Bandra

Horrible is one of the adjectives you can think of.

They let you in against a cover charge of Rs300 which is adjusted against F&B.

The waiters don't know anything about the menu. The pizza served is a 6"X 4" (Have you heard of a shape like that for a pizza?)

The fried rice was the worst I have ever eaten.. made with God knows shat oil / lard..

The adjoining discotheque does not have sound-proof walls. So the jarring and pounding does bother you immensely.

Just avoid their loos if you are not the kind who can handle throwing-ups.

They have a pint sized menu and half of the items in it are "Not available" !!!

It is just a seedy joint where you see lots of young boys and girls boozing/puffing away to glory.

F&B : 1/10
Ambience : 5/10
Service: 3/10
Facilities : 2/10

Overall rating : 2.5/10

NEVER EVER GO TO THIS ONE. WASTE of TIME & MONEY.

The restaurant is a solid attempt at authentic italian cuisine, doesnt try to indianize its offerings

We were 6 of us, and did order a fair spread.

The soup (minestrone) was average.

The pizza on the next table looked good. We ordered a chicken/mushroom topping one, and it was inherently bland, but nice. The thin crust was very nice for those who hate the big thick crusts that most chains have on offer.

The fish ravioli was BAD. it tasted typically of fish that had been cooked and stuffed a while back. I am not being nasty here, we had 2-3 pieces and let go of the rest.

We also had a prawn starter. It was a mustard based sauce, but that disappointed as well. The flavours hadn't gelled well, and you could tell that the shrimp was defrosted and the sauces separately. You can go to da vinci's close by for an incredibly good concoction of the same inputs.

We either ordered some fettucine or it came as a side with one of the dishes. Was a red sauce, but nothing to write home about.

And the final problem was this, except for the pizza, everything had above average salt, the soup, the pasta and the ravioli sauce.

The restaurant is nice and small, and promising. hopefully will improve soon.

and yes, they didnt have a wine licence until a month back, but that may have changed by now.

foooooood!

Wonderful place.

OUTSTANDING FOOD. We are talking veg here.

The mushroom starter was scintillating. Probably one of the best funghi you will get to eat.

These guys know how to make magic with Pasta. The spaghetti was cooked to perfection. The white sauce was magical. I personally summoned the chef to shake hands with him.

Their pizza was incredible. The pizza chef from trattoria should take lessons from these guys.

The waiting staff are pleasant and go about doing their work with a smile.

They have an amazing range of continental desserts. Do try the veg brownie.

Didnt try their drinks. But I am told that their drinks offerings is a formidable list.

Lacking points:

We went on a weekday at 11 pm. There was zero crowd. That does not spell good for a place like this. Hope these guys dont shut down the place.

Do not go to Da Vinci wearing knee-length shorts (like I did) The mosquitoes feast on your calf muscles and ankles.

The Ambience is tooo dimly lit to the point of making you feel insecure.

Ratings:
===============
Food - 10/10
Ambience - 5/10
Service - 8/10
VFM quotient - 7/10.

Will visit this place again and again (provided they dont shut shop soon) and strongly recommend this place for conti veg food.

These guys take the food business very seriusly and it shows in the final product that lands on the table.

One of the finest pasta I 've ever eaten. Every strand of the spaghetti in white sauce reminds me of heaven. Sheer magic.

Do try their Charcoal grilled stuffed mushrooms.

the honey mint ice tea was a royal way to wash these delicacies down your throat.

Watch out for that waiter 'Devendiran'. He is really good. Knows his stuff and honest.

Planning to go there again to try something new vegetarian.

This is a new burger chain, originally from Peru, that's a few months old. They serve the best burgers I have ever had , period. Costs are reasonable (40 and 50 for regular and large veg. burgers, and 60 and 80 for regular and large non-veg. burgers). Every ingredient from the meat to the bread seems a million times fresher than the junk you get at McDonald's.

Must-haves include the Hariyali Desi Rajma Burgers (for veggies) and the grilled chicken breast, hariyali mutton for non-vegetarians.

And to top it all off, here is a snippet of conversation I had with a friend (call him Jules) who has not been to Bembos yet -
Me : You know what you can put on french fries in Bembos instead of ketchup?
Jules: What?
Me: Mayonnaise.
Jules: God damn!
Me: I seen 'em do it, man, they f**** drown 'em in that shit.

They have a buffet for 400 only.

Well, 4 of us had a kg each of prawns (yes kilogram) and then some other fish chicken and mutton kababs and some random veg stuff and sweet dishes. What more does one want in life?

The place is very eclectically furnished to look like a Dhaba. As if they ordered for the make me look like a dhaba kit. The guys are dressed unlike ny dhabavals i hae ever seen.

The menu is reasonably expansive and they serve a lot of platter meals as well. We went for the paneer handi dish of the day, which comes with Parathas, yoghurt, dal makhani. Good thing i didnt order anything other than that.

The paneer handi was very good, kind of real spicy and reminded me of this Mirchi ka Salan i in Hyderabad. very good but my stomach burned the entire next day. The dal makhani was very good too. i wish they offered some more dahi though. only a small cup. Got some rice too but it was microwaved which you can tell coz its brittle and dryish.

All in all a good meal, good portion and decent quality of food. would go there again if i was in the mood for indian.

Cheap too 360 for all of it including papads.

Crepe Station is a nice breakfast place and they serve a wide variety from Pancakes (absolutely avoid at all costs) to multiple egg breakfasts from English to Spanish. Although breakfast is only served until 11am and includes, toast, potato/mushrooms and watermelon juice.

They also serve a lunch menu which includes, bruschetta, pastas (Penne Arrabiatta is not bad) The portion is quite large and comes with a side of garlic bread.

They also have nice sandwiches with different choices served with cole slaw and french fries.

The beverages are limited and lot of times they are out of something or the other that you are ordering.

I would reckon a meal for two to be between 300-500

Thai Ban is a small Thai Place which can seat around 40 people. Its nestled between the much bigger Bandra boys (Papa Pancho & Cafe Basilico)

The decor is generic and the seating a bit tight, privacy is at a premium here. The food is nothing new, a very normal thai menu (som tam, pad thai noodles, curries and rice)

Our soup was the Tom Yum which was very well made. For appetizers we had the baby corn and mushroom satay which was excellent and the schezuan potato which was disgustingly spicy.

The Entree was the Green Curry with White Rice which was pretty good.

All in all its a good thai place more or less staples and most of the items turned out allright.

The pricing is quite on the lower side 700 bucks(for 1 soup , 2 appetizers, 1 main course + rice and 3 Lime sodas)

This little restuarant is tucked away on the service lane of the WE highway in Bandra East. Chances are that you will miss this place, and stop at the more prominent Maharaja Bar and Restuarant further up the same lane.

The restaurant is very quiet - been there twice and I have seen only one other guest there. The waiters are dressed in the traditional Kerala attire of mundu and jubba. The decor is quite OK. One thing that strikes you when you enter is that the resturant is long and narrow.

I ordered the "Sadya" - a traditional Kerala Thali, which has been customized with a non-vegetarian option. In Kerala, this meal is served during Onam with at least seven different vegetables and condiments, three "payasams" (kheer-type sweet broths which are made up of jaggery, milk+semia, jackfruit, dal, pasta et al), several courses of rice, in a strict order of dal-sambar-buttermilk-rasam (did I get that wrong?)... and Payasams in between. Usually, at Mallu weddings down south, expert waiters serve the food as it is laid down - you will feel as if you are experiencing a moving assembly line. It is quite an experience - don't miss the chance if you ever get one. But non-veg? No!

Back to Rice Boat - here the sadya consists of two appams (spongy hoppers, made of fermented rice batter), some fried fish, fish curry kerala style, chicken stew, one dry veg thoran (sauteed with coconut, mustard seeds, curry leaves) sambar, rasam, some banana chips, some jaggery-banana chips, a yellow kerala plantain, kerala-style papad, some chutney and the usual achar condiments. This is not the strict "sadya", but then, we Mumbai-ites can't travel to Kerala all the time.

The food is served on a banana leaf with a glass of butter milk. You have the option of choosing white rice or red rice. It costs Rs 225, which I think is too pricey for what you are getting.

The food was good, close to the Kerala taste, as authentic as you can get. I was disappointed with the fish fry - tiny portions.

There are other typical Kerala dishes available - like Kottayam Duck Curry, lamb roast, fish preparations (some names have awful spellings!). I haven't tried them, so can't really comment on them.

I feel that a good 10-25% reduction in the prices would bring the crowds in.

Incidentally, there is another Rice Boat in Versova. Gotta check that one out...