The Little Door, Mumbai

THE LITTLE DOOR, Andheri

When I think the Little Door, the word that now springs up in my mind is - Worth it! I have been meaning to pay visit to this place for 2 years now but some how never did. Actually not some how but rather the fact that neither me nor my friends wished to travel so far along. But I realize that due to my food excursions, I have now started to check out places not just in what I would refer to places that fall in my comfort zone in terms of travelling. Also, thanks to my friends who put up with my demands of checking these different places out. But the three of us who checked this place out would give you the same feedback - WORTH IT! 

The one thing you need to do when you intend to visit this place is book a table. I don't know about other days but you will see quite a crowd for Sunday Brunches and many people standing around too. I do not like standing for long, hence I always prefer to pre-book wherever possible. Thankfully, I had done so here. The ambiance of this place is amazing, the perfect place to spend your Sunday afternoon. The entry is through a little blue door, which is simply CUTE! I wouldn't be able to describe it in a better word. Once inside, you will feel to be not in India but have been transported to some foreign locale. The colors will remind you of Greece while the ambiance of an early afternoon in France. This was for the out side seating area. Its even more happening on the inside. This is one of those rare places that is this happening on a Sunday Afternoon in terms of not just food or ambiance but music and crowd as well. You might even spot a celebrity or two! We did.:D 

There is some serious shortage in staff going on in restaurants. Many of the places I have paid visit to in recent times have had this same issue. The staff are not ill mannered or any of the usual problems you encounter but rather the problem lies with staff deficiency. There was just one guy who was almost handling all the tables outside and that's quite a lot as per me. There might have been a minimum of 25+ people seated outside and actually probably more. However, he was very interactive and tried his level best to give as good service as possible while juggling so many different people and listening to their constant callings. For service, I would give a personal ranking of 4 to this particular person only for being patient and for pasting on that smile every time he speaks to you. 

Since the service can get to be slow, how do you manage to not get irritated? Especially with some one like me? The dozens of board games they have kept to keep you entertained and engrossed right from Jenga, X and 0, scrabble. monopoly, UNO etc etc. There is also a Foosball table set and darts. However, unless and until you are here early, fat chance at the Foosball or with playing darts as you will find it occupied indefinitely and I am too polite (better word for shy and reserved) to actually get up and say to the people around me "Get going, give others a chance as well". They even have Karaoke but unless and until you are a few drinks down, I don't think I would have the courage to go up there and start screeching my lungs out especially after listening to everyone's renditions around me. So we made peace by occupying ourselves with the board games and do not really complain about it. More such places need to come up!

Food because that's what matters at the end of the day. They have handled their menu for the day in a smart way which would give them advantage of not wasting too much food and at the same time ensure you are satisfied with a gourmet experience. The brunch menu is set up with a salad and cold cuts counter which falls under the serve yourself and is unlimited. The same for the desserts. Besides this, you have a menu which comprises of 6-8 items in the breakfast section, another 6-8 in the starter section and yet another 6-8 in the main course. All you have to do is choose one from each and it will be served fresh and hot on your table. I think that's a pretty clean deal. Also, unlimited drinks where they have different packages - non-alcoholic, sangria and beers and the cocktails and shots. We went for the non-alcoholic because 2 of us don't drink at all and the third didn't want to drink alone. So we started with the salad-cold cuts-breads counter, and I am really glad we did. I have been to several places serving buffet but I missed these different varieties of breads, sausages, ham, cold pasta salads, greek salads, pita breads with hummus etc. It is my love for these things precisely which makes me realize I will always be an NRI at my core. People in Mumbai love their chaats, vada and samosa pavs. I like it but I don't love it. It is not something that I like having every other day like most other Mumbaikars running to and fro from office do. I look for Puffs, croissants and things that fall in this category. I have eaten Shawarma on an almost daily basis as an adolescent and never gotten bored. One Vada Pav and I am satisfied for the month. To put it in the way my colleagues say when I feel hungry - Isko angrezi wali bhook lagi hai - Chicken Puff and Burger wali. My point being you will enjoy this place even more so if you are a non-vegetarian, many many options! 

