The Flying Butler, Mumbai

THE FLYING BUTLER

I have had many vegetarian thalis, and very delicious ones at that and my favorite till date is the Bombay Thali from Vrindavan from Bahrain. I think I have literally grown up in that place, every Thursday night, after grocery shopping, this is the place we would head to. I would hardly have been 7 or so then and now I am almost 25, and there is still no Thali as good as that one. Well, I am not here to right about Vrindavan though, but if you happen to be visiting Bahrain, do not miss this place. 

I had always wondered that why don't people serve Non-veg Thalis. There are so many varieties when it comes to Vegetarian ones - Gujarati, Rajasthani, Punjabi, Bambaiyya, South Indian and so many others. Yet, I have not come across a place which served Non-veg Thalis and I don't mean from your local roadside restaurant. Then one day, it was actually in Bombay Times that I found a small feature on the Flying Butler, I then did not know it served Non-veg Thalis, and it was the name that intrigued me and at first I thought it would be one of the many quirky restaurants that are slowly catching on. Then, I saw they actually do a wide range of Thalis and in Non-Veg too!! What next but to Zomato it and there it was there were so many varieties from Malwani to Goan to Hyderabadi to Mughlai and all I could do was drool reading about the content of them all. Well, what do you know, I just had to visit this place and the cherry on top was it is situated in Viviana Mall, Thane. Makes me wonder, how I never actually spotted it. 

It was on a movie night that I landed-up here and as it always is this was not my original destination on the particular night but being a weekend, and every where else being house-full, a minimum wait of 45 minutes and a movie to be seen, I had to find an alternative and then I remembered this place is also right here in Viviana and after a little bit of search arrived here. They had a waiting too but only of 15 minutes and that much could do. So we patiently waited to be called in. Even though the waiting period was short as such, the one thing that annoyed me a little, was that even though we had come in first, they let a group of four go in first as there was a table of 4 that had first become available and even though it seems justified, it irked me, if I was there first, they should have arranged for a table for us first. In fact, it was after 2 groups that we were asked to come in. I think that is something they should work upon. No one likes to wait but if some one can break the line and go in before you do, its nothing short of a crime. 

Even though, I can make sense as to why they named the place the flying butler, when you have a look inside and see the decor of the place, I don't really know the connection with the menu. I mean can you imagine a Rajdhani playing Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift? Some thing just does not connect right? So even though it makes for interesting decor, I did not understand as to why the place has been designed like the interiors of an air craft and the little windows made up giving glaces of different cities across the globe. Then they serve you Traditional Indian Thalis. Some thing just doesn't match up. Another thing is how crammed up it really is inside. The one thing that generally puts me off is how closely done the seating arrangements are, and here they were so close, that you would feel like you are sitting in a crowded food court on a weekend at Peak Hour, where you are forced to share a table with 4 other groups because its public space and you can't do anything about it. But then I did not want that and that is exactly why I chose to sit in the comforts of a restaurant and not the food court. 

Forgetting all else, I told myself, concentrate on the food because searching for places to eat and then all-the-waiting around had made me a little bit hungry. Little bit because even though I had a heavy lunch and more than that I tend to eat a light dinner. Light does not mean fewer calories, it translates to an omelette-pav, sandwiches, kabab-pav, momos, road-side chinese etc. The quantity might be on the lower side than a full dinner, but the calories I guess on the higher end. My only rule is to not eat after 8.30. Atleast, on most days. So at ten in the night, a thali can be quite heavy. But I could hear the little rats moving around my stomach and so I was determined, I am going to have one whole Thali, even though my friend did suggest that we could share one and order some thing else as well on the side. Instead, we ordered one french fries to start with and then Two Thalis. We ordered for a Tandoori Chicken Thali and a Hyderabadi Prawns Thali. One more thing that most people don't know is that I actually like Mutton, Prawns more in comparison to chicken unless and until its like chicken chilly or Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Lollipop and the likes. Does it make sense? Even if it doesn't who cares :P . The Tandoori Chicken Thali consisted of one whole Tandoori Leg, one boiled and lightly fried egg (I love eggs!), Mughlai style Chicken Gravy, Green Chutney, Butter Milk, Tandoori Paratha and Mughlai Biryani. Everything on the Plate actually tasted good except for r the Biryani, I think some a light Matar Pulav to go with the gravy would have been a better option. I am a Mughal, you see and we love our Biryanis and if you can't make it quite like that, then Matar Pulav is easy to make, you can-not go wrong with it and most of is Yum! The Hyderabdi Prawns Thali had a Hyderabadi style prawns gravy and Prawns Sukha, I liked the Prawns Sukha more in comparison to the gravy. I am craving some now infact.The rest was almost the same - roasted papad, fried egg, Hyderabadi Style Biryani and Raita. Well, the Thali though was heavy and extensive, some part of me felt, that the taste had some thing lacking. My opinion honestly is that we should have ordered either just one thali or even if we did order two, it should have been some thing different, because Mughal & Hyderabdi come from the same roots. I should have ordered, Malvani or Goan. Next time. Also, I will remember, next time to not order any starters before a thali. Else, I will not be able to finish a thali and also I would prefer going here on an empty stomach, on a really empty and I could eat a dinosaur kind of hunger. 

If I had to rate this place over-all, I would give it a 3 on 5. This place is one of those rare places that made it difficult for me to judge because I did not not like it, but then I didn't completely like it either. Its a place, which I wouldn't visit again and again, but I would remember it and want to re-visit at some point. Also, a place where you should know where their specialty lies when it comes to all the different thali they have on their extensive menu card. 

WHAT WE HAD - French Fries (Regular)

                           Tandoori Chicken Thali (Yum!)

                           Hyderabadi Prawns Thali (Not a Big Fan)

DAMAGES - Rs 1300/- (Approx, we were 2)

WHERE - The Flying Butler, Shop 76/77/78/78 A, Ground Floor, Viviana Mall, Majiwada, Thane West, MUMBAI