Sunday Brunch - The Table

Rest : The Table
Meal : Brunch
Loc : Apollo Bunder, Colaba 

After a few years of having terrible celebratory meals, i decided to go for something tried and tested namely the best restaurant in the city The Table. Although i visit with some regularity, it had been a while since i tried their Sunday Brunch. So we got there bright and early for our 1130 table and ran into the lovely Gauri Devidayal (@gauridetails) who just happens to own the place. 

We went to our first floor table and I immediately got myself a traditional Bloody Mary instead of their Bombay Mary because its the one drink i don't like much variation in  (they do a terrific Margarita, Old Fashioned and an insane Pineapple Martini) 

The Jalapeno Cheddar biscuits with mushroom gravy was terrific. Not to be missed by anyone that loves mushrooms. Not a light dish though, so beware. 

The breakfast quesadilla with avocado was the only real disappointment of the day. blandish with no real flavor. wasn't quite going anywhere this one.

Probably the best damn mac n cheese you will have anywhere. the black truffle helps. just brilliant. i urge you to try this when you are there. its worth the wait and the money. brilliance in a plate.

The Tiramisu pan cakes.. diabolical. I ordered knowing full well Mrs Jain would like them even though she was insisted she was full, one bite and she pulled the whole plate throwing me a few scraps here and there. it was that good. 

The food was terrific, next time, im hoping to try out some of the waffles and choose from the appetizers. The menu isnt very big but it has plenty to choose from. Ideally, don't drive, so you can drink a little. Best way to spend a Sunday in my book. 

The service was quick, prompt and friendly.


Food : 8/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 3500 for two with a drink. 

Blanca's Alex Leonard cooks at The Table

Rest : The Table
Loc : Colaba,
Meal : Dinner

Brooklyn's three Michelin starred, Blanca is a hot ticket with a 30 day wait for tables. So when i heard that my current fav restaurant The Table had their Chef De Cuisine down cooking a five course meal, it was a no brainer.

Pre Dinner cocktail was an old fashioned, which was brilliant and what i always get there. They also do a killer Margarita and i had a sip of a stunning pineapple martini which is also a must have. 

 

Melon Parsley Verde, Radicchio Amchur & Black Sesame, Malai Leeks & Potato. I am not a fan of Melon or Radicchio but all of it was brilliant. Great start, the melon verde was pesto like but for me the malai leek potato was the star here. brilliant.

One of my fav dishes at the table was the parsi cheese which is unfortunately no longer on the menu. This was the farmers cheese with burnt onion and it was probably the dish of the evening. Like eating air and a hint of the onion on there, brilliant. Has to have been hard to do :

       

Celery Root, Parsnip & Carrot Puree was salty but weird, good weird at that. Again not a parsnip fan but i guess its all about how you cook things.

Eggplant ceviche, baba ganoush, leche de tigre. Brilliant, the leche de tigre was as the name suggests was dangerous. the heat just snuck up on you.

 

orecchiette with grapefruit and pecorino. Interesting, a little chewy, probably the weakest dish of the evening but still fairly good stuff. 

Peruvian White Asparagus, Coconut and Black Lime. The Asparagus was lucious, brilliant and the coconut was sweet, i wasnt expecting a sweet course so it kinda threw me, still good, the coconut flavour wasnt that sweet.

Chocolate, Parmesan Truffle, boy was this weird. The chocolate was great but the truffle was strong and weird but it was fun to have together. The puffy rice was kinda weak, didnt add anything to the dish but otherwise it was excellent.

Overall, this was quite an experience, the portions were small but in the end youre there for the experience and more than that the creativity. Its great to have a cutting edge meal in the city and its exactly the kind of thing one would expect from a place like The Table, which has so far been super consistent (sad to say my previous fav Thai Pavilion has really dropped their game)

I am glad i had an open mind regarding a lot of veggies i never eat, hell i even had a piece of broccoli off @dharmeshg's plate and it was brilliant as well. Compared to some of the other Michelin star meals i have had, this is def in the top 5. 




Service was quick and prompt and friendly as one would expect.

The dinner was priced at 3500 without drinks and for the dimwits thinking its a steal, it isnt actually considering they serve 20+ courses for the equivalent of 12500 not that i am complaining, it was money well spent.

Thanks to my friend @qtfan (who booked the table and pre-paid risking no shows :) and his lovely wife C, @dharmeshg and @ankitsoni who joined us for the evening. Good Times.

