Quattro Ristorante

"One of the finest places in the city"- that's what I had heard about Quattros from a lot of people around me & so i decided to dine there one Sunday evening with a group of 10 people!! And i wasn't disappointed, plus was worth the wait..

If you're looking for some good Italian and Mexican cuisines, vegetarian food and good ambiance, Quattros is the place to go. A place at par with Little Italy, it has made quite a good reputation  amongst all the Gujus  and vegetarians in the city!! The setting is very contemporary and elegant, giving a very European feel. 

Well, the Ristorante has given a lot of thought to the menu which consists of a variety of soups & appetizers, a wide array of salads, pizzas, pastas, risottos and desserts. Every dish we tried here was amazing and all of us couldn't get enough of it. I'm one of the persons who likes to experiment with different cuisines and dishes, so we ordered different dishes starting with soups right up til the desserts. We had ordered the Minestrone soup which had chunks of vegetables and pasta in it. It tasted quite nice. Appetizers such as Bruschettas and Crostini della Casa were topped with Garlic sauce, sundried tomatoes, bell peppers, cheese, etc etc..were a delight. It gave a good taste with lots of cheese on it. 

The thin crust pizzas are baked the Traditional Italian way in a wood -fired (brick) oven. The taste of the pizzas  (which is very good)  is very different from the ones you usually have at the Dominos and Pizza Huts of the town. The pizzas were baked to perfection. To top it all, they say that they use special Italian tomatoes for the authentic taste, which I apparently am ready to believe owing to the fabulous taste. Here we had the Margherita (plain mozerella cheese with olive oil) and the Mediterranean Pizza (just for the sundried tomatoes, which i really like). The pastas were a perfect blend of rich cheese and sauce. We had the Primavera followed by risottos which was again creamy and the taste of the typical Italian herbs was perfect. Just imagine how the Fondue turned out..!!! The plate was wiped out in 2 mins..!!  

The Mexican Mainfare comprises of Burritos, Quesadillas and a few more dishes, were great too. The condiments added were simply spicy, creamy and acidic for which the Mexican cuisine is known worldwide.

As you'll know that I have a deep love affair with desserts and chocolates, I couldn't have left the restaurant without having tried atleast 2-3 of them. What actually tempted me more was, as soon as I entered the Ristorante they have showcased all the desserts available there. The showcasing was soo tempting that you're bound to save some space for the delicious looking desserts (A good strategy used to have the customers stay back for desserts too!! #JustSaying). We all shared a Tiramisu which was yuummmmmm. It had the right amount of coffee, and was topped with whipped cream and powdered coffee. The picture on the right is the Tiramisu. We also indulged in chocolate fudge with vanilla ice-cream which had a chocolate made cage around it. I wouldn't want to spoil the fun for you if you choose to try this invade this place. 

One must visit this place especially the pure veggies. The ambiance is elegant and good. the services so far so good. The food taste & quality- I give a thumbs up. There's lots more to this place which I havn't described and which I havn't discovered. :D

Keep Hogging!! 

Address:

Janata Industrial Estate, 162, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai.

Tele : 022 6749 6444

Britannia & Co - Legacy of Parsi Cuisine

Britannia & Co. is one of the last remnants of the once thriving rich Parsi cuisine. Now the Parsi & Irani cuisine is left only in the Parsi households of Cusrow Baug. However this small paradise is in the heart of the busy business end of Mumbai - Ballard Estate area !!!

So how do I even begin ... the place which looks very old school right from the outset is your typical Parsi/Irani place with slightly chipped interiors and the typical old polished furniture. The furniture itself has a unique story behind it and so has the old wall clock at the centre of the huge dining area. The slick white board displays the todays specials and the refrigerators stock up the scrumptious desserts and the cold drinks.

Mr. Boman Kohinoor, the ever young almost 90 year old owner and proprietor of this Parsi heaven is an omnipresent figure and is always a delight when it comes with his one liners or with his huge treasure chests of experiences and stories. If you come to Britannia & Co. and not exchange pleasantries with Mr. Kohinoor then the entire trip is not worth it. Period.

The food is legendary. Be it the Mutton Kheema or the Sali Boti. The Dhansak is fairly reasonable as I have tasted better. The Fish Patra is nice and refreshing especially the chutney part. 

