Team-BHP - A Guide: Eating out in Mumbai

STAX: Italian restaurant and bar at the Hyatt Regency near the international airport. What a place! Absolutely top notch interiors, superb ambience. I wonder how I've not been to this place for so long. It was quite empty for a Sunday night, which is surprising again. People in Bombay ought to love a place as gorgeous as this. Beats even China House in the decor department. Really swanky. The service was strictly average, It took me about 10 mins each time I wanted a drink refill and another 10 for the fella to get it. Very limited menu, and painfully pricey. Average portion is about 600 + taxes. Food didn't tickle the taste buds either. Maybe it was the impending bill making the difference. :)

Ok guys Im going to be back home in less than a month and I need some reccomendations. Has anything new opened up thats worth trying?

Iv found a couple of sites that should really help anyone looking at eating out in Mumbai

Bestofbombay.com - Your guide to nightlife in the city of Bombay

City Guide to Entertainment News and Reviews - WhereMumbai

Reviews of Bars, Night Clubs, and Restaurants in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane on burrp! Mumbai - also has sections for other Indian cities and allows user reviews which makes it better than the other sites.

Name/Location: Zaffran, Crawford Market

Average Cost: 200-300 a dish

Food: Zaffran is apparently centred around the use of Zaffran or Saffron though Im not too sure how much of it they actually use in their food keeping in mind how expensive it is. I usually order their chicken butter chicken, Murgh Zaffrani Tikkas, and some garlic naan and have to say that its some of the best mughlai Iv had. Their butter chicken has a lot of flavour and taste and the chicken tastes good too. The Tikkas are made of large chunks of chicken with the pieces seasoned to perfection and like the butter chicken are full of flavour and taste making dinner here an amazing experience. Their naans are good too and are really nice and soft. I heard a lot about their Raan and decided to order it but was left disappointed with it. I guess next time Ill just stick to the usual. Their deserts too were highly recommended including something called Khubani ka Meetha though it really wasn’t upto the same standards as the chicken. Overall Id say Zaffran is my favourite Mughlai restaurant in Mumbai beating restaurants like Khyber and Delhi Darbar that are usually considered to be the best.

Service: The service here is acceptable and the staff isn’t rude or anything though things can sometimes take a little longer than expected and when it gets busy it might get a little difficult for you to get the waiter’s attention. Overall though Id say the service is satisfactory at this price point.

Ambience: Zaffran is located near Crawford market and its often difficult to get a nice open space here. Zaffran is located on 2 levels and the lower level is usually closed so you might just think its closed. The seating upstairs doesn’t have any windows and that could feel a little claustrophobic for some though it isn’t all that bad to be honest. Zaffran is open till late so that’s an added bonus though the surrounding area gets a little shady as it gets late so It would be best to be a little careful. The restaurant isn’t that bad inside and is pretty decent with clean walls and doesn’t let you have too much to complain about though you really have to be flexible to use their bathroom that’s located under an flight of steps.

Conclusion: Id defiantly recommend Zaffran to anyone who loves Mughlai food. Its good food that’s relatively cheap with comfortable ambience and decent service. The best thing though is that its open till 4 in the morning and so its always good for a nice meal before hitting the sack.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJK (Post 666157)

Folks,
I'm reaching bombay in a couple of days and the one thing that I want to eat is Haldiram's Raj Kachori..now I know that there's no haldiram in bbay, I was wondering if any one of you know of some place that sells raj kachori as close to that..I'm hoping V-16 phaji could be of huge help here ;)

Ok so you are a Rajkachori fan. Then you have to eat it at Tewari Brothers at Opera House. Thats their main branch and while you're at it, dig into their motichoor laddus too. Take the king sized one home and eat it in small (or large) portions after microwaving it for about 15 seconds in the micro wave oven.....im heading to the kitchen right now:D
@ Khanak- I like to eat at Zaffran too, also since theres no place to serve you that kind of food so late at night. One thing though, i find their gravies a tad bit overspiced. Their Mutton Zaffrani biryani is to die for and if you have not had the "Chenna Payesh", a Bengali dessert there, you have wasted your time at Zaffran my friend. The desert is made up of mini rossogullas in a medium consistency condensed milk (much like our basundi) sweetened with the jaggery used to flavour Mishti Doi...Yum Yum. I always eat two portions.
Call/pm me when you are here, it will be good to meet up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by V-16 (Post 666216)

