Paratha Mantra

Rest : Paratha Mantra
Meal : Dinner
Loc : Navbharat House, opp Trishna, Fort

About eighteen months ago i reviewed Nandu's Paratha House (read) in Fort, a fairly small hole in the wall eatery with terrific parathas. The place was owned and run by an old school friend Parin who is actually a lawyer, his wife Bhavana and their partner Antariksh.

While Nandus was a success, in order to grow, they shut Nandu's and opened as a re-branded Paratha Mantra. A new location not far from the old and thankfully no real change to the menu. The new space is much larger, feels more open, has wood paneling and seating for almost 50. The wave like ceiling is cool and there is also a private dining space on the mezzanine.

We started off with the papad churi, with a mix of khichya, nice, not as spicy as it used to be but i am not complaining.

I chose the chaas, which was pretty awesome, tasted even better chilled. Fortunately they know how good the chaas is and serve it in various sizes. Choose a regular glass or you can get a larger patiala glass version or an even larger jumbo which is in a bottle. They also do various masala sodas and the lassi is apparently a specialty.

The choice of parathas is expansive, you have the regular aloo, gobi, and other traditiona combinations as well as the more modern takes such as the cheese garlic which is one of my fav's.

One can also experiment with the funky ones such as pizza, pav bhaji or vada pav. I have had the pizza paratha before and it was spectacular. One of the parathas on our table was olive and jalapeno which was interesting, someone also ordered a diet which is basically thinner and done with less oil.

One of the cool things about the parathas is that for 45 bucks you can get a side of Dal or Rajma. I tried their dal and its truly special, just as it was at Nandus.

The lasooni palak was another stellar dish, man all that garlic was yummy.

All in all, i am not a fan of paratha places, the menu is usually generic and the execution ends up disappointing. Nandus & now Paratha Mantra are the only places i have found that can actually stand up and be counted.

The fact that they have untried recipes and winning combos (garlic cheese, pav bhaji, pizza) means they are bound to stand out. One can also choose from the several ingredients and come up with your own combination.. so its essentially a free for all best enjoyed in a large group.

Also, i think its a complete and utter misnomer to call themselves Paratha mantra.. its misleading, though their parathas are good their main courses are top notch as well. They have great daal and a strong biryani.. so its pretty much full service restaurant.

Do you guys like Paratha focused restaurants ?

Food : 9/10
Service : 9/10
Damage 1500 for 5

Full Disclosure : Parin Lakhani the owner and i are school mates/classmates and have known each other for a long time. He wouldn't let us pay as usual but we pretty much refused to budge unless he did ! This review stands on its own two legs and i hope folks go there and share their thoughts.