Peacock Restaurant Jaipur

Summary

Peacock Restaurant Jaipur is located on the rooftop of Hotel Pearl Palace in Jaipur. It serves Indian, Continental and Chinese cuisine, however it’s specialty is definitely Indian, especially tandoor dishes. The dishes are cooked with the best of ingredients, and the sauces give the meals an extra dimension. In addition to the mouth-watering food, the rooftop views, the garden setting and the option of either dining in a lively atmosphere or eating in a more private dining space give this restaurant an edge over the other restaurants in Jaipur. This is one restaurant everyone must try out during their visit in Jaipur.

Peacock Restaurant Jaipur

 

[singlepic id=3343 w=720 h=560 float=center]

 

Staying at the Hotel Pearl Palace has its advantages – the most important, being able to dine at the Peacock Restaurant Jaipur as and when we chose. On our first night in Jaipur, we decided to try out the Indian cuisine at this popular restaurant.

When we got to Peacock Rooftop Restaurant Jaipur around 7pm, it was busy, and most of the tables were already filled with diners. Mr Singh, the owner of the hotel and restaurant, was standing around managing the restaurant. He came and spoke to us briefly before seating us at a table.

The restaurant was decorated with coloured lights which made it look really beautiful and romantic. I’m not sure if the restaurant looks like this on a normal night or if was decorated for the festival of Diwali. I’m guessing it always looks like this, which makes it attractive.

There was light Indian music playing in the background, which made us feel like we were dining at an Indian restaurant. The music was soft enough that it was in the background, and didn’t interfere with our conversations during the evening.

There are two levels to this restaurant – the main dining area on the rooftop and a second, smaller level higher up, above the kitchen. The first rooftop level has a more lively atmosphere, while the second level has a more private, intimate ambiance to it.

 

Dinner at Peacock Restaurant Jaipur

[singlepic id=3344 w=720 h=560 float=center]

 

The view from the rooftop of the Peacock Rooftop Restaurant Jaipur was amazing. Given that it was during the festival of Diwali, the surrounding buildings were lit up like Christmas trees. Multi-coloured lights were draped down the front and sides of the buildings making them glow. Fireworks were going off around us, and we watched the sky light up in the distance with showers of sparkles.

 

[singlepic id=3351 w=720 h=560 float=center]

 

Graham had not tried the famous Indian beer, Kingfisher, before, so we ordered a bottle before dinner. The Kingfisher brand is a lager beer, which means it is light and quite frothy. Back home, in Australia, our preference is dark, boutique beers, so we would rarely drink a lager. However, when the weather is hot and humid, as it is in Jaipur or the rest of India for that matter, a chilled lager goes down quite well.

While the regular beer bottle size in Australia, and most countries I’m guessing, is 375ml, the beer bottles in India are 750ml. So when we ordered two bottles of beer and out they came, we had to send one back. The price of beer in India is quite reasonable – here it was Rs 200.

 

[singlepic id=3349 w=720 h=560 float=center]

 

For dinner, we ordered two mains – Paneer Butter Masala and Chicken Malai Tikka – with Naan Bread and Jeera (cumin) Rice.

While travelling in India, we understood that communication would always be difficult. Some places we found more difficult than others. Here, we were surprised that the waiters understood English quite well. Getting the attention of the waiters was a little harder than expected, as there were only two of them and the restaurant was packed. Hence, it took a while to get our beers and order our meals.

However, the kitchen staff were efficient and on the ball. The meals came out quickly and they were piping hot.

 

[singlepic id=3345 w=720 h=560 float=center]

 

Graham’s favourite for the night was the Paneer Butter Masala – cottage cheese cooked in a rich tomato and cream sauce. The sauce had a lot of flavour, was spicy but not hot. The dish had a good mix of paneer and vegetables – capsicum and onions. The paneer had been roasted separately before being put in the sauce, so it had more flavour and was crisp rather than being soggy when it is not cooked.

 

[singlepic id=3348 w=720 h=560 float=center]

 

My favourite was the Chicken Malai Tikka – boneless chicken tikka in a creamy marinade. The chicken was cooked to perfection – well marinated and still moist with a slightly burnt flavour, as it was cooked in a tandoor oven. The marinade was what set this dish apart. Many places, in India and overseas, just charcoal grill the chicken. However, here, they marinated the chicken in yogurt, garlic, ginger and assorted spices, and served it with salad (sliced onions and grated carrots), fresh lime and a nice coriander-mint and garlic sauce.

 

[singlepic id=3347 w=720 h=560 float=center]

 

The Jeera Rice was fluffy and had a lot of jeera flavour through it. There was plenty of it to go around for two.

The rice went really well with the paneer butter masala, as the rice soaked up the gravy really well. The cumin enhanced the flavour of the curry.

 

[singlepic id=3346 w=720 h=560 float=center]

 

The Naan Bread was crisp in parts and doughy in other parts, which made it good naan bread. Bread is the national dish of India, so we did expect to get great bread at every meal, and we definitely weren’t disappointed here.

The bread was a good accompaniment to the chicken malai tikka. A small piece of chicken, dipped in the sauce, wrapped in a bit of bread with some salad was absolutely delicious.

At the end of the night, we ended up with a bill for Rs 695, which included a 5% service tax. Since, we were staying at the hotel, we put our bill on the tab and paid when we checked out.

All up, we really enjoyed dining at the Peacock Rooftop Restaurant. There were other dishes on the menu that we wanted to try out, such as the tandoori prawns and the lamb peshawari. We might need to visit Jaipur again just to eat here a second time.

 

Breakfast at Peacock Restaurant Jaipur

[singlepic id=3353 w=720 h=560 float=center]

 

The following morning, we decided to have breakfast at Peacock Rooftop Restaurant Jaipur. This allowed us to get a good glimpse of the restaurant in broad daylight, giving us a different take on the decor.

We really liked the decorations around the restaurant. Peacock Rooftop Restaurant Jaipur have gone for a garden setting, which gives it a relaxed and chilled atmosphere. There are lots of plants around – one area even has a decorative peacock sitting in the midst.

 

[singlepic id=3352 w=720 h=560 float=center]

 

There is something quaint about the chairs in this restaurant. We noticed that each table had its own set of unique chairs, and they were definitely strange. Our table had chairs whose backs were shaped like faces with long moustaches. Another table had chairs whose backs looked like elephant faces, while another table had chairs whose backs had golf clubs hanging off the side.

 

[singlepic id=3355 w=720 h=560 float=center]

 

For breakfast, we ordered Indian parathas that came with a side of mixed vegetable pickle and yogurt.

The parathas were good on their own, but what made it was the sides that came with it. The mixed vegetable pickle wasn’t too spicy and had a good mix of preserved vegetables. The yogurt was plain, unsweetened, fresh, creamy and tasted real good. Both sides went really well with the parathas and gave it that extra edge.

 

[singlepic id=3354 w=720 h=560 float=center]

 

The day time view is very different to what we saw the night before. Not far from the hotel building is the ruins of an old fort. This fort overlooks new and rather shabby buildings around it, showcasing the modernisation of this city.

To sum up, Peacock Rooftop Restaurant Jaipur is one of the best places to dine in Jaipur. It has a top rating and deservedly so. In fact, a couple of nights later, we met two guys walking down MI Road in Jaipur (2 kms from the restaurant), who asked us which way the Peacock Restaurant was.

It serves some of the best Indian dishes and the prices are not astronomical, which makes it really good value. The ambience and decor are an added delight.

If you only have one night in Jaipur, dine here!