Cafe Zoe, Mumbai

Cafe Zoe, Lower Parel

 

A place that has been raved about by most of my friends and colleagues, yet I never made it till I absolutely had to. When there is somebody like you who doesn't mind going to places not in the vicinity for meals is a blessing and I happen to have at least one such like minded friend. The others, they want the good meal but not at the cost of seeking them out. So I finally made it to Cafe Zoe when my friend was back from her vacation. On a side note, I wish I could take month long vacations too. Kahan gaye woh din??!! 

Getting to here was a task though, the place is almost hidden between narrow lanes. Ironic as once you step it's completely spacious and you wouldn't really believe that it is placed in such a location. I almost felt like I am in Europe or some equally beautiful destination and not my much loved Bombay. As much as I love Bombay, we do stay in matchboxes fighting for space everywhere we go. This place on the other hand is humongous. Also, plenty of natural light seeping through. It has an upper and a ground level as well, and we took to the upstairs. I think if nothing else, the ambiance of this place is what is going to be pulling me back here. 

The service is very mechanical and there is no personalized touch to it as such. Why I say this is because I regretted ordering a certain dish and though the error was on our end, it would have been nice if they had educated us on it as is the case whenever there is some thing off beat or not much heard of on the menu. So you should either google what you are planning to order if it sounds very new to you or ask them for it. Moreover, it was just limited to placing your orders and the same being brought to you. I didn't spot much of a smile either.

The food, I  will start with what we shouldn't have ordered  - Tenderloin Carpaccio. It sounded and looked very fancy but I wish I hadn't ordered this. I for one don't have a stomach for meat that looks almost raw and tastes a little too. This was indeed like that (See the fanciest one from the photos). To top it looked almost like a  Salad and you know how much I love salads. Not! So over all, this wasn't my cup of tea and I wish I knew that before I had ordered it. I was expecting some juicy tenderloin patties or something and this was just some thing else entirely! Moreover, it didn't seem value for money to me if you see the serving size as well. We decided to play safe for our next order the mini lamb burgers it was! This was high on flavor. I enjoyed it every bit, the patties was one of the best I have had and the bread seemed equally fresh. Though I do wish the serving size again was a little better. This was 2 mini burgers further broken down into half. Not so fair. So it's 2 mini burgers only, priced at 350 + Taxes, kind of brings the mood down. Next we went for the mains. I went for the Chicken Ravioli and my girl decided to go for Tiger Prawns Risotto. Now this was worth every penny. Well, as much as it can be in a place like this. The ravioli stuffed chicken came with a cream sauce with thyme was comforting like having something hot on a rainy day. Coincidence as it was actually raining. I can safely say they weren't stingy and the ravioli pieces were big rather than what I have come across till now which has always been smaller in size. The quantity is good for one. For the risotto, they were out of Tiger Prawns but they more than made up for it with the portion size of the prawns. I automatically hold a place in high regard if they serve good portion size when it comes to this sea food delight. Most places, even when it's priced steeply some times don't and that just leaves you disappointed. Here, I was more than happy. The risotto in my friend's word is the best she has had in this city and that's something. I agree with her. It's light, not too heavy as such but doesn't compromise on flavor. 

I would proably want to come back here in special circumstance where I am absolutely okay to splurge. This place after all doesn't exactly come cheap but if you know to order right it's value for money. The ambiance is actually the key here.

WHAT WE HAD - Tenderloin Carpaccio (Avoid)

                           Mini Lam Burgers (Yumness)

                           Chicken Ravioli (Yumness)

                           Tiger Prawns Risotto (Yumness Personified)

                           Iced Tea (Refeshing)
                           

 DAMAGES - Rs 3000/- (Approx) inclusive of wine 

WHERE - Café Zoe., Mathuradas Mills Compound, NM Joshi Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai

 

Goregaon Social, Mumbai

Goregaon Social, Goregaon

I was happy to be here, as always. It's been a while since I have visited a social and my experience in all of them have always been on a positive note. My favorite by far is the Khar Social. I was super excited to bring my friend here who had never been to these place before, but unfortunately the experience ended on a sour note.

The place is designed to imitate a cathedral and is pretty mesmerizing. The service here is as always good. We actually had luggage with us as my friend had just arrived from out of the city and the staff was kind enough to find place and help us with the seating and everything. 

I have always found their breakfast to be of great value for money and the combinations offered. My friend ordered the Big Apple Breakfast and I ordered the Punjabi Dhingra Breakfast. One thing that irked us here was that the food took more than 30 minutes to arrive and we were the only customers at this point so we were really hoping the wait was shorter. This could be because the day had just started as it was 11 am in the morning. But my experience in the other Socials have not been this way so I can't really say. However, all was hunky dory and finally after a long wait our food made it's way to our eagerly awaiting table. 

