex and women debating over who has the more expensive Bottega or Birkin “yawn”. These patrons are not superficial at all...hehe

3) you cannot beat a gorgeous evening at this place. Inside is a tad depressing, and you'd be hard pressed to enjoy a better rooftop in the area.

4) The drink list is good and wine list balanced, extensive and very highly priced. Needless to say if I were one of the beautiful and rich, I would definitely be seen here all the time. But since I'm only one third of the way there, I will live vicariously through that till the latter (the rich part)comes true. So I highly suggest - come with a wealthy date.

I have a lot to say about the service too. Prakash Kumar the sommelier, Ajay Dogra the manager and my server Subeer were both intuitive and knowledgable. Prakash suggested the Quattro Voga, a light Red from Sicily, I loved each sip as opposed to the heavy Barolos I generally prefer. The yummy rocket and parma ham pizza from their wood oven was perfect. The grills however left much to be desired as both the lobster tail and prawns were overcooked. Also very charming - Randeep Bajaj, the owner.

So over all a cool place, I recommend checking it out atleast once. The view is beyond a view, it actually reminds you why you love living in Delhi…as you stand there soaking it all, you almost want to burst out in some kind of a patriotic song like “saare jahan se acha Hindustan hamara”, or like in my case - a romantic ditty sung by Ranbir Kapoor...