Doolally

Rest : Doolally

Loc : Bandra, Near Lilavati Hospital

Doolally is a craft brewery from Pune and the hottest ticket in the city right now.  Since they opened last week, they have run out of beer twice. 

Their food menu is limited and with some usual suspcects but also some atypical dishes for a bars. Mushroom ragout with rice, my buddy @dharmeshg says the stew is terrific. 

The serve 3 beers, IPA, a wheat beet and one with oats. The fourth and easily my fav is their apple cider. Total win. A little gassier would have been preferable but it was good stuff. Its a good idea to get a little taster of all the brews and then order a pitcher which is good value for money if you intend to have more than 2 pints. 

The burger with hot sauce was wow. Crumbly, messy, saucy, fell apart at first bite but it was possibly the best ive had in a while. Everyone at our table got one post tasting mine. it was that good. 

Overall, the place is pleasant, young and by 830 it is heaving. Service is a little scatter brained but they mean well, i am sure it'll get sorted in a few weeks. 

Food : 8/10
Service : 7/10
Damage : 1200 for 3 pints and a burger. 

Smoke House Deli - BKC - A Superstar Affair

Rest : Smoke House Deli,
Meal : Lunch
Loc : BKC 

Post a meeting in Andheri East (the abomination that it is) i decided to catch up with two of my mates @kapilsamant @shaileshprabhu who i hadn't seen in sometime. Instead of driving into Bandra as we had origibally planned we were actually heading to the newly opened Tiffin but were running pretty late and were unsure if they would be serving lunch post 3pm. 

I knew there was a SMD in BKC and we decided not to muck around and headed straight for it. 

fortunately they brought us some bread rather quickly and we wolfed it down even faster with these two little fluffs of butter 

If you are drinking orange juice anywhere it has to be Malta Orange only, if i ever see it on the menu i immediately go for it. 

the waiters recommended their burger festival that was going on and i chose the rather unusual soy burger which was actually the only veg option on the list. I have had their cottage cheese burger but i thought id try this since they were pushing it so hard.

When i saw it i was a bit worried, since it came open i saw the full scope of what i was about to wolf down (appetite aint what it used to be) add to this the melted cheese. At first bite it tasted a bit weird, the soy has a meaty texture and is a well known meat substitute but here it worked well. Tasted pretty good and was gone rather quickly. Highly recommend it for meat eaters trying to wean themselves of the beef. Be warned though, its messy as can be. 

the dining companions were quite interested in the desserts and went for the mango cheesecake which was very good. good call in the season. 

the real winner though was the cheesecake. Goddamn ! Excellent and Philadelphia style as god intended it to be. 

I would like to point out that the moment i sat down 3 waiters and the lead waiter all came down to shake hands with @kapilsamant who we all know is a superstar but rarely do you get to see this in action. They all kept making small talk, asking him how he was, gave us special attention and till now we can't figure out why.

The service was pretty good and quick and made good solid recommendations. Didn't review my companion meals unfortunately since i was too busy eating my burger.

Food : 8/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 2900* for 3 without drinks

Had a recent discussion on twitter about where a friend mentioned that he had a hot chocolate at LPQ in BKC (at the same time we were at SMD in fact) where it cost him 400++ rs which we both thought was pretty ridiculous. While SMD is certainly not cheap, it def is on the lower side of say an Indigo Deli etc price wise and just as good. 

Pali Bhavan

Rest : Pali Bhavan
Meal : Lunch
Loc : Bandra, West

After a long, long morning shooting we decided to go back to work but it was nearing 2.30 an i was starving. Debating on a quick swing by Mamagoto or Papa Pancho, i on a complete lark ended up pulling into Pali Bhavan. 

greeted by this old village style staircase which i loved. 

the space def has a strong vintage theme with the knick knacks and a wall full of old family photographs.  i love the tin roof but less clutter, some strong art and understated lighting fixtures would have gone a long way aesthetically. 

the menu like the decor is a bit all over the place, northern, southen, deccani so am not sure what the overall effect is supposed to be.  it is distinctly Indian for sure. 

i had the paneer khatta pyaz which was in a tomato gravy with some pickled onions. excellent call this one. good stuff. 

the dal was okayish, tasted decent but lacked that solid punch and after taste that you expect from a really good one. 

the garlic naan was excellent. 

as was the laccha paratha.

Overall, id avoid going at lunch because its full of LOUD ladies who lunch but the food is decent and has potential. they had some interesting looking appetizers which would be worth a try and the service too was pretty quick.

However, in the grand scheme of things, its expensive and plenty of others do similar food, some better, some cheaper. Not compelling. 

Food : 7/10

Service : 8/10

Damage : 2k for 2 without drinks. 

