A Return To Serafina

Rest : Serafina
Meal : Lunch
Loc : High Street Phoenix

My last few visits to Serafina were middling, despite the brand name, they were distinctly underwhelming and it took some convincing to take Mrs Jain there again. She refused to give it a go but relented in the end. 

At the time of our visit, the space was being renovated and was down to 1/3 of its original size. The bread basket is still chargeable and still the same though the bread was decent. 

the bruschetta was terrific and tasted super fresh which i suppose is the secret to a good bruschetta. 

The Arrabiata fries were mis labeled for sure, there was nothing flavourful or tasty about em. More like masala fries. And i for one would never order fries at a restaurant (except at the table) this was all Mrs Jain. 

The Aglio Olio Pacino was excellent again, no drama there. Lightly flavoured and done just about right. perfect with some parmesan. 

The Fettucini (Paglia & Fieno) was another winner, a hearty preparation with  well done portion topped with a helping of Parmesan.

Overall, the food was good, there has been a definite improvement, i was gutted that we had to order those fries instead of soup or one of the salads but otherwise it was an excellent meal. Was running late and had to skip dessert.

I think the present size works for them and i hope they can keep the experience the same in case they do expand again. 

Food : 8/10
Service : 8/10

Damage : 2400 without drinks for 2.  

Two One Two

Rest : Two One Two

Meal : Dinner

Loc : Worli

Two One Two has been around for a while and i have had a few decent meals there. The wife really enjoyed her last meal and we decided to dine there for my birthday evening. So the four of us (sisters in law in tow) showed up to break the bad celebration meal jinx.

The space is laid out okay, the outdoors section is def lovely, the inside seems a little dated now. The menu is varied and has a lot of options, they have loads of dishes with truffles on the menu if that is your thing. 

this is the bread basket, okayish, served with some very mediocre butter. 150 if you want more (we didn't) 

the minestrone was okay in a generic sort of way, a bit more effort and it would have great.  

not so fresh caprese, unfortunate, as i was really in the mood for a good salad. i think they should just not serve this if the cheese has been in the fridge too long. it was not bad, just wasn't fresh which is what its all about. 

the pizza was excellent, crispy, tasty on the money thin crust pizza. i think most Italian joints in Bombay have their pizza down pat. 

the wife is obsessed with aglio olio, its disconcerting but she refuses to eat anything other than this everywhere she goes. This is what they came up with. It was strictly okay, however it had bits of some stones in it so we sent it back. 

the sun dried tomato and goat cheese risotto was pretty good and disappeared quickly. 

Overall, i found the food to be patchy and def below par to my previous visits. i really hope they up their game because i don't think they inspire enough confidence in me to try out one of their truffle dishes (2700 for the risotto, 2000 for the pizza 2800 for the tagliatelle)

Service was quick and friendly but overall experience was disappointing.

Food : 6/10

Service : 8/10

Damage : 3500 for four with no drinks

Cheval

Rest : Cheval

Meal : Dinner
Loc : Kala Ghoda,

While heading to try out Mexiloko, the wife, kid brother and the sis in law all decide to head to Cheval instead, i protested but to no avail. So off we went to Kala Ghoda.

Cheval is an interesting space, i love the location and what they have done with it, inside too its got plenty going on and is a well designed space overall. They have a decent bar and one can simply hang there if needs be. 

The menu however is fairly generic, Italian heavy with the one exception being the Sandwiches and its the only place i know of in the city that serves a Ploughman's 

the fig & mozzarella salad was okay, could have been way, way better then it actually turned out. a little colder with some more figs to play down the bitterness of the rocket.  

the mushroom on toast was fantastic, gone in less than 30 seconds this one. should have ordered seconds..

the gruyere souffle was not quite worth the wait, okayish but the little sauce it came with for the toast was pretty bad. 

the wild mushroom risotto or a version of it can be found on many a menu now, as they go, this one was pretty good..

the pizza with mushrooms was terrific. thin, crispy with loads of flavour. unfortunately it cooled very quickly. which kinda killed it for us. 

the black truffle gnocchi with bits of asparagus was outstanding. stuffed with bleu cheese and cream, heavy but not so good flavour. 

the spinach and ricotta ravioli was bland and tasteless. nothing going on here. def a waste. 

kid brother does not like spaghetti and insisted on Penne for his aglio olio which to me is pretty much as close to blasphemy as one can get. not sure if it was the change in pasta but this was just a totally bad.. nothing good there. 

