Pub Royale- Brunch

When I last went to Pub Royale, the chef recommended that I try brunch.  Since brunch is a thing that I do regularly, it was easy to add to my list.  As I wasn't sure how many people were going to join me, it was a good choice because they don't take reservations.  It was a small group that arrived when they opened.  We sat at in a booth, but had a good view of the bar which is framed with a pair of stuffed peacocks and a motorcycle to the right of the bar (toward the back of the restaurant).  I had mentioned that there were several Indian masks hanging on the wall.  We were sitting next to several of them.  While it is a bar with a great beer list, that changes quickly, many cocktails go down easier in the morning, than beer and that's what I went with.  The cocktails all had similar names, Royal Cups, which is what they all contained, though they all varied as far as base liquor and fruit.  I am not sure what a Royal Cup was made from, though I will guess that it is similar to a Pimm's Cup.  I ordered the Royal Cup #1 which, in addition to the Royal Cup itself, had Gin, Orange, Cucumber, and Strawberry.  It was sweet, vegetal, and bitter, and very herbal and it was very good.

 

As is typical, I like both sweet and savory for brunch, but for this location sweet was easy because there really was only one thing that fit that description, the Naan Doughnut.  As described, it was a doughnut made from naan coated with Chai Dulce de Leche.  It was dense, sweet, and had a little spiciness to it.  I also ordered Samosas for the table.  While they are not sweet, they are really good and I really like them.  While some samosas can have meat in them, the samosas served at Pub Royale are vegetarian, containing Potatoes, Fried Onions, and Peas and served with Cilantro and Tamarind Dipping Sauces.

After we ordered our main courses, but before they came out, we were greeted by Chef Joanna, who I first met when she was chef at Ada Street.  We had some nice small talk and when she returned to the kitchen she sent out a bonus dish that wasn't on the menu, that the waitress called an Avocado Omelette.  While it did have egg and was topped with mashed avocado, it was all sitting on top of some Naan Bread, so it was essentially an avocado toast with egg.  In any case, it was really good and because I had so much other stuff, I ended up bringing most of it home.  It was still good after the trip.

For my main course, I ordered what was called Combo #5.  Why it was called Combo #5, I have no idea because while it was a combo, there were no other dishes labeled combos.  Combo # 5 included Pakora Battered Shrimp, Basmati Fried Rice, Spicy Soy Glaze, Bean Sprouts, Scallions, and a Fried Egg.  While I liked most of this dish, I didn't care much for the shrimp because the flavor was too strong.  Besides the shrimp, it was a good dish and made for a good finish.  While there were many brunch standards on the menu, they all had an Anglo-Indian spin to them which gave it some variety.  It was a lot of fun and I will surely return.