Keeping it Low (Budget)!

A dinner date on a Wednesday night and you know you can’t start early or end late because.. umm… work day (not for me though, I am a free bird these days, no really!).  Also, owing to my regular supply of income being on temporary hibernation I wasn’t ready to splurge. Nevertheless I was looking to have a good time. I made a rough plan on how to go about enjoying my evening, hopping around, and keeping my pocket happy as well. My company for the evening was in sync with the “lets-keep-it-low” plan so I had full peer support.  The post is a bit long-ish considering we ate/ drank at four places in total but read on to know the things that shouldn’t be missed (or visited).

# 1. Janata Lunch Home, Pali Hill, Bandra West

The first stop- to drink of course- was humaara sab ka pyaara Janata Lunch Home.  If you’ve been in Mumbai long enough, you’ve most probably been here either to pre-game or to get smashed on a very modest budget, or at least heard of the place. Just as the name goes, this place is for the regular Janta. 'Do not judge a book by its cover' is an extremely appropriate idiom for this place. Even though from the outside it looks like quite a shady place, once you enter you will see that regular people like you and I visit it. And it’s not an all-men’s sort of place. I have frequented this place just with the girls as well.

We reached there and as usual had to wait because oh my God.. so crowded! Mumbai’s population along with the cheap prices here doesn’t help the situation. Nevertheless, the wait wasn’t long and, after some confusion, we were lucky enough to find a table on the air conditioned first floor. The catch- since it was just the two of us, we had to share the table with two random strangers. This is the second such place in Mumbai where I have experienced this (the first being Madras Café). The seating is quite ordinary- after all you get what you pay for.  For two bottles of Budweiser Magnum combined with rounds of chakhna we paid a total of Rs. 740.

Satisfied? Completely. This place is not fancy and you shouldn’t expect much from the ambiance except for crowded tables and a lot of chatter. However, once you enter you don’t mind all this because you become a part of it. The service wasn’t as fast as one would expect at such a place but the waiters are friendly serving with a smile always.

Will I go there again? Drinking at Janata Lunch Home is an experience. We didn’t order any starters here as we had plans to move on and hop around, though I have heard that the regular bar food here is quite alright and filling. Looking at my pocket these days I think I will be paying this place a visit soon for a fun drunken evening and maybe even give the Tandoori Chicken a try! 

Where is it? 78 A, Pali Naka, Dr Ambedkar Road, Pali Hill, Bandra West, Mumbai; Contact: 022 26058403 022 26058404

#2. Nothing Fishy About It, Carter Road, Bandra West

Being content with tucking one bottle of beer each we moved on to our next stop- Nothing Fishy About.

Nothing Fishy About It is a small eatery on Bandra’s Carter Road. The shop is shared by Nothing Fishy About it and Shahi Durbar, a dessert place.  I had read some great reviews on Zomato about how Nothing Fishy About it is as good as, if not better, than the likes of Mahesh, etc because of the good quality sea-food they serve while still being light on pocket.  However, what was brought to me was not as pleasant as hoped for. 

We started with the Butter Garlic Prawns served with Garlic Bread. The restaurant looks like more of a take-away than a dine-in. But to state the obvious through the silver foil dish they served the food in- a little putting off I felt. That would have gone unnoticed had the dish been up to mark. The prawns were fresh, no doubt, but the butter garlic sauce-average. Butter Garlic Prawns are usually served as a dry dish at most restaurants. The saucy version here, though different, is not as preferable as the dry one in which you can actually enjoy the chewy prawns and in which the flavors of garlic and butter enhance the flavour of the prawns instead of subduing it. Also, what was served in the name of garlic bread was two slices of white bread with garlic butter.

So yes, we only started with this dish at Rs. 299 and with that look on our faces it was clear that we weren’t going to go ahead with the mains here.

Will I go there again? No.

Where is it? A/6, Gagangiri Apartments, Off Carter Road, Bandra West, Mumbai; Contact:  +91 9920029020

#3.  Loco Chino, Carter Road, Bandra West

Image taken from www.timescity.com

We headed to Loco Chino after the unfortunately below average experience at Nothing Fishy About it. Loco Chino is a relatively newer restaurant at Bandra’s Carter Road. It serves Tex Mex and Chinese cuisine. The combination is rarely heard of but this place has done a little of both without any fusions.

Image taken from www.zomato.com

The interiors are rather cute- their salt and pepper shakers are in the shape of sombreros. The place is enough to seat around 12 people and has quite a chirpy feel to it owing to the colorful wall art in the form of caricatures of Mexican and Chinese characters on the walls. Dim sum baskets have been converted into lamps and give a very pretty look to the place. The staff is quite friendly too.

While we were debating on which tacos to order (hard or soft) one of the servers very politely suggested that we order the soft ones. So Chicken Tacos and Chicken Quesadillas it was! Both the dishes were extremely delicious. The colourful Chicken Tacos (2 pieces) with the right blend of veggies, beans, chicken and sauces were gobbled rather quickly by the both of us. Also, you can select your own toppings for the Tacos. The Chicken Quesadillas (4 pieces) were warm with a somewhat crisp outer covering. The warm stuffing of chicken and cheese was divine.

Chicken Nachos (Soft)

Chicken Quesadillas

This experience at a price of Rs. 250 only! I am drooling while writing about the food at Loco-Chino. With the city having extremely limited choices for the Tex Mex cuisine I am really hoping this place is here for good.

Will I go there again? Definitely going to this place again and their Burrito and the Chicken Burrito Bowl is already on the to-try list for my next visit!

Where is it?  389, A Wing, Gagangiri Premises Co Operative Society, Carter Road, Bandra West, Mumbai; Contact: 022 65006544

#4. Dessert time @Wafflist, Carter Road, Bandra West

We headed for dessert to stuff our otherwise satisfied tummies because according to us Punjabis, meethe ke liye toh hamesha jagah hoti hai.  And if you’re on Carter Road and love waffles, oh how can you miss the Wafflist sign!

Waffle with bananas, chocolate sauce and whipped cream

The Wafflist is also a relatively newer joint on Carter Road and I had been meaning to try it for a while.  We got a customized order – warm waffle with sliced bananas, a generous drizzle of dark chocolate sauce topped with light whipped cream- a combination that can’t go wrong. The service was with a smile and that always adds to one’s experience at a place.

At Rs. 200 for our customized order I won’t say this is as reasonable considering the prices we’d paid at the Tex Mex restaurant but please let’s not forget how warm and yummy waffles are!

Will I go there again? Yes, when I crave waffles.

Where is it? Gagangiri Apartments, Carter Road, Bandra West, Mumbai; Contact:  +91 9819680380

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Ended our day with a stroll along the promenade on Carter Road. 

Tummies satisfied with beer and delicious food, a beautiful view, walk by the sea; all this without burning holes in our pockets = I love Bombay!