Salt Water Cafe, Mumbai

SALT WATER CAFE, Churchgate

A friend staying in the vicinity who was paying visit to the city was the reason we stepped in here. Fortunately, I had a meeting on the same day in the area and hence traveling was no trouble. Otherwise on a working day, I feel just too lazy taking that extra effort to travel from one corner of the city to another.

This would have been his last night in the city in his also otherwise short stay and he wanted to ensure that he well can end it on a high note (high on Alcohol ;) ) and I as always look to be high on food, so this was what we zeroed in on. 

I have always admired this place from afar for the times I would have to drop in for meetings but could never pay visit because of the same meetings and well, I like enjoying my meals and this is not a place for a quick bite. So finally the auspicious day when I made it here.

Wood makes up the theme of the place and in that it is classy. It would befall in the fine-dine category. A place where you can have long meaningful conversations. There is music playing in the background but it's not blaring as such, that if you are in the right company and are talking your heart out, you wouldn't even notice it. I didn't. The service is at par with fine dine qualities with the staff asking you how was the food, providing their recommendations and even telling you to try the apple salad which was served along with one of the dishes, which I definitely didn't have. (Not a huge fan of salad, not their fault much)

For the appetizers we had called for the Grilled chicken with Singh's chutney (An Indian Tinge to it) and Prawns calamari (Did I mention I have a thing for prawns?? :P). The grilled chicken came in skewers along with chutney as we like to call it. The chicken in itself was amazing, the sauce served didn't really do it for me at least. Didn't feel like the green pudina chutney, if that was what they were going for. The prawns were huge pieces, which I appreciate (at the price they charge :P). It had subtle flavors, almost like it was grilled, came with a dressing of coriander, lime and ajilo. Beautiful is what it was. They also serve complimentary bread before getting into the appetizers which consists of all types of bread along with butter on the side. Have it only if you will have room for the real food, else this will feel you half up and yes it sort of goes well with most dishes your order. For the main course we had ordered only pan seared salmon, mainly because I was the only one eating (70% of the food including the bread was consumed by moi). My friend believes in having late late lunch. This is my first time having salmon, had always heard a lot on it, but I have never wanted to spend the money on it (priced at 1000 rs for one filet piece in a restaurant is over priced for and also a little not so affordable) I have also been a little wary as I am very picky with seafood except for prawns. However, since my friend said he would finish it off in case I didn't take liking to it, we ordered for it. We had asked for medium rare, however we felt it was well done. The fish tasted good, but your taste buds need to be developed for it. I almost liked it, only for the part where in the end there is a certain bitterness to it. My friend tells me that generally isn't the case which is why I think it was well done. They had given an apple and barley salad on the side, not a fan of either barley or apple, was not my cup of tea. 

I had actually not ordered a heavier main course for two reasons - I had a lot of the complementary bread and I wanted to have cheesecake!! The cheesecake didn't just look pretty, but tasted extremely well too. This one again was on the lighter side. Not as light as the Japanese ones, though I haven't had the privilege to have that yet. Their cheesecake is served warm, with cookie crumbles on the side. 

This place is date night material. Also, if you feel like living it up, order their Manhattan from the cock-tail section. My friend who has gone back to the Gulf, is still missing it. 

WHAT WE HAD - Grilled Chicken (Yumness)

                           Prawns Calamari (Yumness Personifiied)

                           Pan Seared Salmon (First Time and Yum!)

                           Warm Cheese Cake (Heaven on a plate)

                           Iced Tea

                           Manhattan X3 (My friends raves of this)

                           + Complimentary Bread Basked or sack (Yum)

DAMAGES - Rs 6600/- (With Taxes)/ Rs 5400 (Without Taxes)/ Rs 3000- 3500 (Without alcohol)

WHERE -Salt Water Cafe., 82, Nagin Mahal, Veer Nariman Road, Opp. Gaylords, Churchgate, MUMBAI

Papacream, Mumbai

PAPACREAM, Churchgate

This place has become quite the rage garnering an average review of 4 at Zomato Quite High. For this reason, more than anything else I had to check the place out. Sooner rather than later. As some places are best to step foot in when there is still a FAD for it. What is the Fad you ask? Nitrogen Ice-creams, which is churned out in front of you. What's Nitrogen Ice cream? I honestly didn't know before I took the efforts to google it and find out what the rage behind Papacream is. It's just another cool method of making ice-cream and is fun to watch, especially if you are obsessed with Instagram and showing off to the world at large. I know I am. For this reason and after going through several reviews, I realized I had to be here before the craze dies down.

It's a quaint little place situated very nearby to Eros Cinema, so you could walk in here after a movie, or you could travel all the way from BKC for it, like I did. It's as per your convenience. White Varnished Walls with Pastel Colors - Yellows,blues & Pinks makes the place pleasant on the eyes and inviting too. I should give a mention to their display windows which had these cycle wheels with little mason-type jars hanging from them, which automatically grabs attention. Stepping in you will see more of these cycle wheels around, even in their stand alone bar-stools (for lack of a better word!). In short, the place is done up like the dreams o a 16 year old teenage girl. Fancy, sober and pretty. 

