If you frequent Thamel’s OR2K as much as I do and sometimes long for a bit of ground spiced lamb in your hummus or a beef version of its yummy burgers, I have good news for you. The owners of OR2K, the vegetarian restaurant serving Middle Eastern and Israeli delicacies, have opened a non-vegetarian twin: Friend’s Cafe and Bar. Friend’s is housed in the same location in Mandala Street where OR2K stayed temporarily while its building was under construction.
Friend’s menu tilts more on Spanish inspirations, with few Middle Eastern choices. Although we were tempted to order non-veg versions of my OR2K favourites, we began with the Spanish tapas (Rs 240) served on bocadillo (Spanish type bread). Friend’s lets you pick three from six options, a little stingy for the price I think. We chose the tapas with mushroom, salmon, and chicken sausage. But when it arrived, our salmon was switched with another option: tuna potato salad with hardboiled egg, sans the tuna potato salad. When asked about the lonely egg, the waiter apologised and brought out the salmon. All’s well that ends well, the combinations worked great. Special thumbs up for the chicken sausage option, which was served with roasted and pickled bell peppers and mustard.
PICS: PM
Next up we had tortilla de patatas (Rs 180). What made this Spanish style potato omelette yum was the aioli side. Aioli is a traditional sauce made of garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and egg yolks and Friend’s had made it perfectly smooth. The Thai salad (Rs 205) was a bowl of beef strips, mixed with bean sprouts, bell peppers, spinach, cucumber, cabbage and cashew nuts, topped with Thai dressing. The grilled beef strips were tender and the salad was a fresh delight.
The star of our visit was the hot pot (Rs 325). The hot pot arrived in an iron cast pan with a dough lid. Under the baked dough blanket was a generous serving of chicken meat balls, soft and well done, simmered in richly flavourful tomato sauce. We finished with a chocolate fudge cake: warm, soft, sweet, and delicious with the melted chocolate on top.
Friend’s gets good marks on food and decor, but we were slightly disappointed with the service. On one occasion the waiters took so long to respond that I thought that maybe I had been calling on the wrong person. When someone finally came, he looked like he had just been dragged out of bed. Not to mention, the most comfortable seat in the house seemed to have been occupied by their noisy acquaintances who refused to leave. Note to the owner: check the IP cameras you’ve installed, I’m not lying.
If the service gets its act together, Friend’s will become as popular as OR2K.
How to get there: walk along Mandala Street in Thamel past the entrance to the underground parking. Look out for a flight of stairs on your right, it will lead you up to Friend’s.