Kwality is still going strong at sprightly 80

It is not often that one gets to write about a restaurant that has completed 80 years—after having written about it on its platinum and diamond jubilees. When Pishori Lal Lamba and Iqbal Ghai, two young men from Lahore, opened a shop named Kwality at Connaught Place in 1940 to sell slabs of hand-made ice-cream to American GIs barracked in the vicinity for World War II action, they must never have imagined that they would go on to create India’s first global restaurant brand, a number of trend-setting hotels of their time, and an ice-cream sensation, which is now a part of the HUL brandwagon.

The birth of Kwality, the ice-cream brand, in fact, was assisted by an American soldier, Irving Zimmerman, who was so impressed by the duo that, after the War got over and he had established himself as a celebrity vet in New York, he introduced Lamba and Ghai to American ice-cream makers. Kwality is one of those rare restaurants where you’re still served a Sicilian cassata or a tutti-frutti. In the early 1950s, the restaurant extended its operations to open a corner named Gaytime Espresso just below the Regal Building. It introduced Delhi to a novel coffee experience.

Over the years that I have dined at Kwality, I have been struck by the unswerving quality of the food served there. The Pindi chana, whose recipe Lamba had picked up from a street vendor in Mussoorie, still owes its rich dark hue to the tea leaves, which are added to the whole spices in a bouquet garni that is added to the chana when it is pressure cooked after being soaked in water overnight for eight to nine hours. And each bhatura has to puff up to a particular size and stay that way till the guest tears it apart. Even till this date, a bhatura that doesn’t come puffed up is not allowed to be served.

The leadership baton may have passed on from Pishori Lal Lamba to his son, Sunil Lamba, who, in turn, has handed over the leadership to his Yale University-educated son, Divij, who, incidentally, worked with Hillary Clinton when she was a US Senator from New York. Kwality looks all set for its century.

Sourish Bhattacharyya

Recent Posts

Washington: Trump Supporters Flock to Capitol One Arena Amid Heavy Snowfall | Watch

The swearing-in ceremony for President-elect Trump is scheduled to take place on January 20th, marking…

52 minutes ago

Trump Rallies With 20,000 Supporters In DC For Triumphant Return To The White House

Trump gathers 20,000 supporters at Capital One Arena, celebrating his political comeback and reigniting campaign…

1 hour ago

Delhi Polls: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath to Hold 14 Rallies for BJP

Polling in Delhi is scheduled for February 5, with the counting of votes to take…

1 hour ago

Ghana Army And Illegal Miners Clash At Obuasi Mine, Leaving Nine Dead At Obuasi Gold Mine

Ghana’s armed forces claimed the miners fired at military patrols, while local leaders dispute this,…

1 hour ago

Chrystia Freeland Launches Bid For Canada PM, Vows Tough Stance On Trump Threats

At her campaign launch in Toronto, Freeland emphasized her readiness to confront Trump’s trade challenges,…

1 hour ago

Emotional Scenes In Israel As First Hostages Freed Under Gaza Ceasefire Deal

Thousands gathered in Tel Aviv as three hostages, held for 471 days by Hamas, were…

2 hours ago