Yeti - The Himalayan Kitchen

In a mood for some Spicy Hot Nepali food on a cold winter delhi night ? Yeti is the perfectttt place for you!
Its a fine spread for someone who wants to try a different cuisine. It houses Nepali, Tibetan and bhutanese dishes. 

Yeti is located at the Hauz Khas village in south delhi, above bagels, right next to the Kunzum travel cafe.
The place is kinda always full, so either go early by 8pm or be ready to wait. They do not take phone reservations. The ambiance is cosy, done up with brick walls, prayer flags and brass bells. Their food spread is interesting, and given its a new cuisine, would recommend sample a dish from all 3 regions - Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan.

For starters we ordered the special veg platter which includes the aloo sadeko (yummy potatoes), bhuteko chana (snacky stuff), the wai wai sadeko and the tingmo. One word of caution, the food at yeti may not be compatible with all digestive systems, so watch what you eat. The Thukpa and the Momos are also really good (Both veg and non veg). But given you can either of them anywhere, suggest try something new at Yeti. In the main course must try are the Datchi chicken for non veggies and the Datchi potatoes for veggies (bhutanese dishes), also pork lovers should try the fried pork.

It is indeed the Himalayan Kitchen, refreshing to eat a new cuisine which is also yum to the palate. The pricing is decent, an average meal without alcohol for one person would be around 400, also their portions are pretty good.
Special Thanks to Rahela Khorakiwala for introducing me to Yeti :)

Sammy Sosa

Sammy Sosa

Jogeshwari, Mumbai

Mexican

Sammy Sosa is one of the most reviewed places on burrp. And most reviews talk well about this place and do recommend it. One of the few places, where the management also seems particular about customer experience. Whenever someone has an unpleasant time, they are quick with their responses on burrp.

So after reading so many reviews, dragged a friend for a Saturday lunch at Sammy Sosa. The place is small, has a nice cozy appeal to it, although once full, gets a bit chaotic.

The menu has a wide variety of listings and the descriptions surely make your mouth water. They have almost everything right from tacos, nachos, Chimichangas, Bruschetta, potato skins, sandwiches, enchiladas, fajitas, pizzas, Mexican kababs, pastas, risotto, salads, the Mexican rice. And for some of these dishes, one also has an option to have the above in veg, chicken, prawns or fish.

The staff there recommended the kiwi wine cocktail which was pretty interesting. We ordered the nachos which were good, the mexican pizzas not too great and the Fajitas were decent. The portions are huge.

Between 3 – 8pm, they have an happy hour on food or something like that. The place is decently priced, Salads for 140, Main course dish for 220, pasta for 180. This place is okay, wont rave about it, like all those burrp reviews, it definitely dint live upto Tomatoes (Ahmedabad) standards. 

Overall was a bit disappointed with the experience. A hair stuck to the glass, late service, think it was not a regular day for them. However the management` s reply to my review followed by a promise for a better dining experience the next time is appreciated.

Naivedyam

Naivedyam (Fine South Indian and they accept Sodexho :P)

Hauz Khas Village, South Delhi

Awesome Rasam & Kesari sheera

So there was a craving for eating out, this time it was for some nice, inexpensive, really good, non junk, low fat food.  It had to be south indian. The closest and reasonable we could think of was Naivedyam. The other options were Udupi, but the food is not so great, and Sagar Ratna, which is aah.. never mind. This was my second visit to Naivedyam, and the place doesn’t really disappoint.

Situated in the lovely Hauz Khas Village (Village? Really?), Naivedyam has a lovely entrance. Banana shoots on either side, huge leaves making an arch. A cute idol of nandi, with a beautiful lit lamp, matched with incense sticks burning, makes for quite an entrance!

The seating inside is warm and pleasant, lovely paintings adorn the walls. I was surprised to see on a Wednesday night, it had some 70% occupancy. There is classical music playing in the background adding to the whole appeal of the place.

Each table is served with a welcome drink (Rasam) and an appetizer (Fried Papad). The rasam is breathtaking. Together the combination of rasam and papad, make for an excellent start to the meal.

