Restaurant Review: Fantasy Meets Flavour At Jaipur’s Swinton House

A little whimsy and a little dreamy. Swinton House Jaipur is like walking into a design from fairy tale books. And the one word that comes to mind when you look around is — 'adorable'. 

Designed to keep a bit of the general regalness that comes attached with the thought of Jaipur’s architecture, Swinton House combines vintage aesthetics with contemporary ideas and European touches. Therefore, there’s a lot of white and in the ‘cutest’ way possible. But it’s not just cute. The main alfresco area breaks away into more private spaces that are darker in colour with interesting graphic art on the walls. I was feeling white and the pastel pink cushions were irresistible, plus who can ignore the crisp winter of Jaipur during the day. 

The restaurant, which is also home to a lifestyle store, also has a second floor with interesting sections. There’s a cigar room that’s not so playful but bears a more sombre mood, and private party sections that keep your soirees away from the main crowd; it’s almost like whatever happens at Swinton House, stays at Swinton House. 

Let’s eat 

The menu is fun. It’s simple and fun. Curated by chef Prince Beniwal, everything you eat there is inspired by something ‘global’ and yet has ample elements of Indian flavours and ingredients. Yes, simply put, it’s fusion food but fortunately it’s not unrealistic. 

So, while you order your drink, the munchies you can dig into can range from the Beniwal Bhel — fried potato cubed-puff rice-peanut-mix of namkeen-onion and tomato garnish with micro greens — which was quite tasty to the Casa de Cigarrillo stuffed with ratatouille and served with spicy tomato fondue & garlic aioli. 

I wanted a salad because I can be greedy like that, and everything went right with the English Spinach Bliss Salad — baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, cashews, seasonal veggies and Burrata, all resting on this lovely sweet and tangy orange dressing — and I'd eat it again. 
 

The Mini Bunny Chow was good, but I’d have preferred it with lamb instead of peas, but the Pickled Kataifi Nest made from vermicelli with paneer and mascarpone tikka and mousse-chilli cilantro could very well have been one of the coolest things I ate at the place. 

I also enjoyed the Bhuna Chicken Pie, even if the pie shell could have been slightly flakier, but great chicken and great idea. Then there was the Lakhnavi Galouti Kebab served with coriander and mint chutney and an interesting paste of beet, onion, jeera, berry and chillies. Another good one, they did get the kebab right. 

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The Bhuna Mutton Pide was as tasty as the bhuna chicken in the pie. Despite the heavy combination of ground mutton, egg and mozzarella, they really did get the spices right and isn’t has dense as I thought it might be. The Dahi Donut — hung curd with spiced avocado mousse coated with bread crumb and then fried — reminded me a lot of dahi ke kebab. I didn’t actually mind the avo mousse, even though it might seem a bit pretentious. Like I said, fun and whimsical. 

Here's the thing with Swinton House. The menu is quite vast. So, unless you’re a local and live close by, you'll probably be visiting only once, or twice. So choose wisely. Their portions aren’t misery either, therefore it’s one of those places where you go with your girls for lots of cocktails, food and gossip or colleagues for an ‘evening of bonding’. But given the sheer lure of the visuals, it’s also a space where you can go alone with a book or whatever you’re watching on your phone, doom scroll on Instagram in the middle of the day and just enjoy your own company. 

And with that it was almost time for the mains. After much serious consideration, I did the whole ‘Am in Rajasthan, therefore want laal maas’ thing. The chef obliged. Their laal maas is delicious, almost as if it was made according to how I like my curries. Mellow, flavoursome and gentle on the stomach, and yet it was red (because laal maas, duh!). After all the east-meets-west experiments I tried earlier, this one put a silly grin on my face. 

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Did I want to end my meal with a coffee rasgulla? No sir. But this is what the Dark Pearl Rasgulla had: coffee-soaked rasgulla, rum, mascarpone ganache, caramel sauce and toasted almond. It wasn’t bad, but it just had too much going on. Therefore, to pacify me, the chef brought out a huge ball of cotton candy — yes, I am eight at times — and then set it on a plate and burnt it down and then served it with brownie and ice cream. Good old-fashioned brownie and it was yummy (pardon my use of that word but it’s the only way to get the feeling across). 

Let’s drink 

The bar, which will suddenly appear to your right as you walk into the open area of the restaurant, was quiet but it’s well stocked for sure, and the menu is quite interesting as well. By that, I also meant fun to read. Names such as ‘Spicy Hot Buns’ or ‘Moaning MILF’ will draw a chuckle or two as you decide what you want. What is completely appreciated here is the fact that they've also pulled off a good presentation style with the drinks, neither boring nor OTT. 

If you like a Negroni, try the Palo Santo Negroni that’s made with Palo Santo gin, Campari, sweet Vermouth, and raspberries. It’s a stiff drink and not for those who like cocktails but don’t like the taste of alcohol. And in case you want to know what Spicy Hot Buns is all about, it’s got pineapple juice, pickle brine, jalapenos, cilantro, tomato extract and citrus. This one drink ranges from sweet to sour to spicy to savour. Heady huh? 

Address: Swinton House, B-20, New Colony, Scheme D, M.I. Road, Near Panch Batti, Jaipur 

Timing: 12pm-2am 

Meal for two: INR 3,000 with drinks (plus taxes)