The Big Apple Breakfast comes with french fries, sausages, toasted bread, jam-butter, blue berry pancakes with a side of maple syrup and eggs however, you want it. I have always loved this platter except for the blue berry pancakes which some how they never get it right. Some times it's undercooked, some times it's bland, some times it's rubbery. This time around it was almost okay except for the parts where the blue berry was where the batter seemed to be not cooked properly. Yet, as far as pancakes go, I would not recommend Social. Everything else? Wonderful! I even love the freshness of their bread which seems to be right out of the over or something. The french fries are always on point, and seems like they are air fried as you can't detect the oiliness anywhere, which is the best part for me. The eggs were sunny side up and perfectly done. For the Punjabi Breakfast I had chosen Paneer Paratha which comes with chhole, achar, curd on the side. Some lassi, chai and a piece of Samosa too. The Paneer Paratha is heavenly and I was trasnported to Amritsar where I had first had a Paneer Paratha with dollops of butter on the side. I appreciated the fact that they used the kala chana for the chhole which added authenticity to the punjabi breakfast combo. The masala chai was a pleasant surprise as I always find in most non-Indian specialty restaurants that the tea is almost bland. Here, it was exactly like the ones you would find in small tea stalls. I had it with the samosa and I was overjoyed. But as always there has to be a down side, what I looked forward to most was the Lassi. However, the lassi was unsweetened and infact looked and felt exactly like the curd they had given on the side, only instead of in the bowl, they had put it in the tumbler. Too thick and set to be called a Lassi. Disappointed there. 

Now comes the part which questions whether I will ever return to this place. I was 75% through my breakfast that I spotted a very very very tiny little cockroach on the table, on the side of the wooden tray they had served breakfast to us on. Upon closer look, it seemed there wasn't just one but two more. They were extremely tiny ones, almost liked they had just hatched but gave me a nightmare and made me lose my appetite there and then because God alone knows where all they were and I don't even want to talk about it because like I said, where all were they. And this a big NO. We even told this to our attendant, and he seemed to have spoken to the manager and I could see them discussing it but as soon as we called for our bill, they seemed to have forgotten about it and let us leave without asking anything on it. We were just eager to pay and leave at this point and seemed like as long as we were ready to pay the bill and leave quietly, didn't bother them either. From this point on, I don't know if I would want to revisit a social, I am always going to be wondering how many more of these roaches are there. 

WHAT WE HAD - Big Apple Breakfast

                           Punjabi Dhingra Breakfast
  

DAMAGES - Rs 900/- (Approx)

WHERE - Goregaon Social. Third Floor, The Oberoi Mall, Goregaon East, Mumbai

Mumbai Vibe, Mumbai

Mumbai Vibe, Bandra

Another tick off the list. I had wanted to visit this place mainly because of it's name, Mumbai Vibe. Like any other Mumbaikar would tell you, Once a Mumbaikar, always a Mumbaikar. If you have made this city your home, no place is good enough. Hence, when a cafe bar opens up and calls itself Mumbai Vibe, you definitely want to check out how much of the Mumbai Vibe does the place make you feel. I was finally here to find out.

One of the things that I find very interesting is the way photographs can manipulate with what you see. No, no bad vibes. But I had assumed the place to be much bigger having a look at the photos than it actually is. It is spread over 2 floors - ground and upper, so it does have space, but vertically so. Also, they have a garden area outside which looks very beautiful. But the start of the rainy season and the heat doesn't make it ideal for the weather and we decided to sit inside as well. If  you like me, enjoy conversation as part of your meal be wise enough to sit down stairs, as here the volume of the music is comparatively low. If you go upstairs, it's more a bar and if that's your scene then your well set. Overall, they can cater to different moods. You will see the walls painted with things that define Mumbai including the the red BEST bus. They even have board games if you want to play. 

The service is something that will bring a smile to your face. Even though the sofas are reserved for groups of 4 or more, and we were 3, upon requesting, they let us sprawl ourselves over them instead of resorting to sitting on high stools on the upper floor or the garden area which was relatively empty. They know their menu well and are ready to customize it to your preferences if required and also recommend dishes which is a big plus from me. I always say this many a times, you don't know what will work for you from the menu and what not. Not everything that looks good may be and every Kitchen has their highly recommended and some not so much. Knowing that and letting your customer be informed can do wonders for your business.