The Biryani takes a back seat as the 'King of the Parsi Paace' arrives. Presenting the Berry Pulav. It comes in all sorts of varieties: Chicken, Mutton, Kheema, Egg and even the Herbivore type. Yours truly went for the Chicken variety and attained the level of gourmet divinity. The goodness just oozes out in the form of those glazed berries, red and pink in color. The pulav is a perfect blend of nice juicy chicken portions accompanied by the rich gravy and high quality cooked rice. Two small cutlets/kebabs make this dish complete. Bon Apetit !!!

The Sali chicken is also very nice and the rich creamy chicken along with sali supplemented by roti or chappatis make a nice start to the meal. The Kheema is also a welcome change but stick to the specialities is my piece of advice.

Along with the main course, you ought to indulge in the fruity beverages on offer. The Fresh Lime Soda is the normal variant but the Raspberry & the Ginger ones in those retro bottles are the ones to die for. I for one slurped and slurped till the very end into raspberry liquid heaven.

Not much to say about the desserts. There is the Mishti Dohi and the Mousse but the one dish which stands out is the Caramel Custard. Its just the adept end to this gastronomic journey down the Parsi memory lane.

This place is just not about food, it is about an experience. Right from Mr. Kohinoor to the interiors, right from the food till the antiques hanging on the walls, and from those soda bottles till the working hours everything has a story which one must experience on its own.

Britannia & Co. is truly iconic in nature and such places must be preserved not just for its gourmet delights but also for the rich heritage it brings along.

However the only sad part is that the place is open only for lunch and its closed on Sundays. Thats the only dampener to an otherwise awesome experience. #Goosebumps

How to get here: Wakefield House, 11, Sprott Road, Ballard Estate, Fort, Mumbai, 400038
                           Walking distance from nearest station i.e. CST 

“Rasna – Steam Hot”

Rasna – Steam Hot – as the name suggests tangy and tasty, is a small joint in Mulund. It’s a small dingy place with a menu of amazing rolls, sandwiches, toasts, toasts with melted cheese, special Steam Hot snacks, diet special snacks, paninis and many other items from the bread basket, ice-creams, fresh fruit juices, milkshakes, kulfis, fresh fruit creams, sodas, mocktails, etc.

Sandwiches are a specialty here made of fresh vegetables and tasty green chutney. They are served in white breads as well as in Whole Wheat Breads here. The sandwiches are grilled and crispy and amazing. The rolls which are served here are steamy, hot and buttery with the perfect taste of the toppings. There are masala rolls and paneer rolls, fresh garlic rolls, etc. The Pizzas are not very delicious here. We prefer our pizzas at better joints!! Don’t we???

To add to the sandwiches they have toast specials where you can add your own toppings the way you like. The toasts with melted cheese served here are mouth watering. You can order these and be rest assured you’ve done justice to your bread & cheese craving. The melted cheese takes you to an entire new level altogether. They are delicious and you can have various toppings added to them as per your choice and make your own toast. They already serve various combos of toasts where you get 4 different toasts in a single dish or 5 different varieties of toasts in a single serve. I know the cheese and bread definitely add onto your calorie count per meal, but it’s not just limited to that. They do serve all toasts with a salad of cabbage, cucumbers, carrots and tomatoes mandatorily, no matter which dish do you call for!! So you can satiate your hunger pangs with the right balance of food.

Rasna serves delicious Garlic Special Steam Hot Snacks which is more or less like the Garlic bread but better. It has melted cheese as a topping and the bread and cheese just melt in your mouth. This is the specialty here and is one of my favorites.

For the diet conscious crowd, they serve all these dishes made in whole Wheat Bread and also an entire section of the menu for the people dieting. Haven’t tried and tested anything on this front, so sorry!! Can’t comment on how it tastes!!

The juices and milkshakes available here are also awesome and delicious. The fresh fruit juices are seasonal and many combinations vary as well. These combos are blended well with the most perfect taste you’re expecting and looking for. They also serve fruit milkshakes which are yummy and very filling too. Just two items ordered here and you’re through with your lunch/dinner.

Ice-creams and milkshakes are also blended well in a very appealing way. My favorite drink/dessert here would be the Masala Milk with ice-cream. The Masala Milk is flavored with kesar and seasoned with Almonds, Pistachio and Cashews. Its taste is just about right. The Strawberry cream is lovely too when served with ice-cream.  One of the other desserts which I like here is the Chocolate fudge with Roasted Nuts. This is served with 3 scoops of vanilla ice-cream with lots of chocolate sauce (made fresh) and lots of chipped almonds on top. The photo on the right is this dessert. (I know one can make it at home as well, but this is one thing which I love having here!!)

Do visit this place. It’s something different from the usual joints we go to, and am sure you won’t be disappointed. It’s a lil expensive if you’re going for some snacks, but a quick lunch or dinner would be fun here. The staff here is friendly and will definitely cater to your appetite.

Address:

Steam Hot

Shop No. 1 & 2, B.M.C. Bldg, Vasant Garden, Mulund (W).

Tele: 21641717.

Flags - The House To World Vegetarian Cuisine

Imagine a meal that marries the spices of india with the delicate balance of china, the texture of thai with the Arabic flavours. The fire of mexico and the traditions of Italy.

Flags is a Restaurant Specializing in vegetarian world cuisine. The menu is a surprising mix of the best Indian, Chinese, Thai, Arabic, Mexican and Italian dishes. Each cuisine is well represented by its most famous delicacies perfected to the last detail.

Flags has been one of the better places in Malad to enjoy your weekends from quite some years. Its a melting pot of Global Cuisines where a variety of cuisines are severed (at slightly high prices though) which do suit the Indian taste-buds.

 

Menu: 

Their menu includes every thing from Soups to amazing Starters to quite filling Main Course dishes to mouth watering desserts to just ok ok moctails.The menu is quite easy to browse through as usually having such a huge range of dishes under one roof, it becomes quite difficult to put it on the menu. Must say a job well done, you can directly browse to the desired cuisine as the pages are categorized via cuisines.

Defining the taste of all the dishes, it is a quite difficult task as all the cuisines though are different from varied parts of the world but are similar to taste (Indian), this is surely because the Indian taste-buds are very different and difficult to tease, which I must say is pretty well grasped by the restaurant and fulfilled through its wide fusionistic offerings. Every dish you have here is a marriage of the world cuisine with Indian spices, every dish which you have will have has a fusion of Indian Garam Masalas, so be it Mexican or Lebanese or any other cuisine it would have an Indian feel and taste. A strict NO NO for the mock-tails here.

 

Ambience:

Speaking about the ambiance, its truly a must experience, though too crowded and stuffed with furniture but is quite sober, soothing and gives an expensive feel. The tables are arranged side by side, so forget the privacy if that is your requirement. One interesting thing which is to be noticed is every table has 2 flags, one is obviously Indian and the second of some other country, which surely defines its positioning.

 

Service:

The service needs improvement (asked a waiter the difference between 2 soups which he dint knew) but can be overseen with the quality of mouth watering and delicious wide menu ranging from India, to Chinese, to Italian, to Lebanese and so on...

Looking at the service it feels like they are paying for your food, and their service is just a social service who are just ready to pack you up and prepare for other guests (slightly exaggerating), but this can be well supported with the long waiting queue which you see outside the restaurant.

I have been here twice and have been very satisfied with the Mexican and Italian. 

Mexican: Try the Verdura Quesadilla (fried tortillas with bean and cheese stuffing with sour cream piped on top) its just yummmmm and the cheesy nachos.

Italian: The pastas were good and cooked quite well. Also, the desserts seem good. I had the brownie which was very good.However, the sizzlers served aren’t very good - at least the one I had - Mexican one which was supposed to be very spicy - was sweet!! Maybe they are catering to the Gujarati community’s sweet tooth

If you wish to spend your evening in a relaxed manner, this place should be avoided as the waiters and management would be just in the state to pack you up and prepare for other guests. Should avoid this place if one has eaten and liked places like Kobes/Yoko/Mainland China/Lemon Grass, as you would not get the authentic taste which you get at this places.

But, whatever negatives people say about Flags, the Mexican and Italian food would always remind me of this place and I would surely keep on visiting this place again and again.

Not too expensive for a weekend, a meal for two would cost between 800 to 1200, which is quite descent

Stay Hungry Stay Happy :-)

Website: http://www.flagsdine.in/

Two outlets, one each at Malad and Goregaon