Maritime by San Lorenzo

Rest : Maritime by San Lorenzo

Loc : Taj Lands End, Bandra
Meal : Dinner

English restaurants have found an affinity for Bombay that American's have not. After Yauatcha and Hakkasan now we have San Lorenzo from the shores of good old England. The menu is traditional Italian but they are more popular for being a celeb hangout (although i have had lunch at their Wimbledon joint which was thankfully celeb free)  

Maritime replaces Pure, what was then one of the most expensive and pointless restaurants in Bombay. The decor surprisingly has not changed all that much and nothing to suggest that they have been ostentatious about opening after two years. 

the bread was not quite the freshest. 

Served as the insalata tricolore but its basically a caprese with an avocado. Light on taste, a little drizzle or dressing would have gone a long way. Still, the ingredients were fresh and worked well. 

fresh but boring.

everyone has a recipe for the minestrone so there really isn't the right way or the wrong way to do it. What it needs is to taste good, this one was okay at first but it got better as we dug deeper. Found some lentils in there too, which was a first for me. 

The Spaghetti Schillaci is one of their signature dishes apparently. A dish this simple, (tomato, basil chillies) has to be done perfect but again, things are on the blander side. The freshness of the ingredients wins out but there is practically nothing going on here. 

The risotto was more porcini less truffles but i dont blame em at 850 bucks you don't even get a peep at a truffle let alone a dish. A tad dry, a little wine maybe might have given it a bit of a kick. Decent but nothing spectacular. 

the disappointment of the evening was this. I bypassed the tiramisu, the highly recommended crepes for some home made gelato. Why i do this i dont know... my impulses are nearly always wrong. The gelato might have been home made in Italy but probably in January last year. Severely annoyed with this choice. 

Overall, the place is an all round disappointment. The food is underwhelming and very light on flavour. The portions are a blot on an Italian mother's kitchen. Not cheap either.

I considered the cheese platter they had on offer but the Mrs is not one to let me indulge so it was nixed. Since i was driving the port was nixed. All around, not the greatest of birthday meals. From next year onwards I'm skipping new places and sticking to old favs.

Service was quick, friendly and efficient.

Food : 6/10

Service : 8/10
Damage : 4500 without drinks

Indigo Deli Bandra

Rest : Indigo Deli
Meal : Lunch
Loc : Bandra, West. 

Indigo Deli, the old war horse, has a Bandra outlet, this was my second time there for a peaceful little lunch. 

I have always criticized Mrs.J's obsession with the Indigo Deli Pizza but the truth is the pizza is just deranged good and tastes fantastic. We wanted to order quickly so i didnt scan the menu and went with the standard. it was freaking good is what it was, i regret not ordering it more often. 

the penne with char peppered coulis tasted weird, should have stuck to the spagetti, 

the seared mushroom with brie was good as usual, seemed a tad small though.. not sure why that is.

the king of desserts, Belgian Choc with a strong alcohol after taste, winner for sure.

Overall, i am not a huge fan of the decor and its a tad small but the food is good, and its nice to know if you are lost in Bandra you can get some good food nonetheless.

Food : 8/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 3000 for 3

Lager Bay

Rest : Lager Bay

Meal : Dinner
Loc : Waterfeld Road, Bandra West.

Lager Bay replaced the immensely popular Zenzi a little while ago and i finally got the opportunity to check them out. I have fond memories of Zenzi, good food and one particularly debauched night out had begun here but we shall not go into details about that as this is a kid friendly blog. 

 

The place sounds like a real Burgers and Beer joint but is actually quite a generic multi cuisine menu which leans on the Italian for its mains.  

 The hummus was creamy, delicious and we immediately ordered another portion as the first one did not last very long. the toasty pita chips they were served with i am not a fan of. they should serve both the soft and hard pita because like creamy or crunchy, pulpy or pulp free, there are camps and people pick sides.

The Minestrone is one of those soups which has been utterly destroyed by people not doing it correctly here. I have had the bland tasteless version at Botticino where the chef refused to admit the problem and the over done heavy handed gujju styled version at my club. this was one was a cut above but still not the best. i guess it wasn't bad which makes it good. 

The Nachos came out cold, which was a shock, we told the server that and he was flustered and tried to ask us to go along by saying that the sauce was added later.. in any case it was sent back. They were good enough to actually make a new one 

The aglio olio was quite a hit with the table, unfortunately i only got the last few scraps and by then all that was left were garlic and pepper and some spaghetti. i found it a tad too spicy but everyone loved it.

The stroganoff was weak, all cream and veggies no taste. unfortunate. I had some decent stroganoff at Irish House, Gaylord but this does not compare at all. 

One thing restaurants need to get clear is what their menu promises and what they deliver. if it says tomato and penne i assume its anything but an arrabiata. However even as an arrabiata this failed, it was like something i would have cooked which is not saying much at all.

The veggie burger was pretty terrific. A nice big patty with sesame bun. The relish and stuff were not very good but the burger itself was quite decent. very unwieldy to eat but then i never met a burger which wasn't.

Overall, i like the decor, the main entrance section has changed greatly from Zenzi, its very casual and brightly lit, the rest of the space has not changed much. The vibe is casual and the place can get loud. The food is okay, too many hits and misses and they do have some quality control they need to work on.