We ordered for the Chicken 65 tarts and butter Garlic Mushroom with Crostini to begin with. We also ordered mock-tails and a green tea for one of the friend (Never, ever order Green Tea at a Restaurant, unless and until they are brewing it themselves. My middle class upbringing shows up in things like these. Why would I pay 200 Rs for a teabag, when I can buy the entire  20 for the same??!! I may be wrong, but I really want restaurants serving tea to brew it rather than provide a tea bag. It is not at all value for money). But my friend never the less went for it. The chicken 65 tarts come in mini tarts and is served on top of a toy truck. Fancy. They are good to look at and are good to eat. The chicken 65 is rather authentic and that's a rarity I have found, because this delicacy is my mommy's special as well. The butter garlic mushroom is creamy and is almost like a thick soup served with crostini or let's just say a version of garlic bread and makes your stomach feel warm and fuzzy. The mock-tails we ordered were had some fancy names paying ode to Mumbai - I think one had a Bandra in it's name and another Mumbai. I can't seem to ever remember mock-tails names. Both of them were refreshing and tangy. Though the second one which I had ordered was a little different from the mock-tails I have had till now. It had a strong flavor of cinnamon in it and drinking it almost felt like you were eating a cinnamon roll. It really grows on you and I almost want it now. For the mains we ordered the Spaghetti Bella Roma and Chicken Makhani Plate with Oven Baked Naan. The Spaghetti was devoid of any sauces, a little like Aglio Olio, and initially I would never like Pasta without sauce it it seems to have grown on me and I almost find the subtle flavors of spaghetti preferable. they are many a times lighter on the stomach and yet flavorful. The Chicken Makhni came with naan and some dal makhni on the side as well. All the 3 are technically my favorite things and even though over all it seemed good, it was too sweet for my palette. Almost like someone had accidentally put a cup of sugar in it. 

Over all my experience was a little above average at the place. Though it's named Mumbai Vibe, I couldn't find myself completely jibing to it. A good place to hang out with your friends but if food is your focal point, then it's nothing extraordinary.

WHAT WE HAD - Butter Garlic Mushroom with Crostini (Yumness)

                           Chicken 65 Tarts (Yumness)

                           Spaghetti Bella Roma (Yumness)

                           Chicken Makhni (Yumness)

                           Mocktail

                           Mocktail

                       Green Tea (Avoid ordering Green Tea unless and until it's freshly brewed)

DAMAGES - Rs 2400/- (Approx)

WHERE - Mumbai Vibe., Ganga Jamuna Block, 14th Road, Linking Road, Bandra West

D:OH, Mumbai

D:OH!, Lower Parel

The sort of not so steep pricing, the ambiance and the freak shakes is what had attracted me here. Everyone around seems to be doing freak shakes and this place's looked insane and had a mention in quite a few articles for where to go for freak shakes. Me being me, had to try it out. 

Located in the Kamala Mills Complex (How many restaurants does this place have? and every few weeks you see one more opening up? Where do all of them fit??!! ). I love the ambiance of this place, and if you love taking photos of your good self, second favorite hobby of mine ), then you will too. They have huge jhulas (swings) for seating against the walls. They also have high chairs on another side, but it's the jhoola that is what attracts me and that is where we chose to be seated. The place has a little raw appeal with uses of wooden elements, bricks, white and hues of blue. 

It's self service where you order what you require and they hand you over a buzzer and will buzz you once your order is ready to be whisked away. A pretty clean system. The one thing that I am not a fan of with self service is long queues (I would crib if the long queue even led to Shahrukh Khan! So queues not my thing, And even worse is no queues which leads to chaos). Hence, I appreciate this slick buzzer system. Hassle Free. 

When Ordering a freak shake, it's always for two, because well it's quite a lot on your own, but my friend wanted to have the chocolate and I wanted to have the caramel (majorly because it was garnished with a slice on cheese cake on top. Ek teer se do nishana types ). I am going to admit to it and say that was a mistake on my end. Or rather on theirs. It didn't really blow me away and after reading all the articles I had, I had expected it to. The caramel on it's own seemed good, but wasn't wow. The cheese cake, as much as I had to say it, is probably the worst I have had. It was hard, stale, lacked taste, the softness was missing. Definitely didn't seem fresh either.  The chocolate one was better, but then again, didn't wow either. Since the freak shake on it's own is too heavy, we ordered somewhat lighter food. We ordered the crispy sriracha chicken tenders and peppered mutton stew. All items on the menu are designed for one. The chicken tenders were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, exactly how they said it would be and for that I am grateful. If it's fried, then I prefer the outer parts to have that crunch. (I liked even my bread to have a little crunch. A little lunatic, that way). The star of the day was the Peppered Mutton Stew. It was like a home-coming meal. After a long journey home, when your mommy dearest serves you fresh food cooked with her own hands. It evokes those kind-of feelings when you have the very first bite. Mixed with exotic veggies (So exotic that I was left guessing what it was, though all good!), served on a bed of brown onion pulav. On a side note, I love brown onion or what we call Biryan. It elevates the flavor of the rice. The mutton pieces were melt in the mouth. The mutton gravy was served on top of the rice itself which can go wrong if one is less or more. Here, the ratio is perfect. 

The more I be to places, the more I realize I should stick to my own gut feeling than go with what dozens of articles. I liked the place quite a lot, but I would avoid the freak shakes and rather dig into the food.

WHAT WE HAD - Choco Freak (Okay)

                           Freak Cake - Caramel (Below Average)

                           Crispy Sriracha Chicken Tenders (Yumness)

                           Peppered Mutton Stew (Yumness Galore)

DAMAGES - Rs 1500/- (Approx)

WHERE - DOH All Day.Ground Floor, Unit 2B, Trade View, Kamala City, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai