burrp! Stats
- 88 Reviews
- 44 First to review
- 339 Places Added
- Been to 102 Places
- Yet to try 16 Places
- Burrping since Aug 15, 2006
- Burrping fromAndheri (W), Mumbai
deapubhi's Lists
Reviews by deapubhi
Jun 11, 2008
Fun Republic, Level 3, Opposite Laxmi Industrial Estate, Andheri (W), Mumbai
Rated: Good
Best scene in Andheri?
Perhaps. This place gets packed on the weekends with your well-to-do western suburban young professional elite, plenty of them puffing away (be warned: you will smell as if you walked out of a casino in Vegas - namely, smokey...). The joint has got a great, long wooden standing bar, just like how bars are SUPPOSED to be, and this encourages a great standing bar culture, something I have long felt Bombay sorely needs! The music is great classical rock, with some new tunes sprinkled throughout (Jack Johnson, Coldplay, John Mayer, etc.), so people are ensured to have a great time humming and dancing along. The menu is your usual artery-clogging bar food - cheesy french fries, piled-high nachos, onion rings - you get the picture. They've got Kingfisher on tap, so that's a big plus.
The bartenders here are nice, and mix up some decent drinks - we were surprised when they knew what a dirty martini was - I guess that happens when you set your bar low!
All in all, would definitely go back again and again. Great scene for just about anybody - couples, guys/gals night out, or an after-work drink. Make sure to check out when they've got live music gigs going on - mostly rock cover bands from what I hear. Rock on.
May 31, 2008
Hotel Taj President, 90, Cuffe Parade, Colaba, Mumbai
Rated: Good
Thai me up
Thai Pavilion exceeds where we would expect it to exceed being a Taj associated restaurant - ambiance, service, style, and oomph. The renovated jewel of a place has a few focal points of its newfound ambiance: what I assumed to be Thai wooden carvings on all the walls, a barstool eating section adorned with small clay pots hanging from the ceiling; and a fancy see-through, visible wine cellar right as you walk in.
The food was solid. I wouldn't say that it was amazingly authentic Thai food, but they have an impressive spread of dishes. From the usual suspects, such as Som Tam (raw papaya salad), the coconut based curries (Red, Green, Yellow) and Pad Thai Noodles; to the more exotic dishes, such as a Foie Gras with Mango Puree, to a Steamed Sea Bass wrapped in Rice Noodles, Red Snapper with a Red Curry Paste, Soft Shell Crabs with Pomelo fruit, etc.
The service was the high-point of the night. Our waiter was a sweet gentleman by the name of Joe. He made great recommendations and generally ensured a very pleasant night for us. Our last order of the night was a shot espresso, which I usually expect with either a piece of lemon rind, or a shot of cold water with a lemon rind in it. I made sure to ask him to bring either out while ordering the espresso, but this was clearly a never-heard request from Joe. He not only happily obliged and delivered, but he actually asked us where this was traditionally done, why it was done, and whether they should consider doing it for all espresso shot orders. That was quite amazing to me - real time feedback being absorbed by the restaurant service staff.
This is a Taj restaurant, so 'nuff said regarding prices.
Kudos to Thai Pavilion for perhaps the best attempt at authentic Thai. Their stiffest competition interestingly enough probably comes from Seven Spices, the Thai joint inside the Park Plaza Hotel in the Royal Palms property in Goregaon (E).
May 07, 2008
Shop No 6, Phoenix Mills, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai
Rated: Awful
Run by retards...
I think this restaurant might be run by retards. I pledge my case to you:
1. The restaurant clearly has operating hours posted outside, stating they open at noon. The first two times I came here at 12:30, they were not ready to take in customers. WTF?
2. Waiters started fighting with each other with two tables clearly occupied by customers. I wanted to go over there and settle it for them by shoving my foot up both of their as*ses!
3. After having requested the bill, it took them 20 minutes (and some yelling) to get, which we paid by credit card. When this took an additional 10 minutes, we asked what was wrong, which was followed up with the token response, "our servers are temporarily down" - upon further investigation that we took upon ourselves, they were actually printing out last night's credit card take through the machine, hence tying it up. This set us off...we slammed cash down and got out of there.
About the food? It's average at best, and nothing about this place will give you that authentic ramen or soba feel (the city sorely needs one!) - just another Blue Foods cookie cutter concept nightmare. Not going here again, and am considering actually burning the place down...
May 04, 2008
J.P. Road, 7 Bungalows, Near Bon Bon Shopping Centre, Andheri (W), Mumbai
Rated: Awful
Do I look stupid?
Soda will be called a lot of things going forward. Eclectic and flavourful will not be one of them. This brand new joint on the popular Pop Tate's stretch of JP Road in 7 Bungalows does nothing but disappoint. The self-proclaimed value proposition of this place is its representation of eclectic world fare - from Mexican to Thai, Italian to American, Malay to Indian. What ensues upon peering through the menu is nothing but confusion. The menu is so damn thick, it could be the long lost final edition of Harry Potter. In place of truly representing representative dishes, we have such ambiguous and nonsensical items on the menu such as "Bill's Special" and "Los Vegas" (sic) (as "American" items), "Nachos with Chicken Salsa" (what the fuck is chicken salsa!?), and on and on the ridiculous list goes.
We braved ahead and placed an order for some garlic tossed shrimp, a tomato and zucchini soup, and a broccoli and pasta salad. Most everything tasted as if it had gone stale. Nothing tasted fresh at all, immediately putting me off ordering anything else on this menu.
I don't reckon Soda will last too long. Generally, joints on this side of town, especially on this stretch of JP Road, have major quality issues, which tells me the problem is not with the places, but with the patrons, who continue to accept low levels of quality and service. I'm a simple and easy-to-please guy, but stupid I am not, and I won't go for this shit.
Soda, you've lost my patronage, and the more power to you as long as you can continue to make asses out of people...but not I.
May 02, 2008
7/8, Madhav Bhuvan, Opposite Kamla Mills Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai
Rated: Excellent
Coastal Concoctions Delight!
This gem sits directly opposite Kamla Mills Compound on increasingly busy and bustling SB Marg in Lower Parel. It's a small place, that can probably seat about 30 people at once, and there is always a line for lunch patrons - and for good reason. While Jaihind offers a respectable variety of vegetarian dishes, it is their Coastal menu that they are known for. Surmai, Prawns, Rawas, Pomfret - you name it, they've got it, and different preparations as well! Everything from Konkani, to Malvani, one can be assured of getting high quality Coastal cuisine here. Try the Hirvaa Prawns with a few steaming hot Neer Dosas and you'll be left sucking the sauce out with a straw!
Highly recommended, especially for a gut-busting lunch - you will leave this place quite full.