An evening at Salt Water Cafe

I took this pretty lady out the other night and thought of a million places in the suburbs she would like to eat. Mostly it’s always about where I like to eat, but that night I wanted to go to a place that she would possibly like. I did ask her actually but she left the option to me. So I wondered where to go and thought of all the possible places …..

I wanted a place that wasn’t too fancy but was classy at the same time, not too formal but not like a coffee shop either. A place where I could make conversations without seeming overtly romantic. A place that wasn’t about caviar and molecular gastronomy but somewhere that served something beyond a deep fried chicken with mashed potatoes. I found quite a few places but there was one that stood out, Salt Water Café. Located on a bustling traffic junction at Bandra, the cafe is located right at the corner with a minimalistic look of the outdoor.

Since it was a weekend I made sure I had a reservation and when I reached there I was glad I did. The place was packed with all the three levels filled with people of various age groups. A group of friends enjoying their drink, a family of 8 relishing what looked like a plate full of appetizers, a couple tucked away in a corner and most importantly the place looked inviting too. I was pleased at the sight. Despite having a reservation we were asked to wait for a short while. We waited right next to a gourmet deli counter which stocked some interesting variety of meats, cheese, some other milk products and a whole range of desserts that looked very average though. I can’t remember any of the desserts that pleased the eye enough for me to try it out.

After 5 minutes of looking around, we were asked to move to our table. One sec, I think we waited more than that, may be I was just too lost listening to all she was talking about, no wonder I wasn’t complaining : -) I had requested for a table on the top floor, since it was pleasant evening I knew an outdoor set up would be the best choice. I wasn’t disappointed. Comfortable chairs and a candle light set up in a cylindrical glass was amazing. Our server forgot to light it though.

The menu had a huge variety, a lot of fresh breakfast items, salads and soups, burgers and sandwiches and towards the end Pastas, Risottos and mains. The menu was an interesting blend of Italian, Europeans and some fusion dishes with interesting combinations. Since it was one of the late dinners we decided to go head on with the mains. A quick look and I knew what I wanted, a well done ‘Seared Salmon Roulade + BBQ Lentils + Eggplant ‘ masala’ ( Rs. 680) while she took some time to ponder I quickly glanced through the beverage menu which was well laid out and offered a variety of alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages. She struggled to find some appealing chicken mains and finally gave in to the best sounding one, ‘Smoked Chicken + Champagne – Risotto’ (310). A portion of garlic bread, an iced tea for the lady and a ginger ale for me were some add on’s to the order.

While we waited for our order to arrive, which I definitely was in no hurry though, we looked around and something grabbed the ladies attention. Some small round portions on a square plate that looked like an appetizer which we just couldn’t figure out from the menu. We scanned the menu, discussed all possible options, I attempted at turning around to look but failed and then finally we decided to call upon the waiter and ask for some greedy help. He wasn’t of much help either though, cause he couldn’t figure out for himself what it was, though he did mention that it was bread but we just simply chose to ignore it. Finally when we did get our portions of bread on the table we realized he was right, both of us looked at each other, smiled, nodded our heads in agreement and quietly took a bite. That moment was amazing, can almost feel it while I am actually writing this now.

We spoke about living in mumbai, living in different cities which we both did for a while and a lot more and soon our order arrived. The first thing that caught my attention were the portion sizes and the presentation. The risotto portion looked apt and rich, by the look of it you could say that the chef took some time to make a simple Arborio rice look good. The salmon roulade’s were one of the best presentations I have ever seen. Well done roulade’s placed right in the center with bbq lentils and the egg plant masala right below it in a round plate. The plate was of the perfect size and extremely comfortable to eat out off. I was happy and the way she smiled made me feel she was happy about her decision too.

The taste didn’t disappoint us either, the salmon was perfectly done, the flavours blended extremely well. The texture was delicate and firm at the same time while the lentils helped to add that extra crunch. She liked her risotto too, I did give it a try after I was done cleaning my plate. At that point the risotto was cold but a single bite and I was ready to relish some more. The garlic bread worked well for both of us and helped to add that extra texture to each of our dishes.

We skipped the desserts and just preferred some more conversations instead. The overall service was good, courteous staff, helpful (in those funny moments) and always approachable.
Though I tried only two dishes at this restaurant, it’ll probably be unfair to rate it over all. However, the way I look at it, it’s about an experience which makes a mark, and this one did. Though I have to admit the evening was a lot more about her than it was about the food, but I know I am definitely going back there again soon. May be this time, I’ll like to try their breakfast…..

Salt Water Café
Rose Minar Annexe, 87, Chapel Road, Next to Mount Carmel Church, right opposite Barista, Bandra Reclamation, Bandra (W), Mumbai

PS: A lot of my friends have had some pretty bad experiences with this place, some on the other hand swear by it. I am beginning to believe this has something to do with their inconsistency..gotta give this one another try to put a final verdict out....

