Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Places i will not return to

The following are a list of places i just dont go anymore. Some of them i have been loyal to for a long time and some i have been only once. The criteria is how good the food really is, cost notwithstanding.


Five Spice
Fort

This place, the last time i was there looked so run down, with staff who didnt want to be there, food that was completely generic and pointless, ambiance of a street shop. When they started out it was a good quick, value for money joint. Not so much anymore. Damage : Moderate


All Stir Fry
Gordon House Hotel, Colaba
This used to be a complete favorite and we used to end up here at least 3 times a month. the food was great, the service quick and the people remembered you. Once they took over the floorspace of Tides next door quality quickly plummeted. Good dishes were taken off the list, the wok which was such a cool thing to try seemed the same no matter what you tried. Overall, a sad let down. Damage : Moderate

Vetro
Oberoi, Nariman Point

Or as i call it, throwing your money down the tube. If i go to a restaurant, no matter which one i expect the food overall to be good, this can even compensate for bad service. Vetro, generic setting, average service, retarded prices and absolutely below par, inconsistent food. No, No, NO. Damage : Very Expensive


Souk
Taj Mahal, Palace & Tower, Apollo Bunder.

Souk is like the other Taj restaurants, seemingly on the down ward circle. Golden Dragon a little while ago was frightfully expensive and bordering on the above average experience. Souk on the other hand was just useless. The soup was bad, the hummus ok (they scrimped on the pita, you fucking believe that) the pasta though was superlative. However one out of four is just not on.
Damage : Very Expensive

Lemon Grass
Phoenix Mills.

Well, i personally love the food they serve. However the service is bad beyond belief. They always ALWAYS get the order wrong, then they forget to put in orders for dishes. My wife and my brother are my usual dinner companions and they have pretty much put their foot down, ergo i cant go their anymore either.
Damage : Moderate

Bayview
Marine Plaza

Someone ought to just rip this place out and restart this coffee shop. Wonderfully located but painfully bad. the food is mediocre, the choices even worse. Sometimes the actual quality of the food is also so bad, its incredible. Overall, one of the worst coffee shops in South Bombay hotels. However if you are here just walk down to Geoffreys for a drink of to Oriental Blossom for some chinese.
Damage : Expensive

Udipi Sri Krishna Boarding
Matunga Station
This is one place that has been around for 50 years, in fact you will never hear a bad thing from anyone who eats here regularly. You will also find a crowd and may have to wait between 15-50 minutes for your turn. However me and four of my companions found the food weak, bland and completley pointless. The service is of course average. A myth shattering experience this. Sadder still because i was looking forward to it for many many years.
Damage: Cheap

Bade Miya
Colaba
Bade Miya is a veritable Bombay institution catering to just about every strata of society. However the place is filthy and completely unhygienic. The new seating space is no great shakes either. I can understand street food, however they have not evolved at all. the place continues to be a cesspool (sad, though some of the food was not bad)
Damage : Cheap

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Its been a while since I went to Bade Miyan - 6 yrs... And even then the food was dismal. Nothing compared to what it was when I first went there.

In contrast, what do you think of Ayubs? Last time I was in Bombay (5 yrs ago) I fell in love with the paneer rolls. Spicy and tasty.

Anonymous said...

Ayub is excellent, I go back to Bombay every year and I must I visit Bade Miyan for nostalgia. Try the guy opposite Sheetal Bukhara in Khar for a some nice late night eating.

Gaurav said...

Bade miya is just disgusting. Ayub isnt too bad in the sense its cleaner and relatively less crowded.

However its not like their rolls are any better. I think the two have been dining out on their reps for long.

I usually stick to coffee shops or Trattoria for late night binges.

Anonymous said...

Hi
gaurav i really really like your blog
its just amazing
please keep writing for us

thanks
crystal

Kalyan Karmakar said...

I am new to your site but it is great to get reviews with a pov and which are independent. In fact one rearely gets list of places one will not visit in the media as the reviews are often paid.

I had started my blog keeping such places in mind...then somewhere it became more about things I love

Here's my take on some of the places you have mentioned:

- 5 spice: never went to the Fort one but people swear by the Bandra one. I fnd it slightly oily but like it overall http://finelychopped-k.blogspot.com/2008/08/5-spice-straight-to-guts.html
- All stir Fry - loved the concept when it opened. I learnt a vlauable trick of cooking the meats first in order of toughness from there. But my wife had a sever food poisoning once on account of a prawn which didn't agree with her
- Souk - still can't get over the terror attack
- Lemon Grass - used to love the original one at Carter Road. but the Phoenix one sucked on service. i am not surprised they shut down
- Marine Plaza - quite a mediocre place
- Sri Krishna - I tried madras cafe recently http://finelychopped-k.blogspot.com/2008/12/mayhem-at-madras-cafe.html
- Bade Miya - hey, aren't you vegetarian? But yes they are very over rated. And street food needn't necessarily be from the streets of hell! You need to be really blase to go there. i seem t have grown out of it. But it used to be our haunt in the nineties after cheap booze at Gokul

Gaurav said...

Hey,

thanks for visiting.

Of the places mentioned i think there has just been a general trend of the places losing their quality & focus which is why i reckon our experiences are similar.

Kalyan Karmakar said...

Yes, at least All Stir Fry is a case in point. I think 5 Spice's equity comes from its being Chinese comfort food and LOT'S of it. I look forward to reading more stuff from your site

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