Koyla, Mumbai

KOYLA 

Look who is back??!!! After a really long and uncalled for hiatus, I is finally back in action, or rather back to eating, not that I was not eating before, but it was mostly restricted to eating at home, and though I have no complaints regarding it, because Ramadan is a blessed month in more ways than one. All the fasting seems so worth it when you finally sit down for Iftar, even though that is not the objective behind the fasting, it is an added advantage. So now that the festivities and all the family gatherings have been put aside, I have once my resumed my passion for trying out what is good out there. 

I had originally wanted to go to this place, or any place because of the sheeshe factor, now that the the ban his been lifted on it, how can you not??!! But alas, even though we did end up visiting the place, we had no Hukkah, don't ask me why. The table had been pre-booked and unfortunately sheesha is served in closed quarters, and not at the roof-top where we were seated. So we had to with a very long face let go of our desire for the night. But in all else, it was a wonderful-wonderful night. Having friends has that effect, I believe, In fact having friends and ambiance is mostly the saving grace for this place.

The place though located on a roof-top you have to cross many a barriers to get there, including its kitchen, one point that should be given to them is that the kitchen does not look unhygienic, since you pass through it, everything is in view and the many horrors that generally are said about kitchen of most restaurants, does not fall true for this place at least, not the cleanest, but you know that they have taken care that you are not going to fall sick the next day, not that I generally do, but never the less, you get the idea. However, taking the small elevator and the many steps and everything, is not exactly welcoming either, if there was an elevator that opened directly to the place, would have been nicer, but that has not stopped people from visiting here before.

The ambiance, is where the USP of this place actually lies. The exclusive open curtained seatings, reminds you of dining at the shores of sandy beaches and for effect, they actually have sand on your feet, I realized this when I took my shoes off and was wondering where did the sand come from on my feet, but no complaints as it actually shows the efforts they have gone into to give some authenticity to the place.

Lets talk about the service, nothing to write home about, very honestly but I would give their staff points for compelling you to try a dish which you probably didn't have in mind. I somewhere felt it to be a strategy to increase sales. Why I say this is because, the dishes that we were originally ordering, was of comparatively lower range (as if, there is anything cheap in places like these. :P), but our server was intent on getting us to order, the dishes as he recommended which obviously were marked higher on the pricing scale. If it happened with one, I would take that to be a special, as the server said so, but all? A little difficult to digest, but never the less we actually ordered what he recommended, so I would say that it is a good strategy. Other than this, the service is not even at par because except for taking your orders, the staff is not interested in anything else, and you would hardly get a smile your way and will not customize your order looking into eating preference to a degree of 1%, so that was something that irked me, but not enough to not enjoy the place as such. As I have mentioned, the USP of this places lies in its ambiance, and the sheesha parlour, The price you pay for a decent place, in this city! :P

Coming to the food, which is what this is all about, we began with 4 mock-tails, this place does not serve alcohol ( but serves sheesha! quite the irony, but then go to the gulf and you will see sheesha places at every nook and corner, people smoking broad day light, with kids even running around but alcohol is served but restricted.) We started off with Nawabi Paneer Tikka and Nawabi Chicken Kabab. The Paneer Tikka is Paneer Tikka, so it has to be good. The Nawabi Chicken however, with a stuffing of Capsicum, peppers, onion etc is something I wish I could make at home (I am sure my mom, the super cook can! :P). I love things made in Tandoor, on coals, I believe it adds extra flavour to any food. Even to Gravies, you have got to try my mom's home made Chicken Angaare, to believe it, or even the Butter Chicken for that matter. Since this place is specialized in ethnic cuisine, it fares well. For the main course we ordered, Paneer LazeeZ and Murg Chatpata or the other-way round, I don't quite remember. The one thing that I do appreciate is that the gravies varied in flavor and taste. One thing that is a disappointment in most restros is that the flavor is exactly the same whether you order a kadhai, masala, tikka masala, angaare, lazeer, chatpata or any other fancy name you can come up with. Again, I would mention that even though the food was good here, for the price you pay, you can probably visit Gulshan Dhaba in Bhandup, but then like I said, you pay here for the name that it carries, for the food and mostly for the ambiance. In the end, you will not feel disappointed. My friends however complained that the photos don't come out great here due to the lighting, I on that front have to say, that the lighting is perfect, it is just a place where low-lighting plays a huge role. In the bread that we ordered to go with the gravies, the roomali roti was the best. I have a soft corner for roomali roti, and nothing can quite beat it. The Cheese Kulcha they served comes a close second, and if you have just one cheese kulcha, it is equivalent to your meal, if your appetite matches mine in anyway.

You don't need a reason to be here, but to be here. This place already holds a name, and even though you might fixed reviews about the place, this place is still a must visit, for its ambiance. After all, sitting at a roof-top restaurant in the midst of Colaba with a view of the sea on a non-rainy day, is quite something. 

PS - Special mention for the candle lit in the tomato ( I didn't know you could do that!). Also for their mint-curd chutney, which is very difficult to find and is so common in Pakistani restaurants in Bahrain.

PPS - When? When will that day come when I have room for dessert, I stuff myself so much that even though I always make plans to order dessert, but 80% of the time have to drop the idea. :(

WHAT WE HAD - Nawabi Paneer Tikka (Yum!)

                           Nawabi Chicken Kabab ( Yum x10)

                           Paneer Lazeez (Yum! Yum!)

                           Murg Chatpata (I want more!)

                           Cheese Kulcha (Have only if you are a cheese-lover!)

                           Roomali Roti (My all time favorite)

                           Butter Naan (Soft! and yum!)

                           Passion Fruit Mojito (strictly Okay)

                           Bailey's Shake (Milky & Creamy)

                           Orange & Raspberry Ice Bomb (Good enough)

                           Koyla Thunder (Avoid!)

DAMAGES - Rs 3000/- Approx

WHERE - Gulf Hotel, HNA Azmi Marg, Colaba, Mumbai