Main Course to Appetizers at Café Mangi

One of my closest friends was moving cities, so me and some of my friends decided to catch up one last time to bid farewell. The interesting thing is, the entire group of about 8 people, pretty much everyone had been a hotelier at some point, some still are. So practically everything on the table was scrutinized, right from service to presentation to the portion size and the taste. Literally everything…..

The restaurant’s a nice small casual space with a well light ambience for an evening out. The décor is not over powering yet it lends a subtle character to the food that was yet to follow. A tall broad wooden menu showcased a variety of Mediterranean dishes right from appetizers to the main course.

First came my choice - Calamari with chilli garlic (Rs.235) in a small miniscule square shaped plate. Though the plate design did full justice to those chewy round calamari slices the portion size was disappointing. Luckily the taste wasn’t! Generosity of garlic and chilli made the not-so-fresh calamari more appealing. The flavour blended well, and the texture was pleasant.
‘Next on our plates was Carpaccio - thin slices of beef (Rs. 235) that looked very pale and unappealing. The salad along with the Carpaccio had practically no flavour and the meat was barely seasoned but honestly in Rs.235..I didn’t expect much either.

The exotic mushroom soup that followed was nothing exotic ( Rs.185) but the well cooked and
herb flavoured Roasted mushrooms ( Rs. 195) were excellent . The Jalapeno cheddar poppers ( Rs.195) seemed to be of the ready- made packed variety just fried and served, perfect in their style though.

The saving grace were the Cajun Chicken ( Rs. 235) slices…delicate yet flavourful. The Prawn tempura ( Rs. 285) was fresh and had the right texture for a tempura batter while the ( Rs. 245) Rawas Tid-bytes has some crispy vegetables mixed on a tomato based light sauce perfectly done.

The wine selection ( Rs. 250 a glass ) is very average but honestly I don’t see a lot of people coming to this restaurant to savour exotic wines, the cocktails were pretty average too though. The Mojito and the caiproshka were simple chunks of lemon and mint muddled together and some alcohol to just spike it. Something like mom does when she is giving you ‘Nimbu Pani’ after a tiring day, refreshing but not sinfull!

What actually made the drinks selection work well for me was this extremely fruity drink ‘Fizzy Julep’ (Rs. 150) As clichéd as the name sounds, the drink was fantastic, fresh fruits finely chopped combined with lemon chunks and juice worked amazingly. Though I felt that they did add some non alcoholic grenadine too along with it…it worked brilliantly…to the extent that my friends had a sip and the table was flooded with a couple of more glasses. Since our luck seemed to be better with mocktails I decided to give another fancy drink called called ‘Transfusion’ ( Rs. 150) a try, but sadly I had to run back to my ‘Fizzy Julep’ and happily stuck to it for the rest of the evening.

Conversations about our respective careers continued as we nibbled along on those individual bites. The smaller portions of appetizers laid the foundation for a large main course order to follow. Now like every other common man behavior we judged the portions of the main course on the basis of the appetizers and ordered pretty much individual portions. While some calorie conscious women ordered Caesar salad options with ( Rs. 235) chicken and smoked salmon( Rs. 275) , most of us went all out with a variety of meats on our plates.

What was to follow was the biggest surprise for my belt buckel…big portions of main course with side dishes and sauces laced on top. We were left staring at each other wondering ‘How the hell did this happen’, and if we’d ever finish.

Rawas Bonfame ( Rs. 395) three fillet’s of fish along with a mushroom tomato sauce and veggies on the side was fantastic, the Prawn Provencal ( Rs. 415) was equally good in terms of its flavour and texture. The Pizza Milano ( Rs. 365) was average with an ordinary sauce and not so great toppings while the vegetarian Gnocchi Al Frano ( Rs. 275) was way too cheesy, but would work well for cheese lovers. The Risotto Gamberi ( Rs. 395) with prawns was yummy but would take an appetite of a big man to finish that humongous portion. The best among the lot was Pomfret Dijon ( Rs. 435), carefully sliced fillet’s pan fried to perfection and creamy sauce which blended the flavour of the fish extremely well.

Though most of us wanted to skip the dessert but Bonafee Pie ( Rs. 175) was way too hard to resist, and it didn’t disappoint us at all. The food over all was the show stealer. The service is quick and the waiters are always smiling. However the lack of wine selection clearly reflected in our server’s wine knowledge too. Not that we had a problem with that.

The menu selection is fairly extensive with just the right pricing. The total bill came up to about Rs. 7359 inclusive of Vat, about Rs. 1000 per head, inclusive of a drink. If they get their appetizer portions right and a bit fine tuning of the taste it will be a great place to eat at often. I am definitely giving this place another try only this time I’ll start with the main course and then work the other way round to the appetizer….