Chembur

Was directed here while looking for quick good food after 10:30 pm. That too by a vegetarian gujju friend!

small place. has three sections. open general section in the middle, and coupla A/c sections on either side.

We ordered the kerala fried prawns to start with. They were just excellent, 8 pieces, medium+ sized. deep fried with only the masala (there was no breading), heads on but rest shelled. crispy, juicy, and the masala was typical kerala style, with a wonderful peppery taste. liked it enough that we ordered a second round.

Then ordered a curry, the steward recommended a Fish Moilly. a coconut based curry(without the coconut flavour overiding anything), medium spicy with a little sweetness, and with loads of karipatta. they served a pomfret with it. the fish was fresh and well cooked.

total value for money, and unassuming. highly recommended. they probably serve chinese and punjabi as well, saw other patrons ordering.

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Ranjeet Da Dhabha is a restaurant in Chembur Camp which serves excellent Punjabi Food.

Ranjeet has two levels of seating both air conditioned. The room at the bottom is non smoking. There is also a small open air section.

Service is quite slow here for a restaurant and bar of it's type. The food quality has dipped in recent times while the prices have gone up.

Thankfully "Dum Kababs" - the signature dish of the restaurant still remains the same. The other kababs more or less use a single mass produced masala so they are avoidable or eat only one of them. Try a Chicken Tandoori instead.

The gravy dishes are spicy and pungent. I like the Kheema there. Biryani is also reasonably good.

Booze is quite costly and is served by the Peg. It's better to drink at Raj next door and come here for dinner.

Raj is a quarter bar in Chembur Camp which strives to stay open all night on nights when it does not get raided.

I have been there twice while it got raided and had to sneak out by the back door.

It serves good Punjabi Food and alcohol is priced reasonably.

It has 3 sections.

1.) AC Family Room - (Nowadays it seems to be frequented by Bar Girls so don't think of getting family here.

2.) AC Room - Comfortable Seating. Decent AC.

3.) Non AC Room - Very Dingy

This place like all cheap quarter bars in Bombay is very crowded and gets very noisy.

Blend 'n Brew is the only sports bar in the Chembur area. It is off the circle at the end of 18th road, quite close to the station by rickshaw. The have the usual sports screenings of matches, games, races. The draught beer is good and fresh and most of the usual drinks are available. The DJ plays decent rock music but slips all too often into Indipop. The ambience is nice, though the service is slow and confused when the place is full.

I grew up in Delhi, and I have missed it's street food since I left Delhi. I rediscovered it right here in Bombay. Vig's is a Sindhi owned street food roadside tiny snack joint cum parcel place in Chembur Camp right next to the famous Raj and Ranjit da Dahaba. While those places give you the restaurant taste of the north, only Vig's can give you the street food taste and smell.

Right from the moment I entered the shop and saw the large thaal with a mound of chhole, dry and spiced, I knew I was in for interesting times. Their bhature are soft, small, very tasty, and haven't changed in years. The chhole were perfect with the two added sauces and the little pickle in between. The aloo tikkis were perfect and the massive tall glass of masala chhaas rocked. All this for 40 rupees. The place is moderately clean and efficiently serviced. Lots of families around in the camp area. Parcels are available.

The dance bar itself is pretty bad. Even the outside non A/C bar is pretty bad.

But go into the A/C section and it's nice and clean. TV running. Not too crowded.

Food - you get decent Indian Chinese fare.

Best thing - open all night like Raj :D

One of the oldest quarter joints in Chembur. Walk into the ground floor restaurant. Don't be lured by the glibness of the valets outside; you'll end up on the first floor, Oceanic Restaurant, and spend a bomb. Unlike other dark and dingy holes that you may be used to, Adarsh is brightly lit - so wear dark glasses, lest your eyes hurt.

Normally pretty crowded between 7.30 and 10pm, but the helpful staff makes sure you get a place to sit. Most tables sit 4, but be prepared to share your table - if you are just two or three. No problems taking women there unless of course they are the ooh-la-di-da types in which case you wouldn't be reading this. The booze is priced on par with other quarter joints.

As for food, avoid the Mangy-Chinese, and Punju-Mangy. By all means try the house fare - Manglorean. I suggest the kori-roti with either fish/chicken gravy. Their chicken/fish neer dosa is also great. The fish in the gravy is of your choice. The chicken isn't. Also great is the dal-khichadi. Served with the house pickle. Order tawa fried prawns to crush in.

They also have an open terrace on the third floor - no lift, so if you plan to get sloshed stay on the ground floor - same price and same menu. This is real great in the monsoons. Open till 1am.

(BTW, in '88 or '89, the owner, Vijay Shetty was shot right at the counter. A couple of friends and I were sitting out in the garden and watched the whole thing happen - over before we knew what had happened.)

One beer is about 250. The rest, you know.