Brava

The Khyber Himalayan Resort & Spa, Gulmarg, Kashmir 193403

Ph: 01954 350666
Meal for two: Approximately
Rs 3500 + taxes

Kashmir was crying out for an eatery that could be called the finest restaurant in the Valley, and at last Brava at The Khyber, Gulmarg, fits the bill. A modern casual restaurant with no hint of the bistro about it, despite the very visible pizza oven in the glassed-in kitchen. The seats are gloriously comfortable and there even is a hi-tech heater in the room: Gulmarg is cold even in the summer.

Brava is open for lunch and dinner, and at lunch time, there is no better option than to have a pizza fresh from the oven. Neapolitan-style pizzas are the original ones (the South Italian city of Naples is the birthplace of the pizza) and the crust is distinctive. The management has cleverly kept the décor neutral, so that Brava can pass off for a smart casual bistro or a slightly more upscale restaurant at dinner time and the menu has been crafted to suit small bites as well as main courses. The other factor is that The Khyber has a high percentage of vegetarian guests and the menu reflects that. However, none of the vegetarian dishes are boring: the most well thought-out being Khyber Fondue. Made with a mixture of Fontina, Parmesan and Gruyère cheese, it is served in a fondue pot with one-time use sticks. As in Switzerland, all you do is dip the gherkin, apple chunk, bread or baked potato piece into the bubbling cheese, swirl the stick around so as to make as little of a mess as possible and pop it into your mouth. While it may not be quite the ticket for a business meeting, it is great fun when you dine with family and friends and the tables that have ordered fondue are usually the noisiest ones, with much hilarity.

Other great choices on the menu include Parmesan Chicken Soup where the sharpness of the cheese really does take the chicken to an elevated level. Turkey Ham and Cheese Arancini are little fried balls of risotto rice mixed with turkey ham and cheese, dipped into batter and fried crisp. The delight is in the textural difference between the softness of the filling and the crispness of the crust. Charred Salmon Fillet with lemon butter reduction was a perfectly-cooked steak of salmon whose inherent oiliness was offset by the pleasantly tart sauce.

What will inevitably strike you as you lunch or dine at Brava is how similar it is to a ski resort in Austria, Switzerland or North Italy: earth tones, under-played and cosy, where the only colour is on your plate. Because of this, dinner reservations are mandatory. Lunch on the other hand, is when Brava is quieter, so planning an evening necessitates a bit of planning. On the other hand, if you are visiting Gulmarg from Srinagar or elsewhere in the Valley, lunch here is the icing on the cake.

In fine weather (at the time of writing, the weather in Gulmarg was cold and windy) the large patio outside Brava is a great alternative to eating indoors.