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

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

THE UNITED SPORTS BAR & GRILL, MUMBAI

I was a little apprehensive of entering into a sports bar, since, I am not much into watching sports and with the entire FIFA WORLD CUP going on, I was sure the people I was going with would be glued to the screens and I simply can't stand that. If you had to watch tv, sit in your homes, for God sake. Sounds rude but from a non-football fan, what else do you expect. Yes, I am such a girl. :)

But to my relief, we didn't sit anywhere near the screens and since it was noon time, no LIVE matches. whoopeee!! 

I will be honest and say that the main attraction to me was that this place would be a little more economical than anywhere else.On an orindinary day, it will come in the slightly more expensive range, but if you go for the brunch menu, it doesn't burn a hole in you pocket and seemed good enough to me. The reason was I had always wanted to visit the place but sports bar on the expensive side would always make me drop going to the place. But I finally made it.

The place is done up in red and black, which I have got to say complimented my dress well which I was hoping for (:P)! But honestly, I actually quite liked the place, ample and spacious seating, I loved the various clocks displaying timings of differerent countries around the world. They also have a pool table which I had my eyes on but was almost all the time occupied by others, so well, better luck next time.

Talking about the food, whenever I generally hear the word buffet, I think sub-standard quality because of past experiences. When they serve you the a la carte meal, the quality would be fine but the minute they serve the same thing in the buffet something goes amiss. But to my relief and much joy, this place actually has a quality meal. I don't quite remember all the names and plus, they do probably change the buffet items , so would be pointless me telling you about what I had. But I have got to tell you that me, who is a no-greens eating girl, loved even the salads they had put up. Everything was fresh and I could definitely go back here for their buffet menu because it was so so worth it! A live Past counter is also put up with varieties of bread for you to enjoy. The end was just perfect too. even though my friends had got a cheesecake for the celebration, the dessert these people served gave it tough competition. And that is something! Because nothing rates higher to me than cheesecake. Don't ask me what it was but it was heaven - brownies, whipped cream, ice cream and soemthing else and that something else was what brought out the flavors to just another level which I couldn't figure out to what it was.

So on a weekday or a weekend, you want to just chill, enjoy some good company,then head for the brunch menu at this place. I declare myself a FAN! 

WHERE - The United Sports Bar and Grill, Ghatkopar (W)

DAMAGES - Rs 461/- per person (incl. of taxes)

P.S. - Didn't take too many pics this time. so probably couldn't do that much justice to the place as I always want to show the viewer what the place is like a little bit.