The service is quick and more or less friendly if a little scatter brained. The booze is expensive, the food not so much.

Food : 7/10
Service : 7/10
Damage : 8500 for 6 with drinks.  

Cafe Basilico on a Sunday Afternoon

Rest : Cafe Basilico

Meal : Sunday Lunch
Loc : Bandra West

I have always been a big of Cafe Basilico and oddly i find myself at the one in Bandra quite often, cannot remember the last time i had gone out to the one in Colaba which is at best a poor cousin (though it came first) 

So on a pretty relaxed Sunday afternoon the five of us found ourselves seated in their out doors section poring over the menu. Also on hand was a waiter who rather irritatingly punctuated every sentence with a 'yeah okay' 

although my luck has been terrible when it comes to mushroom soups, a good mushroom soup is all about delicate balance. I decided to live dangerously and was finally rewarded with a decent bowl, a few chunks of mushroom would have been welcome. 

nice little glass of lemon iced tea. 

the bruschetta was brilliant, fresh, olive oily with bits of cheese,immensely enjoyable. 

The mezze platter was not bad, not a fan of the presentation which just confuses, however all the items were good and the flavours great. 

the pita/lavash they served with it was inadequate, just regular pita is fine, no need to grill and experiment so much.

the pizza was hilarious, yep, hilarious. it tasted pretty good, but every one was expecting a pie and out comes a slice and jaws dropped. i think they should mention its a huge slice which is fine for one or two but when you order one with 5 diners on the table. its leads to every man for himself.

the mushroom and spinach risotto was no good. it used to be very different, their regular mushroom risotto was sublime, this was just plain bad.

The Tagine was served in a little earthen pot, which i guess has to do when in a pinch, however it was more of a tomato broth then a tagine, some more veggies and less liquid would have been much better. 

the tagine was served with a side of cous cous which was pretty ordinary 

the pumpkin ravioli tasted way way better than i thought it would, creamy, heavy with just a hint of pumpkin.

the dessert selection at Basilico is vast and being caught out by a NY, Philly & Strawberry cheesecake, we decided to bypass and go for a Tiramisu which was very good

and a gooey chocolate cake which was ordinary. 

Overall, the food was pretty good, a few misses but otherwise okay. Basilico continues to be popular because the space is relaxed and consistent. The service was scatter brained and slowish.

Food : 8/10
Service : 7/10
Damage : 6000 for 5. 

Indigo Deli Opens in Bandra

Was fortunate enough to get a preview of the new Indigo Deli in Bandra which is set to open its doors officially from tomorrow. The eatery has taken over Da Vinci as well as Gostana and is going to bring some snazz to the Bandra dining scene. Sorry no pictures this time. Images are courtesy of Indigo Deli. 

Indigo Deli is an immensely popular brand with two locations (three if you count the Cafe) their absence in Bandra has been felt for a while, although there are a myriad options, most of them are hit and miss and the closest Bandra has come to ID is Cafe Basilico.

So i think the Bandra folks should rejoice and revel.

The space is largish and fairly well laid out with a massive open kitchen. There are smaller tables for twosomes which an be put together for larger ones, the booths are quirky and saucer like and there is some outdoors seating as well.

Looks like it will make a brilliant Sunday place. I spent two hours noshing up with some wonderful company and wonderful food.

For Indigo Deli loyalists, the menu will seem familiar but it has enough dishes to give it, its own identity. They serve an all day breakfast and the Eggs on the Beach (610) a take on the traditional Eggs Benedict come highly recommended.

The Asparagus Artichoke & Arugula salad (365)came with a ranch/cranberry dressing, was pretty good i thought until i had a taste of the Poached Pear in Wine with caramelized Gorgonzola (365). It was just something else,  I spent more time picking at this while continued to grudgingly share my salad, just brilliant and i highly recommend this at any of the IDelis.

The baked mac & cheese (485) was good as always, also had a taste of the famed Indigo Deli pizzas but this margerita (445) was somehow very different. Thin as always but bursting with favour, couldn't eat just one, no siree bob.

A Chillee Cheese Toast is also on the menu, however i didn't get a chance to taste it, i did taste the charred asparagus & feta in a roomali. Brilliant, quite a huge roomali it was but pretty good.

The Dessert was okay, the crème brulee (285) was so so, the Tiramisu (285) was good and the Blueberry Cheesecake (345) was outstanding. The Dulce De Leche was much missed...

Overall, it was a great evening, Rahul Akerkar is not only a knowledgeable man with a great sense of humour, he is also a generous and attentive host & a cigar smoker which is a thumbs up in my book.

One of the first restaurants i went to with my friends as a kid was Under the Over at Kemps Corner where Rahul was the chef. Twenty odd years later, here we are. I hope to be at some more of these openings in the times to come.

Indigo Deli & Bandra are going to be great friends.

Indigo Deli.
Ground Floor, Fatima Villa. Just up the street from Golds Gym.