The Bombay Canteen

Rest : The Bombay Canteen 

Meal : Dinner

Loc : Kamala Mills

The Bombay Canteen is possibly the hottest dining ticket in the city right now, tables are extremely hard to get and are much sought after. It is Floyd Cardoz's India debut and is high on concept, of all the recent openings thus far, it is definetely the most innovative. From the register like menu, to the Rooh Afza bottles for water and of course the food.

The menu is rather limited and can best be descibed as India inspired, most dishes spin out of familar things but go their own way pretty quickly. They have a chotta and bada concept (some of it is pretty large) and they also have the chintu which float around and should be grabbed everytime they pass by. 

the boiled egg was a chintu with a filling of egg bhurji i reckon, delicious.

Fried lotus stems are so much better than regular chips, SO MUCH BETTER. Lotus stems should be on more menus i reckon.

cheese sticks. what is not to like ? 

the moong dal fritters, very good, tasty chutney but the chana kachumbar mix was diabolical. they need to put it on the menu as a separate listing all together. this was gone very very quickly. 

they do a selection of toasts, this was the spicy tomato bit with peanut salsa and home made paneer. Tad spicy and a little underwhelming but by no means bad. 

the eggs kejriwal were unlike any i have had but were terrific. easily one of the starts of the menu. def get them whilst there. 

the masala coke, was smaller than id like and had more masala than id like. could be improved. 

so the indian tacos were dissapointing, didnt go anywhere, too gimmicky. although i am told the non-veg taco was terrific. 

so this was my main, the baked cabbage and paneer kofta, the first serving was over salted so we sent it back. it came back somewhat fixed but not quite. i had it with a steamed garlic bun which was terrific and must be had. 

the old monk rum laden gulab jamun was terrific. a combination that works extremely well together. 

the guava pastry with mirchi ice cream was okay, i didnt find it to be that great but everyone else loved it. 

the falooda sundae with some skim milk. terrific. a falooda SUNDAE so simple yet so amazing. 

the ice cream sandwich was dissapointing all around. the bon bon and jim jam are great but need to perhaps switch the ice cream filling. 

the masala chai popsicles were exactly as weird as they sound. look like kulfi but taste just like frozen chai (not as bad as it sounds) my companions liked this more than i did. 

Overall, the space is pretty cool, the vibe is great and its heaving with people. So for now, its def going to be the place to go.

I was the sole vegetarian of the crew and i found the food to be okay, the menu is kinda eclectic and fairly limited. Its not traditional in any sense. I am told they will take another two months or so to add more veg options. So the place def does have potential, hope to check them out in a month or two.

Also, as @anaggh rightly pointed out, the menu is kinda limited therefore will have to change frequently otherwise one could go through it all in two visits and then it gets kinda boring.  the word is that the menu will change every couple of months.

The non-veg was voted to be amazing, so i guess meat eaters should not feel shy about ordering.

The desserts range from terrific to good to weird good. So no chance of making a mistake there.

Service was quick, prompt and friendly. Id say go for it.

Special thanks to @dharmeshg @qtfan and @anaggh for a great evening out, sorting out the table and eveything else.

Food : 7/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 12000 for 4 w cocktails

Byblos

Rest : Byblos

Meal : Lunch

Loc : Phoenix

Byblo is the new Middle Eastern/Lebanese restaurant that has replaced the much lamented Komala's. It is the second middle eastern restaurant in Lower Parel, the splendid Aqaba being the other. I 

met with @vbubber for a nice drawn out lunch. Varun had already been there on the second night and said the menu now was actually shorter than the launch menu from a few days ago.

Still, its a pretty substantial menu, with plenty of mezze, flatbreads, salads, sandwiches , shawarma, some pasta and my fav Byblos all day iftaar breakfast which has some dishes you wouldn't find around the city easily. 

started off with the hummus with fried chick peas, which i didnt like at first bite but then it grew on me. good stuff. also they have the toum which is a garlicky butter which is just awesome. make sure you get your hands on it. 

The full egyptian fry up from the breakfast menu was freaking HUGE. with the medames (fried beans) potato, tomato and mint salad, this was something else. i was oddly expecting a skillet for some reason but this was pretty brilliant if a little unwieldy. 

The Red Velvet Gnocchi was pretty amazing, the sauce was kind of like an Alfredo sauce but pretty good nonetheless. Worth a try certainly. 

Varun also got the peri peri chicken which he said was amazing but pretty hot. We were suckered into splitting a brownie with some caramel (sweeter than id like) 

Overall, i think the menu is a tad too large but going by all i had, if they do all the dishes well enough, no complaints. The prices are okayish, just a little less than what you would pay at Indigo Deli.