Overall, the space is nice, a tad eclectic but well lit and can be a nice place to dine. The wife and her friend had a fantastic meal there which is why they rated it highly, however we ordered dishes completely diff from what they had. 

The menu is inclusive and fairly generic which is fine but such menus live and die by the execution which in this case is not quite there. too many misses.

And to top it all, its not cheap which really hurts. Might go there for a sandwich or pizza if im around but would avoid otherwise.

Food : 6/10

Service : 8/10
Damage : 4500 for four without drinks.

Prego

Rest : Prego

Meal : Dinner
Loc : CR2, Nariman Point.

Prego is the fifth Italian restaurant that has opened doors in the last twelve months, not only that its located a floor below the popular albeit direction less Spaghetti Kitchen. Considering not one of the new entrants has set my world on fire i was a little sceptical going in.

Prego replaces the atrocious Ruby Tuesday, which was around for much too long. The space is completely different now, well lit and a beige zen/armani casa aesthetic. The seating is mixed,  tables, couches and raised bar tables. With this much thought put into decor it was disappointing to see a tacky menu printed on glossy paper with pictures of food.

The Mojito was served in a tall glass but was a tad too sweet but still fairly delicious. A little less mix would have helped as the rum was completely overpowered. 

the strawberry margarita was nice and tangy but should have come with a spoon ! 

the bread was warm, delicious, the butter was a frozen solid and we had to wrestle with it, the olive oil, herb and chilli mixture was unimpressive . 

The Minsestrone was hearty with heavy flavours and constructed around the tomato broth, authentic, probably not but sure to go over well with us Indians. 

The antipasti platter was totally kickass. the caprese, the stunning olives in balsamic vinegar, the bleu cheese and the crusty bread, stuffed peppers and zucchini and artichokes. All top notch. highly recommend this as a great way to get started. 

The Risotto cheese courgettes were recommended but i didnt  like the sound of the idea. Oily, kind of tasteless but served with an excellent dip. Avoid. 

The aglio olio was good, cooked to perfection. A few rocks of parmesan, some sun dried tomato would have been an amazing addition but it was good nonetheless.

The pizza was good, it had a sweet, sour tang to the sauce which was kind of interesting and it was super thin. Like anorexic.

The tiramisu was a tad too firm and creamy but a decent attempt.

Prego is a warm, inviting space and the menu is fairly straightforward and safe. There is no regional specialisation or ground breaking experiments, instead they rely on doing old favourites well, think Olive Garden. My only complaint is that the food is a little too oily but other than that it should appeal to the whole family.

The prices are competitive and this makes them a decent addition and i reckon they should be able to hold their own against Spaghetti Kitchen. A meal for two without drinks should be about 1500-1800.

Please Note :I was invited to the meal and did not pay for it. 

CPK

Rest : CPK 

Meal : Dinner

Loc : Phoenix Mills.

CPK is a weird one, i have had some atrocious meals there and have heard horror stories from others who have been there.

However their Phoenix outlet has usually been pretty decent with no trouble except for the Mexican fest which was quite badly managed. In any case, this was quite a meal as you shall read. Stunning even.

I am completely off cola and its only tonic or ginger ale for me now. 

The Mediterranean Wonton Rolls, were demented. I mean seriously demented. They were gone in 60 seconds, filled with cheese (mozzarella i believe) and mushrooms, this thing had serious bite. 

i like their tortilla soup, its not very hot but quite hearty. It could do with some beans ( like my chilli) and some more corn. 

The Mediterranean Focaccia came with some lovely olive oil and a rock of parmesan and i must say this was terrific. The taste was just right, the salty parmesan drowning in the olive oil was something else. Again this was wolfed down quickly. 

The Aglio Olgio was brilliant, served al dente, which i am not sure was a mistake or policy but we all were happy to not have it overdone. Bits of browned garlic, red peppers, all this was missing was a sprinkling of parmesan. 

All in All it was a super impressive meal at CPK, i was not expecting it and it was quite a pleasant surprise. If this is what they are capable of, they really ought to keep it up coz its stellar.

On the service front, they are slow to get around, little things like serving water, waiting for ice with drinks,  broken blenders etc can be off putting.

Food : 9/10
Service : 6/10
Damage : 1800 for 4 without drinks.