There is not much to say on the service since it falls somewhere between a self service and being served on you table. You place the order, are billed for it and ask to take a seat, and it is brought to you, and there is no other interaction between you and the restaurant staff.

What are my two cents on the much hyped ice-creams? They are good. But not great. We went for the Jumbo Doughwich, the Red-Velvet and the Spicy Guava Sorbet. My recommendation of the lot? The Spicy Guava Sorbet. The Jumbo Doughwich, is definitely a yes too, but only if you are addicted to chocolate, and I am not. I like sweet, and I like chocolate but after a point, I would just tire of it. Otherwise the doughwich makes for a great treat for chocolate lovers. and mind you be ready to get down and dirty with it. My sister, had chocolate sauce, the doughnut and everything in between smeared all over her face. There is no other way around it. The disappointment? The red velvet. I was highly confused between the Mexicano and the Red Velvet, but I decided to choose traditional flavor at-least this time. After all, its tried and tested. I wasn't particularly feeling adventurous. Wrong, I was. Why I say this is simply because what is the most important ingredient in red-velvet cakes/cookies or any other red-velvet you can think of? The Red Velvet! This was missing here. Majorly missing. There were crumbles of red velvet cake, but that's about it. Where is the ice-cream??!! I expected red-vet to be served in some form. A huge disappointment in that. Cream Cheese Frosting and cream cheese ice cream, the ice-cream itself had the texture of a flavored yoghurt and less of an ice cream. All in all didn't feel worth the money I paid for it and I had come all the way from BKC for this. I would really request and appreciate if they worked on this particular item on their menu. Red Velvet has to have Red Velvet. Last but not the least, the Spicy Guava Sorbet. It redeemed the day would be an understatement. After the debacle with the red velvet, and the fact that I am not particularly fond of Guava in the form of juices, (Fruits- Yes!) I had my doubts regarding this one. Turned out, I was completely off the mark on the day. This might be the only reason why I still want to give the place another shot and yes I will! Please restore my faith, I had already recommended this place to quite a few without even paying visit beforehand. (They say they like!)

Say Yes, to the Spicy Guava Sorbet and the Delish Doughwich, but a big fat NO to the Red Velvet. Pay visit to the new fad in town - Nitrogen Ice Cream. Drop in at Papacream! 

WHAT WE HAD - Jumbo Doughwich (Big Fat Yum!)

                           Red Velvet (Where was the Red-Velvet :/)

                           Spicy Guava (Two more scoops please!)

DAMAGES - Rs 500/- (Approx)

WHERE - Papacream, 18, Cambatta Building, J.T. Road, Churchgate, MUMBAI

CAFE SUNDANCE, MUMBAI

Some places are more hype than anything else. This place is one such example. I wonder why I have to write about the place, if I have stated what I just did. But I gotta do. So that you, my dear friend can avoid the same circumstance.

This was one of the top contenders in my Wish List and now I wonder why. I would always pass by the place, as it is located right next to Eros Cinema in Churchgate but because the place is rather on the high end on the price list, I had kept putting it off and wanted it to be a special occasion or something of the like, when I did step in here. Special occasion it was, as it was a close friend's b'day and their treat. This place was not planned for the day though, but because the place that I had originally wanted to go to was House-Full and had a long waiting list, this was the place that sprang to mind.

After reading some rave reviews on the world wide web, I was almost excited to finally set foot in here. However, upon reaching here, all the internal excitement that had slowly started to built up? was punctured like a balloon is when someone puts a pin through it. "Phussss". Not only because the interiors have nothing special, its classy, but something felt amiss, like they could have done so much more with the place. It is situated in a prime location yet it felt bland. Or Probably their idea was to let the Fast Food and other in-between food meet Fine-Dine. But it didn't go right. I would have put that out of sight as well, if the servers were even a little bit warm and welcoming. Service being slow is one thing, but it was like they were hardly bothered and after calling upon several times, some one would show-up, so much so that in the end we went down and paid at the counter itself rather than at the table. The fault could partly also be that they had just 1 server on the upper Floor atleast and he seemed least interested. A proper training sessions is required and with that increase the strength of the servers. Like, I have said time and again there is probably nothing that my mom cannot whip up, so If I step outside, I am not saying treat me like a princess ( Though, I wouldn't mind :P) but atleast treat right. It is one of the Four P's or something of the Service Industry or something similar, remember it from my marketing lectures. Atleast I remember part of it. I hope my professors don't mind that I have already forgotten half of it. :P

The Food? Good. Really Good. I actually enjoyed it, have no complaints on the . I don't know if it is because it is a very classy fine-dine, but I like eating, goddamn it! Please increase the servings! I don't mind paying even if I was not on the particular day. I have never understood what is with Fancy restaurants and serving sizes. Its like they are inversely proportional, the more fancy they say they are, the less you find on your plate. Paying what we paid for that much didn't seem worth it especially since i still had room in my stomach, and I can't imagine my friend's condition as they have a bigger appetite than me. Probably something to do with being a guy, or not. 

