Look who's here? --Eagle Boys Pizza!

When you think of quick pizza in terms of international food chains, some of the popular ones in India pop up in your head. Not for long though now. Eagle Boys Pizza, an Australian pizza chain, has entered the Indian market and is surely going to woo you. You just need to give its classics a try.

So a friend and I had the opportunity to visit one of the newer franchises of Eagle Boys Pizza that has opened up in Mumbai’s Fort area at Sterling Cineplex. Who doesn’t love pizza, right? Well, with that in mind both of us were quite excited to try this new place and I am extremely glad that we did! It has opened doors to a newer, quick, non-fine dine, yet great pizza place for me at least.

The store is inside the Sterling Cineplex area so it has a food court kind of set up. For those of you who are wondering “where?”, it has opened up at the place where Nawab’s, a place serving Lucknowi food, used to be.

I had the pleasure of talking to the owner and he told us how when he had tried the Eagle Boys Pizza for the first time he was so fascinated by the concept that he just felt it as his responsibility to introduce this awesomeness to the palates of us Mumbaikars.  The concept of freshness, that is the USP of Eagle Boys, is actually a very basic necessity for all of us looking to eat well. Whereas a lot of places would, because of logistic reasons try to make their work easier and avoid the harder way, this place has not shied away from doing one major thing to bring to its customers the delight of freshness and it can be tasted in the crust of their pizzas. Instead of just sourcing their pizza base from some central place, each and every pizza base is prepared at the kitchen of the store. This has definitely amped up the taste and texture of the pizza that your teeth dig into at this place.

I shall give you my description of their food in the order that it was served to us.

We first started with the Spicy Garlic Scrolls (Rs. 89) featured under the “Sides” in the menu. The owner told us that unlike a lot of places that use cheese sauce in such rolls, Eagle Boys strictly uses freshly grated mozzarella and indeed this could be felt in that first bite that I took where the cheese stretch was never ending- just like it should be. However, on the taste front while the garlic and spice was full power doing justice to the name of the dish, the salt was a little lacking or at least was getting subdued by the crust- which I felt could have been done a little crispy so as to get that crackly feeling when biting into it.

For our round of mocktails we were served a glass of the Exotic Flavoured Mocktail and the Green Apple Mojito both of which are priced at Rs. 69 each. While the Green Apple Mojito was extremely refreshing, the Exotic Flavoured Mocktail is not something that I enjoyed so much so that it tasted a little cough syrupish to me. Maybe its just me but I know that's not something I'll be ordering at this place again.

We went ahead with the Tomato Penne Pasta (Rs. 99) and the first bite had that charred caramelized onion which just took our hearts away. The pasta was just the right amount of saucy and the flavour was great for a quick bite kind of pasta with crisp veggies.

Finally the pizzas arrived- BBQ Chicken and Spicy Chicken (Rs. 219 each for a 7" pizza). First things first- the crust of the pizza is what definitely makes this a good eat. Not flaky, not dry, not too doughy, just the right amount of thickness which complimented the toppings and the cheese very well. In no bite would you feel that "oh- that's just bread! Where are my toppings?" because that's how well spaced the toppings were. 

I am more of a spice lover so for me the Spicy Chicken definitely did it. My friend on the other hand is a BBQ person so well that's what he favourited. This just goes on to say that the flavours were bang on and yummy and depending on what kind of a foodie you are, you're surely going to find your pick here.

But this was not all. What we had for dessert, even though by now as you can imagine we were full up to our necks, blew our mind. So Eagle Boys does a Sweetzza (Rs. 99) which is basically chocolate pizza and is a great dessert in terms of taste. This was sort of a chunky version of the chocolate pizzas that many of you must have tried and this was really good. The texture of the spread on top with the soft pizza crust is what will keep you coming back for more!

As far as the service goes, the staff was extremely courteous and helpful. Ask them anything and they’ll be glad to help you out or tell you more about the place or the food.

Will I go there again? Most definitely, whenever I am next in the area. (Sweetzza yummy!)

