Gupshup Social Lounge

For all of the Indian restaurants I've tried recently (and there have been many), they have been pretty good, if not a bit repetitive.  Not that I'm complaining because it is really #firstworldproblems that we get to eat delicious food!  However, there was some light at the end of the proverbial tunnel as Jackie and I headed out to Gupshup Social Lounge in Surrey.  Upon entering the place, we knew we weren't in Kansas anymore.  The place was swanky, but not in a high-end way.  Rather, it was modern, hip and definitely appealing for both the younger crowd and families.

Looking over the menu, it was clear that they are trying to be accessible to all with only 2 items over $20.00.  Also, there are plenty of creative dishes that I've never seen anywhere else before.  That was exemplified by the first item we had in the Doritos Bag.  Yes, this was nacho cheese Doritos served in its own bag with melted cheese sauce, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and onions.  Something so simple, yet utterly delicious.  It was like having something like a Frito Pie but more like the a better version of nachos you get at BC Place.  They said this is popular with the kids, but I think it would go well with a beer or cocktail.

To illustrate their attempts at keeping up with the times, the Fiery Cheese Pulls were exactly what Gen Z wants in their IG reel.  Take something as simple as fried cheese, but make it a bigger and coat it with Nashville hot sauce.  Yep, these were IG-worthy with a cheese pull that would make the next table look over.  Coated with a crunchy breading, the mozzarella was ooey gooey delicious.  Add in the spice from the sauce and it was tasty in addition to the obvious viral-nature of the dish.

Something that seemed like an obvious fusion crossover dish was the Butter Chicken Mac & Cheese.  I honestly think you can put butter chicken on anything and it will taste better.  I wonder when they will have butter chicken gelato?  Just a thought...  Anyways, this was as good as expected with a cheesy base mac & cheese.  I thought the noodles were nicely al dente despite all the sauce.  About that sauce, the butter chicken was fantastic.  It had a good balance of tangy and creamy (or should I say buttery) to go with the cheese.  Sure, this was heavy, yet nicely spiced.  Best to share this!

Absolutely huge, the Kurkure Sliders featured 2 mini burgers with a choice of aloo tikki or paneer.  We went for the paneer for this one.  As if sliders aren't already quite filling, they deep fried the buns in a crispy breading first.  Hence, this was one crunchy slider where the bun was still soft inside.  It wasn't as greasy as it appeared, but make no mistake, it ate quite rich and heavy.  I personally would order something else from the large menu that was lighter.

Another heavy dish, we had the Baked Veggie Momos topped with cheese and tandoori sauce.  These fried momos were crispy with a veggie filling that was still vibrant having a crunch.  By themselves, the momos were good and could've been simply served with a tamarind and/or mint chutney.  But at Gupshup, they like to take it further so they baked them with a wealth of cheese.  Again, this became a pretty heavy dish.  I would've like to see just the momos, but I get they are trying to be different and more progressive.

Moving onto somthing that was more typical was Cockney Singh's Fish and Chips.  I absolutely love the play on words here because it is a nod to "Cockney Kings".  Well, I am happy to report that Cockney Singh's version was straight up on point.  The breaded basa was really good.  Normally, I'm not a fan of fish & chips made with basa, but the fish was so moist and flaky without the usual over-soft texture.  Breading was crunchy and stayed as such throughout.  Even the fries were good being crispy with a touch of potatoness left.

From the tandoor, we selected the Lamb Chops.  This was plated a bit haphazardly, but hey, it didn't really matter as Gupshup isn't about being high-end.  It fit completely with their laid-back casual atmosphere.   Besides, these lamb chops were excellent!  Evenly charred, there was smokiness and a certain intensity to the spices.  Lots of earthiness and muted heat to go with the natural lamb flavour.  Texturally, the lamb was tender and meaty.

So we went for something more traditional in the Gupshup Chicken Biryani.  This was fairly typical with big pieces of bone-in tandoori chicken leg hidden within the basmati rice.  I found the rice a little on the dry side, but I much prefer that over something wet or too saucy.  Flavours were a bit muted and could've been more spiced or spicy, but all-in-all, it was a serviceable biryani.  The best part was the chicken though as it was flavourful and tender.

From here, we continued with the usual and the aforementioned delicious Butter Chicken.  I have to say it was pretty darn good with a good amount of tomato tanginess balanced off by enough creamy butteriness.  The spices in the butter chicken did come through after the initial tang with earthiness and spice.  With the chicken itself, the medium-sized cubes were tender and not dry at all despite being breast meat.

To get some veggies (in spirit) into our diet, we also had the Palak Paneer.  This was pretty creamy with the spinach being cooked down well.  Definitely got the earthiness of the spices as well as the ginger.  This was fairly bright and not heavy.  As you can clearly see, there was a plethora of paneer that was squishy (in a good way) and soft.

Of course we had some Garlic Naan too as well as some drinks.  The naan was pretty good with a crispy charred bottom and the rest was fluffy with elasticity.  Would've liked to see more garlic though.  As for the drinks, we had the Mango Lassi, Parrots Paradise and Tiramisu Shake.  As you can see, they really try to be modern and fun with their drinks.  That is really the point of Gupshup as they are truly catering to the young and young-at-heart.  Food may not be as refined, but they aren't trying to be.  Prices are very reasonable and definitely a place where you can hang out with friends and family.  More fun times ahead because they have pizza coming soon too!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Modern and trendy
- Reasonable-pricing
- Fun dishes and drinks

The Bad:
- Maybe lacking in refinement but they aren't trying to be
- Some dishes can be quite heavy