Friends Union Joshi Club

Rest : Friends Union Joshi Club

Loc : Kalbadevi Road

Meal : Lunch

My dad turned me on to Friends Union a few years ago and i end up there once a year or so, the fact that it is located on Kalbadevi Road, which is near impossible to get in and out of keeps me away from some absolutely amazing food. This Sunday afternoon, whilst trying to figure out where to go, my friend and frequent dining companion Slash (not the GNR axeman) and Mr.Samant were in the mood for something not South Indian. So FUJC seemed like a good idea.

Located on the first floor, FUJC club is an old khanaval serving home style Gujarati food for less (more on that later) it is not easy to find but once you are on Kalbadevi Road, walk roughly towards the middle and you will find a sign towards the first floor, enter the door below and find your way up.

The space is fairly basic and functional, no luxuries here, as Mr.Samant noticed, you get an idea of how serious they are when you see the heavy steel plates (parats as we call em)

The place was not too busy when we walked in and they brought up a litle plate of chutneys and pickles.

The first thing to come out was the white dhokla served with delectable white yoghurt chutney, absolutely brilliant, the little kachori pakoda thing was not bad a tad on the hot side. Good start.

the garlic chutney was strong and fiery, awesomesauce.

the patta gobi (cabbage, cauliflower n peas) was oily but brilliant.

the veggies were a very punjabi onion-tomato which was hot and actually pretty good but stuck out like a sore thumb. the cholly was awesome as was the watery tomato n potato (aloo tomato) brilliant.

Sunday menu is different, they dont serve Bakhris but Puris and the dal is not sweet, they also serve a yellow kadi along with the sweet white one. I am not a fan of the yellow kadi and i like my sweet dal so i was disappointed.

Overall the food was fabulous, my fellow diners were constantly saying that it was fantastic and i think this is one of the best if not THE best gujju meals in the city. The fact that they keep it simple really goes a long way.Also, a fantastic dish was the basundi, which was phenomenal.

The ambiance is nothing to write home about so do not come expecting luxury, this is all about quick functional delicious food.

The service too is basic, not the most efficient, you need to ask for somethings but they bring em out quickly enough. Frustratingly they serve an awesome glass of chilled chaas but only bring you a second very very begrudgingly, quite frustrating for someone like me who is a big chaas drinker.

Overall, the food still kicks major ass (previous visits here) and i highly recommend a visit if you can brave the traffic and find it.

Food : 9/10
Service : 6/10
Damage : 160 per person (with two sweets on Sundays, week days without sweets is i think about 100)