Long before the famous hotel of New Delhi, Le Meridian was part of US Starwood corp. it was owned by Air France which is the reason for all its French name establishments. ‘Le Belvedere’ is the hotel’s popular pan Asian restaurant. Its name may be French but it serves traditional and comforting Chinese food. The restaurant is everything you expect it to be, classy, elegant, posh and opulent. The food is out of this world. So very delicious that you will swear to yourself to come back again. If you don’t go for food then you will surely visit for the awesome view. Rashtrapati Bhawan and India Gate is laid like a jewel in front of you. At night when they are lit up they make quite a sight. Le Belvedere is romantic and opulent so choose it as a background for your next date. Its prime location allows prominent clientele including government officials, businessmen and upper crust celebs to hop in often.
You will be very pleased with the menu. It’s exhaustingly long and is brimming with possibilities. The stunning array of dishes will leave you dumbstruck. The fabulous menu starts with delectable appetizers. Such as prawn tempura, pork ribs in Chinese BBQ sauce, crispy fried lotus stem, corn cakes, sui mai dim sums, spicy prawn & lemon broth, mushroom & bamboo shoot dumpling, tofu & preserved vegetables soup, crispy okra with chilli bean, shredded lamb with sesame seed and vegetables spring roll. The mains are a wide range of multiple proteins and meat. Some of their hottest items on the menu are, stir fried sole in oyster sauce, steamed sea bass/pomfret, king prawns in sambal sauce, pan seared scallops, crab meat Singaporean style, braised duck with mixed vegetables, crispy honey chicken, sweet and sour pork and eggplant soya chilli.
The variety of noodles and rice they deliver are amazing. Have shrimp and XO fried rice, chilly garlic noodles, chicken basil fried rice and Hakka noodles with chicken/prawn/vegetable. Follow this superb meal with equally nice dessert. Le Belvedere dishes out banana or apple toffee, date pancakes, fried apple ring with honey, rambutan with ice cream, sugar free mousse and chocolate mud cake. With a live band playing in the background sip onto your favourite drink, in between gazing out of the window admiring the Lutyens Delhi. Le Belvedere may be expensive but a must visit stop on your list.
- Go for the view. You get unobstructed views of Rashtrapati Bhawan and India Gate and at dinner, when they are lit up, the sights can be spectacular
- It is a dish that appears on all Indian Chinese menus but few people get it right, so try the sweet corn soup here
- Because of its location, the restaurant gets a fair number of businessmen entertaining government officials. So it is a good spot for babu-watching