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Ever heard of an all-vegetarian European-Mediterranean restaurant? Well! There was none in India until UNICO, by DHVPL, opened its gates in Gurugram, Haryana. Located in the Global Foyer Mall on the Golf Course Road, it is an entryway into the food space where customers are met with the most hospitable staff and served gourmet food and sugar-free drinks.
In India, one can find various vegetarian restaurants serving North Indian, South Indian, regional, and a few global dishes, but UNICO is one of a kind. Headed by Chef Richa Johri, Culinary Director, UNICO, each dish is served with a unique take. “All our products are authentic. If we are using cheese, it is of the best quality. It is either sourced from vendors offering high-quality imported goods or locals who are known for their craft in the culinary world,” she said in an exclusive interview with Slurrp.
Boasting a huge dining space adorned with chandeliers and plants, this is the place to dine on weekends and weekdays. No more being sceptical about the quality of food or wondering whether the menu has enough plant-based dishes. UNICO is one of the few places where the quality of raw ingredients matters as much as the final dish on the plate.
They source most of their ingredients from their farm, grow salad greens in hydroponic boxes, have the most advanced coffee machine, grind ingredients to make oil in a separate space, make baked goods and pasta in a separate space, and even have a large RO fitted to ensure they have dirt, pollution, and chemical-free ice (because it is the easiest source to introduce dirt, microplastic, pollutants, and whatnot into the kitchen). The customers also get bottles of mineral water free while dining because the restaurant believes that access to clean water should be free.
Image Credit: UNICO/ Instagram
Food At UNICO
The menu features more than 50 dishes, some of which are hard to pronounce, but each is a unique creation. Chef Richa, who is known for creating exemplary meat-based dishes in India and across the world, shared that as a seasoned chef, it is easy for her now to work with meat. Therefore, creating a vegetarian menu inspired by a cuisine dominated by meat was a challenge, but one that she was determined to ace.
It took her three months and trials through hundreds of dishes to introduce Delhiites, locals, and tourists to her vegetarian take on European-Mediterranean delicacies. “Transforming meat-based dishes into veg versions included adaptation (of techniques) and reinterpretation (of dishes). Gyros and shawarma are famous in the region, but I did not want to do a paneer variant and serve it to vegetarians,” Chef Richa added.
Image Credit: UNICO/ Instagram
“We have got exotic mushrooms to make gyros so foodies don’t miss the meaty feel,” she said, adding, “I am not experiencing any challenge with ingredients, even the imported ones. We get everything here.” Once you taste the food, you will understand the hype.
Churros, Spanish fried sweet sticks made with choux pastry dough, are prepared with yam flavoured with garlic and served with beurre blanc. Dip the sticks into the beurre blanc and taste it because this is how you will get that salty and buttery explosion in your mouth.
Image Credit: UNICO/ Instagram
Currently, they have a summer menu comprising dishes made with mangoes and other seasonal ingredients. The mango salad here is refreshing with arugula and avocados complementing the sweetness and sourness of the fruit.
The Valencia pizza comes with the softest bread, topped with spicy minced soy, onions, and chilli oil. The cheese pull in every bite will make you forget every conversation, and you will only concentrate on eating. While you are deciding what to order, make a note to try out conchiglioni con zucchini. It is one of the best interpretations of shell pasta. The shells are stuffed with spicy yellow and green courgette pepperoncini and served on a bed of the creamiest garlic parmesan base. You will have the first bite and won’t stop until everything on the plate is gone.
Image Credit: UNICO/ Instagram
Their desserts are equally delicious. The Belgian chocolate mousse comes with raspberry sorbet, strawberry compote, and blueberries on the side. You must also try salted caramel cheesecake with biscoff crumbs, caramelised banana, roasted almond ice cream and chocolate soil.
UNICO Is An Example In Sustainability
UNICO is not only an all-vegetarian restaurant, but it is also setting examples of how to be sustainable. Chef Richa Johri explained that vegetable and fruit peels in the kitchen are used to create stock. The seeds from fruits are dehydrated and used to add a crunch to salads. There are some ingredients that are shared between the kitchen and bar to infuse drinks with spicy, fruity, and familiar notes.
Image Credit: UNICO/ Instagram
UNICO’s team is conscious of the plant-forward approach, but they are also doing their best to follow a zero-waste policy. “One more thing that customers don’t know is that they don’t get a repeat ingredient. So if one dish has a beetroot, no other dish on the menu will have it. If someone is coming multiple times to the restaurant, they should experience different flavours each time,” added Chef Richa with pride while explaining how she uses every technique in the book to minimise waste and create delicious food.
“I am particular about every ingredient. We eat the same food, and we cannot feed someone something that we can’t eat here,” she concluded.
Image Credit: UNICO/ Instagram
