The Dark Side

Delhi has no shortage of restaurants with secret doors, hidden rooms and elaborate backstories. So when The Dark Side – Refuge owner Aditya Mohan’s latest venture – announces itself as the city’s first ‘underground’ restaurant, you might expect a suitably clandestine descent into the depths.

Except it isn’t underground.

In fact, it is two floors above ground – right beneath Refuge, actually. The pair of bars occupy prime territory inside Greater Kailash II’s M Block Market, and the entire spiel for The Dark Side involves walking through a bar and then taking the stairs to a supposedly subterranean hideaway. Hidden, sure. Underground, no. 

I spend the evening chatting with Aditya and come to the conclusion that the joke’s on purpose. He’s got a dark sense of humour and a penchant for calling out BS; perhaps calling this space ‘underground’ is his own little experiment to see how long it takes before someone calls out his.

Once you get past the gimmick, though, there is plenty here that deserves attention.

The Dark Side’s got the chops to become a proper neighbourhood hangout, sure: it’s relaxed, unpretentious, and deliberately lacking the formality of a planned dinner. The room’s living-room-esque, and hardly anyone’s dressed up. Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn and Lady Diana give me the middle finger from the smoke room. The bathroom’s packed with condoms and provocative quotes. You get the point. 

Thankfully, at the bar, the concept really does finally come alive. There are only seven cocktails, each inspired by one of the seven sins, and they’re excellent. These aren't drinks that require a dissertation before you order them; familiar flavours are given unexpected twists, making them both accessible and interesting. 

More importantly, they’re drinks you actually want to keep drinking, which, in a place like this, is rather the point. Cyanide is a good riff on an espresso martini, combining vodka, Licor 43, and espresso with a subtle tobacco note. It comes accompanied by two cigarettes – for those who like their nightcap with a side of vice. Nightshade, made with gin, blue pea cordial, elderflower and kaffir lime, is another standout: fragrant, well balanced and, importantly, not too sweet. In fact, that was a recurring strength across the drinks we tried: none were sugary or overworked, just well-made cocktails with enough character to keep you coming back for another.

The food follows the same philosophy. Adi’s inspiration comes from his years in London, more specifically, from what chefs actually like to eat once service is over. This is not food designed for polite nibbling or virtuous restraint. It is indulgent, carby, greasy in the best possible sense. Think of the things you crave when the restaurant kitchen has closed. The Mac & Cheese with chorizo delivers precisely the sort of comfort you want from the dish; and no, this is not Goan chorizo, it’s the real thing from Spain. And this is evident through the menu – unpretentious food, but made with top quality ingredients. Soon he will be introducing fresh truffles too, using a luxe ingredient but without making the food fancy schmancy. 

The fries, chicken wings and grilled cheese make no pretence of being anything other than deliciously unapologetic. The Bang Bang Prawns are particularly good, cooked just right and finished with an unexpected herb that gives them a little lift. Then there is the Anthony Bourdain Sandwich. The name sets the bar rather high, and while the house-made buns deserve full marks – soft, fresh and generously showered with sesame seeds – the filling could do with being considerably more generous. An ode to Tony deserves it. End with Adi’s tiramisu, which is a carry-forward from Refuge. It really is very good. 

Music is similarly relaxed. You can request what you want to hear, although the democratic nature of the arrangement means someone else can request something entirely different five minutes later. Fair enough. 

The verdict

The Dark Side isn’t trying to reinvent dining; nor should it. It simply wants to be your go-to once you’re done with bar hopping around the neighbourhood, and still want the evening to continue. This one’s for the after-hours.