24/7 Cafe, The Lalit

I don't even know if I should write a review on the place. I love food but have never stepped foot in a 5 star rated Hotel or anywhere near it. Hence, the apprehension. Can some one like me who is not even anywhere near a real food blogger have the sense/back ground to comment on restaurants like these??!! My answer is actually Yes, I might not identify each and every distinctive flavor, but I know what is good and is what not and I even understand my limitations in what forms my likes and my dislikes and obviously my love for food justifies it all!! :)

I know for many of you out there, this must be a norm, but for some one who has had a middle class up bringing, this is a huge deal. It ideally shouldn't be. But human nature is such that it makes one feel so. Also, it becomes a celebratory moment for us, so to the people on the other side, you would never understand this Cinderella moment we go through. Pros & cons to everything.

Well, I think we might be the only ones who had gotten up on an early Saturday morning to get up for a breakfast like this as everyone else that I observed were over night guests who probably get complimentary breakfast. I wish some one would give me complimentary breakfast. The service is top notch with the waiting staff eager to serve and make you as comfortable as possible. The ambiance is a cross over between a fine dine and a coffee shop. Classy yet keeps the casualness intact.

As soon as we were seated, we were asked what would our preferences be in beverages - freshly squeezed juice, tea, coffee etc. I went for the tea because well, my mornings don't begin without a hot cup of chai and my friend and sister went for fresh orange juice. The tea was just about average, I still prefer cutting or the chai that is made right at my home. I stand by the fact that nothing like road side ka chai. Five Stars, you need to learn how to do that. There is nothing quite like that chai. We started off with the bake and cheese section. croissants of all types, cold cuts, quiches and pies, crackers and different types of cheese - blue, brie and other fancy names. My pick? Everything but the cheese. I guess I am not a fancy cheese person after all. I prefer them cooked maybe, but then my cheese tastings have been limited to cheddar, mozzarella, cream cheese and the cheese slices that we get. So I would prefer sticking to that. For a person who loves food, my palette I realize is very restricted. I liked the cold cuts and the croissants, the croissants where so soft that I actually asked my friend, "I wish I had a bigger handbag, I would steal some". Well, technically its not stealing, I am allowed to have as many as I want :P The quiche which has a soft egg filling with some spinach maybe, was another favorite of mine from the spread. I thought I would save the best for the last, but I am tempted to and so I will. The best item off the menu and the one that over shadowed it all was the French toast. I am not exaggerating when I say it is the best french toast I could ever have had - so good that words fail and I just want one right now! The minute we were done with our breakfast and stepped out, that was the thing on all our minds and by evening we were craving for some more. The bread so soft and buttery, just the right amount of sweetness and the berry compote, let me just say it gives competition to my cheese cake addiction. I don't have an addiction to french toast, just the one from Lalit.

No that's not it, there is more. From the Indian section, we had the matar paneer with Gobi Paratha - Paneer was delicious, how can it not be, the matar however were not well cooked. The gobi paratha, frankly, I have had better. We also ordered the masala dosa and some idli sambhar, both served piping hot on our table. The sambhar is one of the best I have had, the idlis soft and melt in the mouth. the dosa, a master piece. There was fried rice as well, which I had, because I can never not have rice if given the option, but there was nothing complimenting the fried rice, no sauces, no gravy of any types, so felt a little lonely on its own. They had a juice bar in place, which had cranberry juice, mixed fruits, some cold coffee as well. We had 2 glasses of cold coffee each. Again, at the cost of sound cheap and middle class (I am! :P), I wish I had a bottle to pour in and carry back with me. My major disappointment came from the English Breakfast selection - the beans, too sweet and under cooked, the mushroom had no absolutely no flavor and seemed to have been boiled and kept there. The sausages I liked. The scrambled eggs also, seemed more eggs boiled together and mashed, not all that appetizing. They had chicken gravy of some sort, I fail to recall the name at the moment, roasted chicken with vegetables and that is the item that is to be remembered. Maybe it would go well wit fried rice? I don't know. We were nearing our limits by now and who wouldn't. There was just too much food. So for our final round, we went for the dessert selection from their bakery - muffins, donuts, cinnabons. We shared these as we couldn't have had all that on our own. Plus way too much sweet for a person like me. Yep, that's it. That's all we had. Not much right?!! I wish I had a bigger appetite. But as I have always said, its an ongoing between battle for me - love for food and attempting to stay on the thin side. Well, at least the not fat side.

WHAT WE HAD - Everything Possible. Special Mention for the French Toast. Nothing like it!

DAMAGES - Rs 1000/- per Person

WHERE -  24/7 Restaurant, The Lalit Mumbai., The Lalit Mumbai, Sahar Airport Road, Andheri East, Mumbai,Chakala, Mumbai