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Be kind to me, folks — this is not the weather to go traipsing around Old Delhi, looking for goats and other animals. I would ideally like to sit somewhere cool, eat something light, and go back home feeling like a human being and not a melted bit of tar. But where does one go? And what does one eat?

The solution came in the shape of a friend, who said that Market Café — the popular place in Khan Market — had opened a branch in Connaught Place. So I called Market Café, asked them where it was, and on being told that the new restaurant was in Janpath Hotel, I went smiling all the way there last week. I wasn’t smiling all that much when we got a call from our Mumbai-based friend, Sainath. He was in town, was famished (as always), and wanted us to give him lunch. Ask him to come to Janpath Hotel, I growled.

We were at Mismo, which serves Tex-Mex. Mismo, the restaurant tells us, is Spanish for “self” — and we were there to indulge our selves. The prices are higher than, say, those at an upmarket cafe. But the food is good, and the ambience rather nice. Let me tell you about the place first. This is at the back of Janpath Hotel, in the hotel complex itself, where Coconut Grove once was. If you walk straight down from the out gate, Mismo is at the very end. There is parking space right next to it. The décor is smooth — with a window here or a painting there to remind you of a Mexican adobe (albeit a well-anointed adobe!). The music is suitably Mediterranean. The food is a mix of the Mexican and the Mediterranean, though the focus is on Mexican. Tortillas, enchiladas, fajitas and quesadillas abound, but there is also penne or pizza.

We started with a platter of kababs (Rs.295). I asked for a lamb enchilada (Rs.350), my wife wanted a chicken Texas Taco (Rs.350) and our gatecrasher friend had a grilled balsamic chicken (Rs.450). And we rounded it off with two bowls of chocolate ice cream. I was happy with the food — the tacos were stuffed with a spicy chicken, and my enchilada was a nice and creamy wrap with juicy mutton in it. I liked the kababs, which were a bit chewy, but had a nice flavour of mint in them. The kabab platter could, however, have done with a more generous helping of a salad. All that passed for a salad were a few lettuce leaves and rings of onions. Our friend seemed happy enough with his chicken, though he did say something about the missing flavour of balsamic vinegar. The ice cream was as it should be, though the uninvited guest said he found the wafer a bit too sweet. All in all, we had a good time. The meal was good, the restaurant is rather nice, and it’s bang in the heart of the city. But what is the moral of the story? Don’t allow uninvited guests to take over. They eat a lot and they crib quite a bit, too. And they smile when you pay the bill.

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