Its a great place to go in a bigger group so one can share dishes. Def hoping to make it back soon to order some of the dishes i missed out on. There is a bar too and considering its slightly secluded location, it could pick up as a place for a bit of a party.

Food : 8/10
Serv : 8/10
Damage : 3300 for two without drinks. 

The Table

Rest : The Table
Meal : Dinner
Loc : Colaba 

I have long considered The Table to be the best restaurant in the city, the ambiance is lovely, black and white floors, dim lighting, jazz music. I only wish they had a zinc bar it would have been damn near perfect.

the menu is fairly eclectic and adjusts according to what kind of ingredients are available. for the most part the menu hasn't changed in a while. they do the small plates tapas style selections as well as larger main's, i am not a fan of the setup but they make it work. 

they do some great fresh bread, just loved it. 

the truffle fries are an evil creation and must be had. MUST. 

Roast Veg Tacos were fantastic, a little on the spicy side but the best thing ever, i had to literally pause after taking a bite. Served with a side of some excellent fresh salsa and not so great pico de gallo.

got a side of asparagus and parmesan because i couldn't help myself. okay, the rosemary potato would have been a better choice. 

The Lasagna Verdi was Ricotta and Spinach pasta in the most delicious sauce. Stunning little dish this was. Rarely have i seen a lasagna basked this well, usually it falls apart the moment you begin to cut it. 

the weakest dish of the evening was the spaghetti. Its unfortunate that restaurants serve this version where they create some sort of a stock base, it never works. Smoke House Deli used to do a brilliant aglio olio which was then replaced by this version and called boss style and it sucks. 

In any case, the meal was stellar despite the weak pasta. I wish they had a slightly larger menu.

The portions on the large plates could be slightly larger as well, they were just about adequate. Place does a mean Old Fashioned and an even meaner Margarita, do give them a try.



Food : 8/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 3200 for two without drinks.

Breakfast at Indigo Deli

Meal : Indigo Deli,
Meal : Breakfast
Loc : Colaba 

Our Sunday breakfast is usually the samosa, papdi variety, sometimes we head to Matunga for our South Indian fix with mates. However, i immensely enjoy heading to Indigo Deli once in a while to break away from my steady fixes. 

Its probably the single most visited restaurant for me and my only irritant is that their breakfast selection is a little limited, especially if one does not like eggs. 

Couscous upma, is a fav of ours, Mrs Jain enjoys it too, served with a side of Pineapple compote, this one neatly walks the line between being Indian & Middle Eastern. 

Mrs Jain of course got the pancakes with maple syrup and a dollop of strawberry compote. Pretty fantastic. 

i again, stuck to the usual and got myself some eggs and baked beans, next time,i swear ill get something else. 

lovely hashbrowns on the side. 

Overall, the space was largely empty at 9am, we got a nice booth and spend an hour or two just relaxing. Need to do this more often. The food as usual was on the money, no complaints except for the limited options.

Food : 9/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 2000 for 2 

White Owl

My friend, fellow diner and frequent punching bag Nikhil Merchant (@nikhil_merchant) has taken his skills out to the restaurant world. In collaboration with Chef Kshama of The White Owl, a special new menu has been created and they were kind enough to invite a bunch of us over to check out his creations. 

the first thing out were the poached eggs on garlic toast with mushrooms on a murette sauce, a fairly classic French dish this one, was tremendous. I love poached eggs to begin with, the sauce was perfect but the mushrooms were just stunning. Should have had more. 

the Asian style mango salad with julienned veggies and a hint of chilli, was a spot on summery salad. 

pumpkin gnocchi casserole, im not a fan of pumpkin, while the dish tasted okay, my pumpkin prejudice does not allow to offer a better take. 

the bleu cheese quiche was a tad low on the bleu but tasted okay as quiches go. 

Overall, i thought the food was pretty inventive, not your usual safe generic fare. 

Having dined at Nik's a few times, i reckon he should do more of these and feel free to experiment. and if you ever get invited over to his place for a meal, insist on the sizzler. 

Long and Short

Swung by Long & Short at the Intercontinental Marine drive,  one of my fav new bars a few days ago. They invited us over for a Sunday brunch to hang out with their new team led by Manas Krishnamoorthy who has arrived from The Imperial. 

The Mojito is my fav Summer cocktail and this one was on the money and i love the little jars, though they are found everywhere now, i still love em. 

the salad was a little disappointing as it just did not come together for me. a little too sweet, not enoug bitter or cheese. 

the focaccia was terrific, tasted this one and another both were kickass. 

whiskey with maple syrup, so weird it has to be tried

I was only there for a short while, the drinks are good but the food is the real star at this place.