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. 

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 

Aqaba

Rest : Aqaba

Meal : Lunch 

Loc : Peninsula Business Park 

Aqaba plays a pretty important role in my single fav movie of all time Lawrence of Arabia and that they serve Middle Eastern cuisine, there was little chance that i was not going to go check em out. So i caught up with my buddy Reema Prasanna (@ScrollsNInk) who i hadn't seen in a while. 

The place is largish and has a lovely section by the window which looks on to the garden which thankfully obscures Central Bombay 

now, the official drink of choice. 

the kinda sorta amuse bouche if you will, was a little side of tzatziki with radishes which both of us immensely dislikes 

The mezze platter was going to happen no matter what and it was a pretty decent spread. 

The Muhammarah was kind of disappointing, the weakest item there, more like a salsa then a fine, fiery paste. 

The rest of the dishes were great, the hummus and the labneh were awesome, as was the taztziki. The olives were slightly sweetish, brilliant. 

the greek style salad was huge, fresh to taste but too much food.

the caprese was pretty decent, a little colder would have been good, the cheese was not stale but this wasnt quite farm fresh. 

randomly chose the Veg Kofta which was a haloumi and cottage cheese served on a bed of arabic rice and a side of some seriously delicious sauce. this was just awesome, loved it. sometimes not thinking too much can be a good thing too. 

we shared the dessert which was a rose petal ice cream, which i always tell myself i wont like but end up loving. delicious. the biscotti they were served with were super chewy though. 

Overall, the space is huge, airy and well lit, might be a little too big though. The service is quick and the food is pretty good, there are some things they could work out (muhammrah, the biscotti) but in the end a middle eastern joint, in south bombay which serves good food is gold. lets hope they can keep it that way.

I was, there on invitation but the restaurant is on the expensive side.

Salt Water Cafe

Rest : Salt Water Cafe

Meal : Dinner
Loc : Veer Nariman Road, Churchgate, 

Salt Water Cafe, is a worthy replacement for the quite pointless Mocha brand, a much more mature, upmarket offering this one. 

a decentish bread basket, served in typical SWC/Smoke House style. 

started off with a cheese course because it never works in lieu of dessert. a decent mix, cheddar, gorgonzola, swiss with little toasties. 

the poached pear was disappointing, seemed like it was put together very absentmindedly, the bitter sweet and blue cheesy flavours sound good on paper but just didnt come through. 

This was the potato, ricotta, pea gnocchi, easily one of the best things i have tasted every. simply stunning.  doesnt sound like the greatest of dishes but boy does it come together ! this was under appetizers and little brother picked it but they apparently do an entree sized portion as well. highly recommended. 

kickass mojitos 

the lasgana was decent put together family style, which works best when simple, this wasn't bad per se but had a little too much going on, ingredients wise. 

this was the poutine, tasted awesome but was just a tremendously heavy dish, even two people would be hard pressed to finish this. awesome though. 

Overall, the food was pretty good, except for the odd misfire, most of the dishes come together well. They do a really good set of pickled veggies and feta which is a must try (at least it is in the Bandra outlet)

Service was on the money, pretty prompt though it was a busy evening.

Food : 8/10

Service : 8/10

Damage : 3000 with one cocktail   

Salt Water Cafe Churchgate

Intesresting times in South Bombay vis a vis food, a lot of popular brands that set up shop in bandra are beginning to find their way to town. The first of the new entrants is Salt Water Cafe which i have reviewed a few times (here) the other joints that have crossed the bridge are Sancho's and more importantly one of my fav's Mamagoto.

SWC opened doors a few days ago and a bunch of people i know were raving about it at tastings. Couldn't make it for the launch but  made it much later and was chuffed to find that they offer a breakfast at breakfast hours, the only other crew to do that in the area is Indigo Deli although SWC has more items on the menu.

in any case, the whiskey sour was highly recommended by Nikhil Merchant (@nikhil_merchant) and boy did it shine. brilliant, not to sweet and really addictive.

 

the next thing i had to have a go at was the cheese plate. from memory there was cheddar, parmesan, brie , swiss, feta and some sort of sweet cranberry. a great way to start the evening this. 

the caprese was pretty good, the bitter leaves with the sweetish dressing on the side made this work nicely.

 

the minestrone style assorted veggie soup was also pretty decent. hearty with beans and bits of pasta etc which i enjoy. 

the tomato, olive with chilli and peppers in what seemed like angel hair was good and fiery but a tad too oily.

i had the porcini, tomato and mozzarella & spaghetti. pretty on the money and a decent portion too. enjoyable.

Didn't get a chance to get a picture of the Tiramisu but i must say that it was awesome and possibly the best in the city.

Overall, i like SWC and i think this one is a tad better than the Bandra outlet, especially when it comes to mains. A good addition overall.

Hope to get there for breakfast one of these days. A meal for two without drinks should be around 2k.