After being done with this section, we had placed order for starters and breakfast, I had chosen the Egg Shakshouka with Pav, Cottage Cheese Scrambled, Risotto Balls and a Pizza. Barring the Cottage Cheese, all else was par excellence, only I wished I had gone for the starters rather than the Egg. Not because there was anything wrong with it but rather two full fried eggs can prove to be very filling and I really wanted to try the non-veg starters but I didn't get to because I don't believe in wasting food (I try!) and after completing two courses I didn't think I would have room for the main course if I had a starter. So skipped it. The risotto balls were an instant hit on the table and I devoured it too. Reminds me that anything that is deep fried is just food for the soul! I think the Pizza was like a vegetarian's dream. It had all the vegetable possible and served on a thin crust is as good as it gets. If only, there was chicken in it but I sacrifice my love for chicken quite a lot due to my strictly vegetarian friends. Also, who gives option of Pizza in Starters? I thought they would be like mini sized ones but they weren't. For the main course we ordered two of the Champagne Spaghetti and one Gambas Ala Parilla. Translated? The Spaghetti is Mushroom Cream Sauce and Gambas is Prawns in Orange Chilli Sauce. The Spaghetti was bland and went untouched mostly. The Prawns was gobbled up by me with the butter parsley rice served along with. 

Another really appreciated point is the desserts they serve. Macaroons, mini cupcakes, brownies, mousse,dense chocolate cakes several varieties of chocolate cakes. It is a dessert heaven. They even give skittles!! Seeing skittles, my instant reaction was like OMG! They have skittles!! Skittles are your gems only they are not chocolaty, they are more chewy and a little like sour candy served in many flavors from Orange to Grapes to strawberry etc. In case you were wondering, something again that I grew up on and was equivalent to having say cad bury gems in India. I will always prefer a galaxy over a dairy milk. My NRI roots. They brownies served were the right amount of cruch and softness on the inside. These are the kind of brownies that are baked in my oven and they hold a special place in my heart and I have always considered them better than anything made outside ( My sister is a pastry queen, or rather wishes to be). Macaroons - I think I had like 6-8 of these. They would just pop and melt in your mouth. The mini cupcakes - red velvet & cookies and cream. Tell you a secret? I carried two in my hands to give it to my sister and she has since been craving for it. That's how good they make it. The mousse was not something I had a lot of as its too creamy for my preference. The chocolate cake - dark chocolate fudge and darker chocolate cake. Dream! Dream! Its safe to say that this is the only place that has a 110% satisfied me with their dessert section from the buffet. I have always otherwise found that the quality of the desserts to be better if the same thing was served a la carte which makes you feel a little disappointed. 

It is a place which deserves for you to have fun rather than the other way round. They have made it as inviting as possible. It is up to you to truly enjoy the experience this place could give. Put on your best attires (You will want to :P) and just for an afternoon you can pretend to be on a mini vacation as time stands still. 

WHAT WE HAD - YUMMINESS

DAMAGES - Rs 1050/- per Person for Food + Beverages

                   Rs 1450/- Per Person for Food + Alcohol 

                   Rs 1750/- Per Person for Food + Alcohol + Shots ( I think!)

WHERE -  The Little Door - Mumbai, B 31, Ground Floor, Shree Siddhivinayak Plaza, New Link Road, Andheri Lokhandwala, Andheri West, MUMBAI

KINARA DHABA, MUMBAI

I have visited this place after a really long time. It does not have a fancy set-up or even walls for that matter. Open Space all around is what sets it apart. One of my friends who had come in here for the first time, looked spellbound as well and I completely understand because I feel the same way even after being here 2-3 times before.

This is one place that makes me wish I had fancy camera to show the place off in all its glory, because the pictures that I take from my smart phone does no justice to it in any which way. Since, its a dhaba and evening, even though you can see the magic the place holds, the flashes of the camera are no where able to capture it. Some day! I will have a fancy camera and I will show off the beauty of this place.