Where is it? Sterling Cinema, Marzaban Road Cinema Lane, Fort, Mumbai Contact: 022 33956057/ 67493939/ 67494040/ 65060001 (Note: This review is restricted to the Fort outlet of Eagle Boys Pizza only.)

Berry Berry Goood!

Mumbai is home to a lot of Parsi/Iranian families and the Parsi/ Iranian culture that you'll find in this city, is distinctively more than anywhere else in the country. Food and cuisine, I believe, is a very integral part of any culture.That being said there are a lot of Parsi/ Iranian cafés in this city where you can go and give your taste buds a twirl of excitement. One such famous place, right in the heart of Ballard Estate, is Britannia & Company Restaurant, aka Britannia Café.

At the first look Britannia Café gives you the feeling of an old regular place - ordinary wooden tables and chairs, no air conditioning- a place which couldn't care less about interiors and decors in today's times- when “ambience” is the selling point of most places. However, one could say that this adds to the old-is-gold charm of this place. I would say it is a relic of Mumbai's colonial era! Having been in business for almost 90 years now (started in 1923; you can read the history of Britannia Café here), this Iranian café is truly one of those legendary eateries that has stayed in the hearts of so many Mumbaikars and continues to win over many more. I had been wanting to go to Britannia for quite a while now and was jubilant when last weekend the plan finally materialized.

We reached the place and were asked to have our names added to the waiting list. There were quite a few people waiting outside the café along with us but thanks to the quick service, we were seated in about 20 minutes. A very old Parsi uncle (I think he was the owner) came and greeted us warmly and took down our order. A little reading up on the Internet tells me that he is usually seen walking around the café and taking orders. I have to say that this personal touch really gives Britannia brownie points.

It goes without saying that we ordered the famed Chicken Berry Pulao (Rs. 450) and Lime Soda (Rs. 100). It took about 5-10 minutes for them to serve us and oh my, were we in for a treat! The Chicken Berry Pulao, is a regular chicken pulao with a surprise of soft chunky pieces of chicken, fried slightly-burnt onions, nuts and the Iranian berries, which I'd like to refer to as the Mysterious Iranian Berries. First bite----- I was in heaven. The tanginess of the Mysterious Iranian Berries, the onions, nuts and chicken gravy blended in so perfectly that my eyes automatically shut so that I could savour the flavours that were in my mouth without any distractions. "This is so good," were the first words that came out of my mouth. But that was just the first bite. This is one of those toothsome dishes that is so delicious, so comforting, and provides a combination of such exciting flavours that I would aptly like to quote Lay's tagline here- "Ek baar khaaoge toh khaate reh jaaoge, no one can eat just one. *ting ting*". Also, rumour has it that these Mysterious Iranian Berries are imported all the way from Iran. Exotic eh? Needless to say, we polished the plate clean.

Chicken Berry Pulao- Rs. 450 a plate

Lime Soda- Rs. 100

The Lime Soda was a good thirst quencher and an ideal accompaniment to the Chicken Berry Pulao.

Caramel Custard- Rs. 120

Next on the list was the caramel custard (Rs. 120). Now, a lot of caramel custard has gone down my gullet, in different eateries and I have even prepared it at home, so this is not something that should have taken my breath away- but it did! The caramel, so perfectly cooked, left a delightful aftertaste in my mouth. Indeed this was one of the best caramel custards I have ever tasted. I experienced an "mmmm" moment!

The service here is quick, as already pointed out. They are very old school about their billing- no card payment, no printed bills. The weather was pleasant at the time we visited, with a little rain here and there, so we didn’t mind the fact that this place was not air conditioned. If planning to visit, please note that they are open only from 11 am to 4 pm and are closed on Sundays.

Will I go here again?- Definitely for the Chicken Berry Pulao and the Caramel Custard. Also to try out the Salli Boti and Mutton Berry Pulao about which I have heard so much. They also had a special menu featuring Persian sweets (something that I might want to try the next time I go there).This place is a total winner in terms of the food that they serve and while writing this piece I have been drooling at the thought of visiting it again.

Where is it? Wakefield House, 11 Sprott Road, 16 Ballard Estate, Fort, call 022 22615264, 022 30225264