Wine Weekend at Fratelli

The Fratelli vineyard sits 350 kms from Bombay, a distance that can be covered in 5 hours if departing early enough. My friend Harpreet Singh Chadha, popularly and rather appropriately nicknamed Happy, is a frequent visitor and set us up for this past weekend.

Spending time at a vineyard can be immensely fun, having done it a few times, in different countries, i am great proponent and fortunately India offers decent experiences.

Having left at 5am, we were at the doors at 10.50 am, the drive had not prepared us for the pair of modernist buildings that house the lodgings and the press & bottling plant. The buildings i was later told were inspired by the Ferrari factory, easily the most impressive structure in Akluj which is a small town. 

They have four massive rooms, which are minmally furnished but comfortable. They even have ipod docks in case you feel like popping yours in to listen to some tunes. 

The view from our rooms was green, not something a Bombay boy is used to i suppose. The windows open right onto a gentle hill and one can walk in and out from here and completely avoid the stairs.

met with chai and cookies fifteen minutes after we got to the room. Strong chai, enough said.

then on to a stroll,  the  vineyards surrounding the press & lodging are relatively small 

but large enough to go riding your bicycle or for general traipsing around. 

they also have a bunch of ATV's around as well as a bunch of bicycles which can be taken around the property. 

Lunch was around 2pm, called in from a nearby restaurant, they menu is mostly North Indian and Indo-Chinese. Spicy as hell. Post siesta, around 5.30pm we began the tour of the production facility which is 10 feet from the lodging space.

 Fratelli is a partnership of seven (3 pairs of brothers, ergo the name ) and star vintner from Tuscany, Piero Masi. 

They have a range of 9-10 wines and the grapes reach the facility within two hours of being picked, which they reckon is a first in Asia. All the equipment is imported from Italy.

I admire their belief and their willingness to invest, $3-5million at a time when the world was amidst a slow down and other wineries too were struggling with demons of their own. 

these barrells contain Sette (seven, get it..) which is their signature creation, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese, this stays oaked for a year and i am told is not available for sale outside the winery. Prior to this folks had to pick up lots of 100 bottles for 100,000. 

The tasting room is in keeping with the modern, minimalist style and a good place to spend the evening. 

We tasted most of their product line, the Sangiovese, a grape Piero has been working with for decades is certainly the star product (especially as the Sette is unavailable for tasting) they also do a Sangiovese Blanco which is essentially a white wine from a red grape. They also do a bubbly which is actually not too bad.

The wine tour included a step into the room where the bubbly is kept and bottled. Interesting stuff. Dinner was originally planned outdoors with more wine, some music but rain played truant and we ended up back in the lounge area.

The second day began with a quick breakfast of Upma, toast and eggs done every which way. Post this we headed to the main vineyard which is located about 8kms away on a country road. Enjoyed thie short ride immensely. The driver likes to off road and would take the fun way rather than the paved way at times.

A little gazebo sits atop a hill central to the property, as far as the eyes can see its all Fratelli vineyards, you really get a sense of the scale of the enterprise. They sent another car with the food, the lunch set up and of course more wine. 

Lunch was again, north indian and chinese washed down with all the wines we tasted the night before. 

a great way to spend the afternoon, truly. 

Overall, the weekend was far better than i anticipated. The space is modern, well equipped and comfortable. They have wifi access, a pool table, table tennis, foos ball, carrom, ATV's, cycles etc. Plenty to keep people busy over the weekend. The best thing to do would be to rent all four rooms, that would make for a terrific weekend.

The wine aspect of the weekend is taken very seriously and plays out across three stages. First they show you the wine press and the bottling and storage which they take great pride in (justifiably so) This is followed by a fun wine tasting with cheese, peanuts (do buy some of these) and chips.

The third is the tour and lunch at the actual vineyard. A comprehensive weekend, far superior to the visit at Sula which is less about wine more about just spending time at the property.

Its important to understand that its not a hotel, they can probably source things if required but its far from shops and its best to carry one's supply of toiletries. They have all kinds of juices, chips, soft drinks, snacks on hand and one can get it on demand.

The food is brought in from a restaurant, so one can order whatever is required from the menu. Avoid gravies and go for simple things, like dal-rice, dry veggies as it takes 15-20 mins for the food to arrive.

The staff can also cook a pretty decent pasta. I hope they start cooking on the premises soon, that will help the meal quality soar. I also felt a lack of maharashtrian cuisine, this far upstate, it feels a little wrong to not get some of it. I am sure once they seriously look at hospitality these aspects will be addressed.

Other than this little niggle, there was no real problem. Hope to be back there soon.

Special thanks to Thingal, Ajit, Amol, Ravi who were super helpful and efficient & Mr.Babulal who manages the property very ably.

Details :
Rooms : 4
Tarriff : 7-9k per couple for 2 days and one night. Full board.
Located in Akluj, 2 Hours from Pune.
Taking the Pune - Solapur Highway is recommended but this means facing Pune traffic.
Be aware, anything less than a full weekend means 6 hours of driving each way.