Formerly called KC hotel and now Holiday Inn, the sprawling five star hotel has been a part of Pachkula’s landscape since years. Located in the outskirts of the city beautiful with a closer proximity to the foothills of Himachal, there’s plenty of fresh air in here for your weekend getaway. The Café G at Holiday Inn Panchkula has a formal yet comfortable indoor sitting which is usually packed with diners especially for their breakfast buffets.

I recently had the chance of dining in at the restaurant and was thoroughly impressed by their dinner buffet. In addition to the buffet, they restaurant also have an a la carte menu with a nice selection of dishes. What’s even more exciting is that they have recently started organizing monthly food festivals for their dinner buffets, focusing on Indian regional cuisines with the latest ones being Maharashtrian and Hyderabadi.

The most lovely thing about dinner buffets is that you get to try variety and there’s always plenty for everyone. The buffet at Café G surely keeps up to that with their multicuisine buffet comprising of Indian, Asian and Western delicacies to indulge. My dinner soiree started with a lovely plate of mushroom tikka and paneer tikka. The paneer tikka was soft and juicy, delicately balanced on spices perfect to start a meal. Skipping the soup, I directly jumped to their lovely salad counter which also had a DIY section with an assortments of condiments, dressings and cheese to mix and match.

I was fascinated to see the attention to their main course, which most buffet restaurants tend to ignore. With plates full of mostly everything, I loved their baked vegetables the most. Fresh vegetables baked in a creamy white sauce, covered with a bed of gratinated cheese is a treat for anyone who loves cheese. I had them along with their sauteed button and shiitake mushrooms which elevated the the taste by adding in an earthy, umami flavor. From their Asian mains, I tried their vegetable noodles, manchurian and thai curry which were all well balanced. From their Indian mains, I loved their malai kofta, which was as rich and creamy as it can get. Subtle on spices, it was my favorite curry for the night to mop up my naan with. I also loved their kadhai paneer too, which had a contrasting kick of spices in a tangy gravy. Their mix vegetable was also well prepared and went good with their dal tadka.

If you have a sweet tooth like me, you’ll love the dessert room of their buffet with a mouthwatering variety of ,confection, pastry and sweets. I tried a plateful of their pastries, mousse, tarts, pies and puddings. I was surprised to have a perfectly baked eclairs which was light and cloudy, filled with a light chocolate cream. Their tiramisu was my second favorite, which had the perfect hit of coffee. Their orange mousse cake was light and refreshing. Trying white chocolate blondies for the first time, I loved their gooey brownie like texture. The apple pie was equally decadent with a flaky pastry, candied apples and hints of cinnamon.

I also had a chance to try some of their Hyderabadi Food festival and was thoroughly impressed by the selection of off-beat vegetarian dishes. The meal started with a Nizami Lassi that had an uncanny resemblance with Jama Masjid’s mohabbat ka sharbat, which was accompanied with the with the subtle spiciness of Veg Shikampuri Kebab. The subtle play of spices continued with Hyderabadi Veg Dalcha, a mild arhar dal and bottle gourd stew. Contrastingly, the Baingan ka Salan was a rich sesame and peanut based eggplant curry with a zing of tamarind that tickled my tastebuds. The star was however their Hyderabadi Vegetable Biryani with a lovely aroma of saffron and spices giving a soul-satisfying experience. The meal ended with a plateful of Double ka Meetha or as we know it here – Shahi Tukda, which was certainly creamy and not overpowering with sugar.

• Taste: 4.5/5
• Portion: 4.5/5
• Service: 4.5/5
• Ambiance: 4.25/5
• Price: 4.25/5

Price: INR 3,000 for a meal for 2 (w/o alcohol)

The food at Café G of the Holiday Inn is sure to impress anyone. It’s great to see that the hotel is committed to providing guests with a diverse dining experience that showcases the rich culinary heritage of India. With the introduction of their monthly food festivals, you can be sure of trying something new every time you visit them.