Lunch at Queens

Fridays are eagerly awaited in our gang at work, we usually head out for lunch on fridays, the weekend mood will be setting in. This friday we were to choose between Queens and Angeethi, I had attended a party on thursday and had a heavy dinner late in the night, so did not want a buffet...so Queens it was. I had been to Queens long back but had reserved my opinion since I did not have a great time (probably I was a bit p***ed with the waiting outside).

Surprisingly, the restaurant was just about full at 1:15pm when we went there(instead of the usual, which means there is a big crowd outside), we gave our orders outside while we waited for a table to clear (this is common at Queens, you order while you wait, so that once you are in, you get straight to business). A gang of 8, comprising 6 non vegetarians and only 2 vegetarians...Queens I have heard is one of the few places where veg food is atleast as good as non veg food (unlike last week's experience @ Koshy's Jewel Box).

Queens is a no-frills North Indian food place...so no non-north Indian stuff like soups etc. The vegetarian starter we ordered was Aloo Chilly...it was deep friend potato cubes with a lot of spice, I loved it, it was served hot, was spicy(a tad too much for some), the chutney that came with it was not spicy, so it was a good combination. There are the usual starters like Gobi Manchurian, etc...I was not in a mood to eat...I was tempted by the different chaat offerings...but again, I was not in my usual form...so it was only one starter, the non veg gang ordered 3 starters.

For the main course, we ordered 2 phulkas and 1 gobi parantha each (the vegetarians that is) and ordered two veg curries since the others wanted them too.... as my friend Chandra would say, "we are non vegetarians, but we also eat vegetarian food"!
We ordered a Malai Mutter and a Nargisi Kofta...the latter was really good, it was potato and paneer kofta in a red gravy, malai mutter was nice as well...most curries cost around Rs 100 each approx...the portions are generous, so it is somewhat reasonable.
The food was really delicious...I would love to Queens again when am in the mood for it and try out the other things...the menu is rather small, but then, whatever is on the menu, is mighty good...so no complaints there.
The Gobi parantha was really good...recommend everyone to try this, after Paratha Plaza(in Sanjay Nagar), this is the best parantha I have had (yeah, better than Lalitha's acc to me).
We ordered sweet lassi which was really watery...too much ice I felt, it was more like good old south Indian "majjige"(buttermilk) as opposed to the rich lassis we have come to expect of North Indian restaurants., considering that am not working out as regularly now, it was a blessing in disguise ;-)

For the 8 of us, the bill was around 2000 which was okay(considering 6 of them had non veg food, and they really did seem to enjoy it quite a bit), again, it is not cheap, for someone really hungry and for whom variety matters a lot, a buffet may be a better option for lunch.

Location: Church Street opp Brigade Gardens, its really nondescript, so easy to miss it.
Pros: No nonsense, good North Indian food, somewhat reasonable prices considering the location
Cons: Always crowded, seating area too small and congested'
Final verdict: A big thumbs up, definitely recommend the restaurant if you have not been there...I would go there again...and again and again.....