We started off with starters which was Grilled Prawns, which has just 5 less than medium sized Prawns. I know Prawns comes expensive, but wherever else I have been to, the serving was not as small as it was here. The Prawns did taste good, and were cooked perfectly as per me. Even the sauce that came along with it was great. Just the quantity was on the disappointing end. Not feeling dejected, we ordered half a dozen sliders, where you can choose any 6 of your choice and is served with Potato Wedges. This was probably the only part of the meal, that I personally felt was not a total rip-off. Even though, sliders are supposedly tiny, this felt filling to an extent even though it was unexpected. The Potato Wedges that came along with it however could have been better. We had a beef, chicken and Mutton Variant each. Next we went for some Pasta - The Aglio Olio Pasta which is creamy and even though my friend was like he has had better. I was not totally disappointed. Though, I do think it could have been more creamier as it felt it to be a little dry. Again, the quantity was too less. I didn't have the courage to order more as 1) somebody else was paying the bill and 2) somewhere it didn't feel worth it. We had also ordered 2 mock-tails to wash down the meal, and this I guess was the only reason why I felt even a little bit full. I did like the fancy jar they served my drink in. 

Also, if you drop in here, and if you have a huge appetite, give a go to their -THE SUN DANCE SASQUATCH", apparently if you finish it, they will pay. I know this sounds rude, but with the sizes of their serving, my gut feeling says that it shouldn't be too difficult to finish it off. 

By all means visit the place, but stick to their Burger Menu. I wish I had! Also, only if you really feel generous enough to splurge without a second thought!

WHAT WE HAD - Grilled Prawns 

                         Half A Dozen Sliders ( BBQ Chicken, Spicy Lamb Mince, Tenderloin - YUM)

                         Aglio Olio Pasta (Could have been better)

                         Virgin Mojito 

                         Love Dream ( Loved the jar & the drink) :P

DAMAGES - Rs 2400/- (Approx) and still hungry

WHERE - Café Sundance, 42, Eros Cinema Building, Maharishi Karve Road, Churchgate, Mumbai

THE TEA CENTRE, MUMBAI

Let me begin by telling you I am a lucky lucky girl! (Touch-wood!). This meet was with a friend who I hadn't seen in some time and he was treating me for a belated birthday of sorts. I have been here before but on my insistence, since I had never really tried the food here, he fulfilled the wishes of the b'day girl. And I am glad for not listening to him for the suggestions he kept giving. Because yes, the teas here are good. Bu I hadn't expected the food to be good to.

On arrival I found my friend waiting for me with a present in tow ( That I didnot expect and overwhelming it always is :) ). I should mention that this place was first introduced to me by this very same person. Coming down to business, which is me talking about this place. This place is very seriously, one of the gems that Churchgate or I should say Mumbai has to offer. They have managed to maintain their standards over the years. This place always reminds me of the Victorian era. I imagine many a times that maybe years ago this place might have been a dance hall for the British where they held their oh-so-sophisticated parties or whatever they were called back then. The high ceilings, the walls, the seating arrangements, the colors, everything reeks of it. Even the servers are dressed so. And the little bell that is kept on each table for when you want to bring attention to the server towards you. (I didn't know this factor, till I picked up the little bell and starter ringing it and my friend made these huge eyes and laughed :P).

The food? Lets talk about the tea first. We tried new teas which is the Irish tea and apple butter-tea. Yes, there is such a thing! The Irish tea feels more like a dessert drink which is warm, milky and creeeammyy. Perfection. The apple butter tea on the other side is good to keep you warm and fuzzy. Reminded me of soup in certain ways, which is not a bad thing let me tell you. We didn't order much because we wanted to go out and have some other stuff too. So we ordered a pasta which was down right delectable and also mushroom toast. Special mention to the mushroom toast. Why you ask. I had seen this photo on zomato of this but didnot know what's the name. So I actually carried a photo and showed it to the server and asked him please tell me what this ( Beware! That's the kind of diner I am. So be prepared to be embarassed! :P)

Visit this place when you want to just spend some relaxed time. Because this place is better than a lot of coffee shops you would have ever been to. But remember to not carry your laptops because this place is to talk and make conversation and strictly not work. I am mentioning this because the first time I had been here was work related and I just hated that I had to discuss work. :P

WHAT WE HAD - Irish Tea (Dessert in a tea, Yum)

                         Apple Butter-cup tea (Warm 'n' Fuzzy, Feel-good)

                         Pasta (Full of cheese, Yum's the word)

                         Mushroom Toast ( cheese n mushroom - Yum yum yum!)

DAMAGES - I seriously have no idea, since I was not allowed to see the bill but my guess would be Rs 800 (Approx)

WHERE- Tea Centre,Resham Bhavan, 78, Veer Nariman Road, Churchgate ( Its very near to churchgate Station)