I must have passed this place hundreds of times ... and yesterday was the first time I got to go in ( I finally went in through the gate that said NO ENTRY) ... the place was warm, cosy & comfy. We were received bythe Owner cum Chef Joe. Meeting him was like catching up with an old friend after decades ... The menu choices were great and I started with the roasted pumpkin soup and the Chicken Strognoff with herbed rice for this time. I also had the Baked yogurt and custard apple fruit ice cream for dessert🍨🥧. Great conversation, good food & service. It was the perfect recipe for a lovely lunch. Im sure I'm heading back for another visit soon.
The restaurant has a pleasant Goan-style ambience and is quite spacious. The food is good, and its close proximity to Apollo Hospital makes it a convenient choice.
3.5 rounding up. The Panna cotta is exceptional. We also tried the xmas turkey special with parotta and were very happy with it. Will definitely come by again if we're in the area. The server was polite but a bit rushed. Honestly was disappointed by the coffee. It's very expensive for instant coffee but at least the waiter was honest about it. Bathroom was eclectic but clean.
This is a quaint little place right opposite Apollo hospital on Greams Lane. We went there for lunch and ordered for starters, Calamari and Mojito. For the Mains, we ordered English chicken, Paneer, and Chicken sandwich.
The Mojito did not arrive so we had to cancel. The Calamari was served after the Mains.
The Mains themselves were not that good, and we had to doggy pack most of it. The Apple pie was just okay.
The service is attended by just one person, and while the restaurant was not busy, we really did not feel attended.
The ambiance is very old inside with lots of antique looking stuff lying around. Seating is fine.
Parking is unavailable and we had to park somewhere way down the road. I guess this place must be catering more to Apollo visitors. There was a menu board during lunch with various items and prices.
Please read the complete review as it is explained briefly as to as why there was disappointment with this place. I had a pretty big expectation for this place in terms of the dining experience.
Firstly to speak about the ambience, it was really great to look at. The cuisine was mentioned as Mediterranean and the look was like a joint you would find in Europe, nice an quiet with a nice facade and classic chalk board specials. Adding to it, the music was calm and at right volume.
The moment we dined in, we saw a group of girls in the other corner having a quarrel with restaurant staff. It was a pretty heated conversation from what we could observe the moment we entered. It is courtesy of the staff to address this to us, as it is an unpleasant experience for us. But to the contrary the owner came to us to tell us about the fact that “people buy one dish and star taking pictures at the place”. He never apologised to us for the fuss.
Then comes the menu. To completely put it out of context, they had menus xeroxed in a stick file. If you expect customers to pay a premium and call yourself a up-scale place, please maintain standards at customer experience.
Then came the order tab. There was no welcome drink, which is fine yet something they could improve on. The menu decision took us around 15 minutes, where in the meantime we weren’t offered water. They had 2 half litre mineral water bottles and 2 100ml small paper cup for water which made no sense. Even it was not ensured we had enough, considering we took a table for four. When enquired for glassware, they gave us glasses and he told us that they provide glasses only when requested due to COVID safety. However it made no sense because they were serving re-usable steel cutlery and ceramic tableware.
Meanwhile, it looked the staff didn’t take much care as he never tended to initiate any conversation or made any suggestions unless enquired upon. He explained the dishes best to his knowledge when asked about. But the interaction was not something what you would expect at a fine dining place.
Post ordering, I took a stroll into the restaurant where they had signs mentioning “No Photography” with a hand drawn camera symbol and a fine of Rs.500!
I’ll give you the story behind this so you can understand. Seems some people come here for the ambience and the order just a drink start taking pictures at the place. This made the management furious I guess. To quote the owner himself he said, “People misuse the place. They order a Rs. 200 drink only. We had multiple similar encounters. Isn’t a restaurant a place to eat?”.
Though his concerns are valid, the idea that he believes was offensive to me. I believe that when I am dining some place, it’s not just the food I am paying for. It’s the food, the ambience, the staff and the complete experience. I am confused to why he has this place, if not for a customer to admire.
The food on the other hand was nice. We ordered Cream of Mushroom Soup, Kung Pao Beef, a Prawn Starter, a Chicken steak and a Beef Steak. I was confused a little to find an Indonesian (as said Malaysian as far as I know) Mee Goreng fried rice in a Mediterranean Cuisine. Also there was an Indian style prawn. If it was a multi-cuisine I never did find the perfect balance across cuisines.
However, The Steak was juicy and tasty and the gravy that it was coated was so nice. It was sided with a bowl of tasty mashed potatoes. Chicken steak was sided with boiled vegetables topped with butter. The food was doing well until we happen to find a tiny worm in the Cauliflower. The staff got little too defensive and he told it was some herb. His tone was slender but not polite or apologetic. He justified it was a rare occurrence. He was willing to offer a complimentary dessert, if we ordered one for the mistake, which we gladly rejected. That was the brief experience.
When we enquired for a restroom, it was reported under-maintenance