Sassy Spoon

Rest : Sassy Spoon

Meal : Dinner
Loc : Express Towers, Nariman Point.

Finally, Mrs Jain, Miss Jain and i set out to have dinner, this was the Mrs J's first night out since December, was our wedding anniversary and was also the first time Miss Jain was going to be out in public. we chose Sassy Spoon because it wasnt too far from home and there would be no parking issues. In addition, a bunch of family members were there a few days ago and loved it. 

So, the space is kinda rustic in a hipster sort of way, if you dont look around at people you dont feel like you are in Bombay. there is an  outdoors section which is a good choice on Feburary evenings. The menu is predominantly Italian-Mediterranean. I didnt see any salads on the dinner menu but i am told they do serve that as well as sandwiches at lunch as well as a breakfast menu on weekends. 

Bread basket was strictly okay. nothing great. 

The White Onion & Smoked Scarmoza was excellent, though i didnt get a very strong onion flavour in it, nor was the cheese overpowering the taste. it was somewhere in the middle. A light start to the meal.

The Ricotta Ravioli with walbuts & pine nuts was just fantastic. A garlic infused sauce, this should be a main, its a shame its on the appetizer list. I wouldnt order ravioli for an appetizer but this was higly recommended by mates and def a must have. 

The berry cooler with bluebrry, some orange and lots of kala khatta. i never get coolers because they are always weird mixes but anything kala khatta i will try and it was freaking awesome. a little too sweet but still diabolically delicious. 

spaghetti in lemon buerre and parmesan was lovely. dryish, the lemon flavour was very subtle. Mrs Jain who is a fan of aglio olio style, enjoyed this a great deal. 

while, i loved my mushroom tortelini in a porcini sauce. both things worked well together and the dish tasted fantastic. i found this to be superior to the spaghetti. while mrs Jain found it otherwise. 

the rasberry sorbet was way too sweet, sickly sweet in fact. 

the mousse cake was good but i ate it under protest because frankly, mousse is just boring. 

Overall, the ambiance is lovely and the food excellent, no complaints, other than the fact that the portions are kind of smallish, a little bit more would be very welcome, or maybe i am just a greedy pig and shouldnt be complaining.

The service though was outstanding. We were out with a baby for the first time and they went out of their way to be helpful, got us an extra chair, helped set up the carry cot so we could keep Miss Jain in the middle. They were on the money with the recommendations as well.

If they can dial down their propensity for going overboard when sugar is in play, this would be damn near perfect.

Super impressed.

Food : 8/10
Service : 9/10
Damage : 3000 without drinks.

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

Prego

Rest : Prego

Meal : Dinner 

Loc : Inox 2, Nariman Point

Back at Prego after quite a while for a family dinner the place certainly does not look worse for wear  

Since i was in the area, i ended up at the restaurant early but fortunately i was able to nosh on some bread and delightful tomato salsa.

i also sipped on this halfway decent Bloody  Mary 

my fav thing about mu last prego visit was their anti pasti platter which it turns out its still pretty on the money. However for whatever reason they have gotten rid of the little hunk of gorgonozola or bleu they served along with. 

the lasagna rolls were disappointing, not going anywhere taste wise. 

The stuffed mushrooms were strictly okay. 

Spaghetti in pesto was pretty good, i wish they threw in some sundried tomato in here but it was pretty decent. 

the penne arabbiata was okay, spicy but that was about it. 

loved, loved the pizza they do it pretty well. thin crust, nice sauce. slick. 

the espresso creme brulee was gone in 20 seconds. lightl, fluffy and pretty effing tasty. 

Overall, the food is decent, they continue to do the staples well but their appetizers kind of falter. If they just take things up a notch flavour wise, it would be something. The menu is however fairly generic, so expect no real surprises or experiments.

Service is quick and friendly and the menu is well priced.

Food : 7/10
Service : 8/10
Damages : 5000 for 5 with one cocktail 

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. 

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.

CaperBerry - Bangalore

Rest : Caperberry

Loc : Dickenson Road,

Caperberry is touted as one of Bangalore's more progressive restaurants. While they have the DNA and the menu is imaginatively planned, they certainly seem to have lost their consistency somewhere along the way. 

Located on the ground floor of an office building, the space is modernish decked out in green (appropriately) although nothing about the space stands out in particular. The wear and tear is pretty evident as well.  

started off with some bread, which was pretty good, with olives etc, i was not a fan of this olive oil dipping sauce mixture. it was a sweetish mess which did nothing for me. 

the new aged caprese was super intriguing and i had to try it. served with speherified mozzarella with balsamic and olive oil drizzle and a tomato  

the tapas platter was actually like any other regular appetizer platter. The fig and feta caviar promised so much, unfortunately yielded no taste. the spinach and parmesan roll, sat in a cheesy base and it was terrific, easily the best thing they served, the olive croquets were pretty uninteresting too. 

unfortunately, i was dining with others which meant i had to go along to get along and i could not order anything i wanted to. Considering my choices had already fallen flat i was in no position to force the issue. The aglio olio was pretty bland, which is a bit shocking for a dish which has garlic and chili 

the porcini risotto was served with a fried nugget stuffed with mushroom. both were kind of underwhelming. the dish just did not have any life in it, the taste was just not there and again rather blandish. 

overall, the menu is experimental but practical and has plenty of safe dishes for one to try.  i found the flavours to be lacking outright and can only wonder if its the case for the best staff not being in the house for a regular weekday lunch service. 

Food : 4/10
Service : 8/10

Damage : 2500 without drinks 

Ellipsis

Rest : Ellipsis
Meal : Dinner
Loc : Colaba

First meal of the New Year, we broke with tradition and went for dinner instead of lunch and also ended up ditching our old spot Thai Pavilion on account of having been there too many times in the past year. 

It bit us.. it bit me anyway. 

Ellipsis has been around for a year or so now, i have been there a few times but never for a meal, always for drinks. They run a pretty good bar, expensive but then they dont scrimp on quality. 

The space is eclectic at best, dimly lit with a mish mash of seating, it certainly has the looks of a modern bistro, although i am weirded out with the excessive art on the walls.

The rationale behind the place was American cuisine with fresh produce sourced daily. Which means the menu is small and changes regularly. On paper, this is a fantastic idea and at the outset i think it works best for the carnivores than it does for vegetarians. 

The menu is divided into  Garden, Farm and Sea as well as a bunch of sides. The first thing i had ordered was a tomato flatbread which is actually part of their bar menu. It was excellent, like a rather thin pizza (but not Indigo Deli thin) 

The next thing was of course their version of the caprese. I think the cheese could have been a little fresher and it would have worked but a decent start. 

the risotto of various mushrooms was good, heavy as hell on the palate and in the system but no complaints. 

my original choice was going to be the fettucine marinara but i let myself be talked into the gnocchi. While the dish was good, chowderesque in taste, coupled with the risotto this was just too heavy in terms of a meal. 

i loved the oreo 'sandwich' fun little thing. 

Overall, i think their heart is in the right place but i don't think they have quite got the mix or the execution right. 

The veg side is very Italiacentric which in any case is better at other places. From a small plate/American perspective i think the The Table's California inspired menu set is far superior and better executed and makes for a better visit. (i was there the day before for a smashing lunch where not a single dish was disappointing) 

Also, i had a horrible case of acid reflux a few hours into the night with which i am struggling with even now, a week later. So all in all while the flavours were okay, getting sick isn't my preferred way of spending a night after dinner.

THe service was quick and friendly and the prices are certainly on the higher side.

Food : 6/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 4000 without drinks.