There are swings and other play ground stuff for the kids, there is a mini bar, where you can also order fancy drinks or it could be brought to your table which ever you prefer.This place is huge and looks like a garden where people from all walks come and enjoy some good time. I have never unfortunately yet been to the set-ups they have made on roof tops, kind of like a tree-housy only it is not actually on a tree but made with bamboo shoots. This place is where you can enjoy hookah. I believe it has now been shut down though, didn't ask. It has place for couples as well as places to seat 20 at a time. You can see how awestruck I am of this particular place?!

The staff here is super excited to serve you and will make it a point that you don't have to list your hands to serve. You know since, I like, blog or have this not-so-fancy page, I tend to take photos of the food which can be super annoying to my friends and also for the staff because I always tend to either tell them that we will serve ourselves or I tell them to come back in 5 mins, in a very nice manner, mind you. I am super sweet :P Well, since the dishes were not so complicated, and easy to serve, I thought we would do it ourselves and told the guy we will help ourselves. Only as soon as I was done taking the photo and was just about to take the spoon and serve, the guy comes forward and is ready to serve. Now, that is a quality that I find to be missing many a times, even in fancy little places. My last review was about one such. In case you haven't read it yet, go read now! :P

I have been here a few times before and order had up til then been pretty standard. Something that i would order blindly as they had become my fast favorite but since this time around I had vegetarian, that too jain one and then another who only has chicken and no other kind of meat, it was quite a task ordering as I always end up ordering seekh kababs and other meats here rather than chicken. So ended up being quite a task even though they do have ample variety. For starters we ordered, paneer tikka and chicken Chicken Kalimiri Kabab. They had ensured that the Paneer Tikka had what-so-ever Non-jain in it, though I don't know what items are traditionally excluded from it, but I have got to say that it tasted da-yum good. The chicken kalimiri is on the spicier side and I actually thought, these hotel walas only say its spicy but it never actually is. But I was proved wrong here, as I had to gulp down quite a lot of water. That's no reason to not order it though, because spicy it might have been, but then I have always said ki jab tak aankh aur naak se pani na nikle tab taka mazaa kahan (Till your eyes and nose don't water from the spice, its not really spice :P ). We went for normal cold-drinks like 2 bottles of Thums-up rather than ordering some fancy mock-tail, must be a first, but then that gives you an actual dhaba feel. For the main course we ordered, Paneer Handi and Chicken Rara Masala. It had a typical punjabi touch to it, even though the paneer was jain and for one I wouldn't mind being jain if only they ate meat. Because I could give up on a few veggies, I can-not give up meat by any means. :D Both the dishes go perfectly with butter naan and naan you should order rather than Tandoori roti. Because their naan can be had all on its own over here as well, I believe.

All, this while all sorts of 90s and some catch current Bollywood favorites playing in the back ground is enough to make an evening rangeen!! They have singers in shifts or something I believe, because I had really liked the singer last time around as compared to the day's. Oh, you can also give requests and they will be sure to dedicate it to anyone you wish.

Oh while, I am still here, you should give a try to their boondi raita and mutton seekh Kabab masala, if you like red meat. That was part of my staple order previously. Also, at the entrance you will find, rabdi-jalebi, give that a shot too. It is one of the best I have had. Also, the meetha pan. And if like me, you want to fore-go the leafy part, just ask for the paan masala, they have that ready to serve as well. They also have several other small shops, so if you are here with the kids, you will find them pointing to lots of stuff in different directions. Come prepared! :D

WHAT WE HAD - Paneer Tikka ( Super wala Yum)

                         Chicken Kalimiri Kabab ( Spicy, have lots of water handy)

                         Paneer Handi - Jain ( Jain or Not, we loved it)

                         Chicken Rara Masala ( Yum)

                         Butter Naan (Soft and it can be had on its own, that good0

                         Cold Drinks

DAMAGES - Rs 1500/- (Approx) (We were 3)

WHERE - Kinara Dhaba, Mumbai Ahemdabad Highway, Ghodbandar Junction, Vasai, Mumbai