@ Khanak- I like to eat at Zaffran too, also since theres no place to serve you that kind of food so late at night. One thing though, i find their gravies a tad bit overspiced. Their Mutton Zaffrani biryani is to die for and if you have not had the "Chenna Payesh", a Bengali dessert there, you have wasted your time at Zaffran my friend. The desert is made up of mini rossogullas in a medium consistency condensed milk (much like our basundi) sweetened with the jaggery used to flavour Mishti Doi...Yum Yum. I always eat two portions.
Call/pm me when you are here, it will be good to meet up.

I think ill try that the next time I go there. I just got back a few days ago and would love to meet up. Ill PM you my number.

Iv been eating at a new place called Zenzibu the last couple of days. I had eaten here a while back at their Wadala branch and was pretty impressed. The Kanjurmarg branch was no different. I find the popcorn and drinks at multiplexs waaayyyy too expensive but you dont really have a choice and its tough to watch a movie without eating sometihng. Besides coke, popcorn and samosas arent exactly the healthiest things to eat. This is where Zenzibu comes in. The place is located in Imax and Huma Adlabs and delivers to your seat. Its really simple. Give them a call when you are at the theatre and tell them what you want and your seat number and around 15 mins later they send someone to your seat with the food. The food is really well packed and comes with everythng you will need from the right number of napkins to the right number of spoons and forks. The waiter even comes in some time later to find out if you are done with the meal and offering to pack up the leftovers for you to take home. The food itself isnt bad at all and really great VFM at around 150 a dish which includes a chicken and a rice. Compare this to 120 for a coke and popcorn and it starts making sence. The one thing however that I didnt like about the place is the overly complicated menu though the surd owner is more than happy to help you decide. The older brother runs the Wadala joint while the younger brother runs Kanjurmarg. I had this excellent Malaysian chicken curry there and some pretty decent chicken satay. The previous day however I ordered something else that literally set my mouth on fire so in case you dont like spicey food it would be a good idea to specify that. The Kanjurmarg branch was almost deserted when I went there though the Wadala branch was extremely busy when I went there when it just opened with the owner yelling at staff due to the increased pressure. Overall it offers the perfect combination - good food, great service and cheap prices. Although I love eating a proper meal during a movie I think Zenzibu is wasting itself by operating out of the theatres and would be much more appreciated as a standalone restaurant.

Just felt that there is not many sea food joints listed in this forum so
here is my contribution.
1) My Favorite is Jai hind (Malwani sea food) this is at
Parel( Not Lower Parel) Try their Sukha chicken Thali, 75
bucks Their Fried Bomil just melts in your mouth, also the
soulkadi is very fresh.this is a Value Meal place, they
also have small place at pali naka.
2) Harish (Manglorean Sea food) Its a bar and restaurant
(Ahem! Next To Deepa at Irla) The Surmai tawa fry. Fish
curry & rice also on sunday you can get a chicken kori roti

that is chicken curry on pieces of rice papad. Good Place
for a bunch of guys to stuff themselves
3) Trishna, (Kalaghoda, & Link road) Love the Hydrabadi
Rawas Tikka, the Squid Butter Garlic. Family Joint
4) Fresh catch This has (Karvar Cousine) Very small place
but has photograph of sachin tendulkar eating here, nice
food but please remember it is closed on Mondays.
In My opinion Mahesh is highly overated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kooldude (Post 607052)

Hey guys a friend of mine badly needs your help.He has a budget of 3000 and has 15 people coming to his birthday.SO could you all please suggest some good chinese or mughlai or continental place to eat in Bandra or Khar

Quote:

Originally Posted by danlalan (Post 607060)

3000:Shockked: 15 people. Ahhhhh u sure its not 30000??? not joking.
to feed 15 people at any good place is going to be impossible.
You sure 3000???

3000 per person ?? or in Total ?