Gola Sizzlers Sector 29 Gurgaon – A Humongous Mixed Bag Menu

The two things bearing the same name that I remember distinctly from my school days have a prefix Gola. That is, Gola Shoes and Gola Sizzlers at K Block Connaught Place to which I had a few visits.

The black Gola shoes were for almost a daily accessory with the summer white school uniform. They were worn with trepidation since they were renowned for getting us a penalty since they were not considered as formal school footwear, but well that’s amalgamated with history now.

Those penalties over uniform did exist in winter too. Though, now many monsoons later, I haven’t ever checked, if Gola Shoes still exist, however Gola Sizzlers still does & is spread out more than ever. I believe they have 23 units in Delhi NCR now in 2024.

Gola Sizzlers in Connaught Place, bang opposite PVR Plaza, is the place that introduced me to the world of Sizzlers. Back then I never knew a Naresh Gola Group who owns this particular venture across Delhi NCR.

From what I know is that the founder, a man called Naresh Kapoor and his subsequent generation comprising of Rajat Kapoor and Manik Kapoor are spearheading the brand’s expansion.

They, today, perhaps rightly in their PunGlish Grammar claim that they are, Delhi’s Oldest Sizzler Maker – whatever that means not specifying human or a machine. Chef, Cook, Maharaj, Rasoiya I know, but I don’t know the term Sizzler Maker in this life from any known dictionary, thesaurus or an educator.

Today Gola Sizzlers outlets are located in Connaught Place, Khan Market, Rajouri Garden, Preet Vihar, Pacific Mall – NSP – Tagore Garden – Jasola, DLF Mall of India-Noida, Dlf Cyberhub Gurgaon, Ambience Mall-Gurgaon and Sector 29-Gurgaon, Indirapuram Habitat Centre.

Beyond these outlets, Gola Sizzlers also exists in cities like Lucknow and Dehradun, where it has become a favourite. As the brand continues its expansion, plans are underway with restaurant work in cities such as Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Indore, Pune, and other metros.

So the occasion was a send off lunch for Sidhant Malhotra who was to embark on one of his overseas trip to go back to his University in Worcester, UK. For a warm goodbye the entire family had emerged, the whole six of us.

And, we had hence descended at Gola Sizzlers Sector 29 Gurgaon. It is located on the ground floor of an unnamed building with a number that goes 8-10.

Who from our family decided to come here is a mystery that is now a history. We went, We ate, We survived and We are still alive.

It’s a natty looking spacious & filled with colours restaurant with a smoky (courtesy a diffuser) welcome for arriving guests.

As we reached one of their North-Eastern hostesses welcomed us and directed us to the entrance where we were received by another North Eastern Hostess and a Manager.

The restaurant was empty but slightly noisy, by the volume control devoid staffers who were trying to setup the gigantic bar on one extreme of the restaurant, and this didn’t escape my attention.

It surely could have done quietly, but they had not taken a notice of my family that had entered and grabbed two tables right in front of the elaborate bar.

Family time at gola sizzlers sector 29 gurgaon

We were presented with the menus and water too quite rapidly and embarked on the quest to decide on what to order. Their menu can be quite confounding by its sheer size and occupants (dishes).

The array of dishes besides the Sizzlers list is quite humongous and can steer your quest into a vast uncharted territory. However, we were able to order successfully after a few minutes.

A sizzler is a medley dish invented in Mumbai. It is cooked and served on a hot metal plate that is placed on a wooden holder when taken to the customer’s table.

The dish has been described as an “open-roasted, grilled or shallow fried piece of meat, chicken, fish or vegetable patty, served on an oval shaped metal or stone hot plate, kept on a wooden base.

The word “sizzler” comes from the sizzle that one hears that when the finished steak is placed on it. The entire dish sizzles and the smoky flavour makes the dish more enticing.

The Indian sizzler was invented by Firoz Erani in Mumbai in 1963, and his restaurant near Excelsior cinema was called “Sizzler”.

Firoz Erani was inspired by an American version of Japanese Teppanyaki at a restaurant called Sizzler which he visited in California. Firoz’s second wife Tachiko was Japanese and maybe his inspiration behind Sizzler.

On the other hand, Naresh Kapoor opened the first outlet of Gola Sizzlers in Connaught Place in New Delhi in 1992. So it is fairly evident Firoz Erani was the pioneer for Sizzlers in India and not otherwise.

The dish overall is inspired by the Japanese Teppanyaki, in which vegetables and meat are cooked on a very hot metal griddle, to keep the inside soft and moist, and make the outside crunchy.