Pizza By The Bay

Rest : Pizza by the Bay

Meal : Dinner
Loc : Marine Drive.

Pizzeria is an old haunt, comfort food mostly. They had a makeover last year and the new avatar is larger, more comfortable and serves alcohol. They have a section which looks out to marine drive and is not air conditioned but is infinitely more popular then the indoors section which replaced Jazz. I do miss the red chequered table cloth though.

This was the Bruschetta, i believe they might have been wrong but in any case it was fairly boring whatever it was. 

The paprika potato is an old fav, got this and it was spot on. No complaints here. 

the gnocchi in pesto cream with sun dried tomato was excellent but missing sundried tomato... that would have made this something else. 

The bombay masala, possibly their best selling pizza, certainly one of my fav of all time was excellent. The fact that i had to share it with a table f four was the only down side.

Pizzeria is a mainstay of dining out and is part of many a memory, they have not gotten better or worse with time, they just are.

Although price wise they have lost the plot considering the Bombay Masala comes to you at 700 without taxes, service charge and service tax. But then again on a stormy evening, pouring with rain the place was packed and the people were queued up, all wanting to sit in the non-air-conditioned section.

So what do i know...

Food : 8/10
Service : 7/10
Damage : 2400 for 4 without drinks.

CPK

Rest : CPK

Meal : Dinner
Loc : Lower Parel

The Mexifornia festival was happening at the CPK outlets across Bombay and i was invited to hang with some of my super entertaining fellow bloggers. My experience with CPK has been wildly inconsistent, going from very bad to pretty good. 

The Tacos, i was a little disappointed with, considering we were going Mexifornia, we really could have avoided Paneer. The rice was not too bad but the taco suffered. Its well and good to go native, i think its a commendable effort but there is clearly so much more that CPK can do with Mexican in mind. 

The Banana Chocolate milkshake was fantastic, just super delicious. 

The Enchiladas too had the same Paneer filling, however these werent half bad, i did enjoy them. the portions were kinda small and they could have done way more with these. another missed chance.

The pizza was not too bad, thin crust, with beans, onions though it was on the HOT side, not for everyone.. should come with a warning. The portion too was pretty big. 

I am not a Churros fan, however the mousse was pretty delicious. 

Overall, if CPK make a few valid tweaks to their menu here, they will have a winner on their hands, it is kind of neither here nor there for now. 

Trattoria

Rest : Trattoria

Meal : Lunch
Loc : Vivanta by Taj, Cuffe Parade

Trattoria along with China Garden is a part of growing up in this part of town. All through the years its been one of the stops for post mid night hunger pangs or when one has a hankering for comfort foods. I've seen them go through two renovations and they just reopened after a third. 

I didnt get a lot of time with the menu as i was dining my friend and his wife.. like all good husbands we let our wives dictate terms. Whatever i did see was  few more soups and appetizers on the menu, so there has been some tweaking. 

The place looks different but the noise is still the same, Trats has been a fish market ever since i can remember. Although i dont think i have ever been there for lunch, so it was pleasant to be seated by the windows with sun light streaming in. 

The garlic bread was spot on and unfortunately it only flattered the meal that was to come. 

The Asparagus on goat cheese was a major disappointment, the asparagus tasted of nothing, the onions were sweetish and the only thing adding taste. The goat cheese was disturbing, cold, hard and chewy at least a week old.

The gnocchi too was just below average, like someone just three together a few things and couldn't be bothered to do more.

The Lasagna which i consider to be on par with their pizza and is usually served well baked and leaning slightly towards a gravy was, this time around it was just too runny and more like a thick soup than a lasagna.

The Fiamma was good, no complaints. 

Found the Tiramisu to be fairly disappointing especially as only a few days ago i had a kick ass one at Pizza Metro Pizza in Bandra.

Overall, the makeover is okay but it has certainly not made the ambiance any better. Also, the food was below average and possibly lazily put together which is highly disappointing. This past month has seen a great many new pizzerias open up, some good and some horrible, my experience at Trattoria slots them somewhere in the bottom half, which is disappointing.

I have always considered The President to have the best restaurants and now Trattoria is firmly the weakest of their three. So if they want to remain a mainstay they need to get their act together.

The service was deferential but cold, when asked what we thought, we told them how bad the cheese was but they just smiled and said okay.

I really hope this isn't a trend.

Food : 6/10

Service : 6/10
Damage: 4500 for four.