Naivedyam serves the regular south Indian food, its only vegetarian. They have everything from Idlis, vadas, upma, pongal (during the day), dosai varieties, oothapams, types of rice, appams. There are Dosai specialities like the tangam paper dosai, panchtantra dosai which is set dosai, erulli masala is with onions, maharaja dosai is with dry fruits. Rice varieties include the lemon rice, bisbele bath, tamarind rice.  It is decently priced for delhi standards. Idlis are for 70, vadai (80), Rice (90). Average meal for two is about 400 bucks.

                                               Awesome Filter Coffee

We ordered a plate of Vegetable Idli, masala Vadai and Mysore Masala Dosa. The Veg Idli was okay, masala vadai was decent, so was the mysore masala. One of the best masalas I have had. The accompaniments, only the coconut chutney was good. The Sambhar was bland, too much water, the malgapudi was a disappointment.

For desserts we had the Kesari Bhath, and it was just too good. Perfect in fact, the right amount of sweet, less ghee, a must have! Also Try their filter coffee too, does not let you down.

Oh and now for the most amazing part. Naivedyam accepts Sodexho coupons, so all the good food, nice ambiance, it is not a bad deal at all. In fact, if you somewhere near Hauz Khas and in a mood for idli, vadai and dosai, go to this place. After all you get to pay with paper money!

Cheers!

Avoidable Amici

Amici

Bakery/ Italian

Select City Walk/ Khan Market

Review – Avoid, overpriced, waste of time, money and effort of eating!

Given I am thrashing this place, so heading straight to the food. Starters ordered the Basil and Tomato Bruschetta, which was a regular one, decent, nothing worth mentioning, or even worth ordering. 

Coming to the food, we had the Al funghi (with mushrooms, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese), and the Veg chilli pizza. I really don’t know anyone else who makes it this way, but this chilli signature amici pizza had deep fried paneer as a topping. For starters it not only spoiled the taste but it also did not blend in. Also none of the other veggies were cooked.

So there is the thin crust, which makes it easier to bite, but a good part of the edges are burnt, some are bland with no seasoning or sauce. It was like eating the edges of a Khari biscuit. 

                     Rahela & Bhakti giving dirty looks, am guessing its towards the food

Well, the only good part – their shakes and smoothies. Ordered the blueberry shake and the broken brownie shake, both were pretty decent. The next good part was the service – kudos to that!

The restaurant is an open one at select city walk, so can get a bit chaotic. Would recommend it only for shakes, when you want to take a little break from all that heavy duty shopping!

This place also serves shakes, salads, sandwiches, pastas, burgers, but again over priced. The salads (390) shakes (160), sandwiches ( 340), burgers (390). Average meal for two is about 1000. 

Gun Powder

Gun Powder, Hauz Khas Village, South Delhi

SouthIndian - Andhra/ Kerala speciality

Must try it at least once

So does Soondal, appum, kerala porutta, avial, pachidi, Paaysam ring a bell, or make your mouth water?  Its all available at Gun powder. One of the few places in south delhi that has seating overlooking the lake.

Situated in some bylane of Hauz Khas village, a 4 floor trek, Gun powder serves fine and authentic south Indian cuisine.

When I say south Indian I don’t mean idli and dosa, Its Andhra/ kerala speciality. It’s a treat for all non veggies as they have everything right from chicken, mutton, fish, prawns, pork, cooked of course in conventional kerala/ Andhra style. Veggies you do not have much of a choice, but still its worth one visit.

The restaurant has limited seating, about 5 tables on the outside and a few more on the inside. Often all tables get reserved in advance (they take both phone & facebook reservations), so either go really early or make an reservation. Take a table on the outside, way better with the lake and the greenery. Inside space is too small, and well once its full, it gets chaotic. One has to literally shout to speak to a co diner.

We reached Gun Powder at 7.30pm on a Sunday and except for a couple of tables, the place was empty. The waiter told us that all the empty tables had been reserved and hence he couldn’t seat us. After haggling for a while, he finally complied, gave the 3 of us a table for 2 with a condition that we need to try and finish our meal by 8.30pm. It was a bit appalling initially, but we soon realized why, as the place did get full in the next 15minutes. The table for 2 was of course really tiny to accommodate all that we had ordered, had to juggle quite a bit with that, bit of a bummer.

Service: After about 20minutes, we were told that one of our dishes was not available, not to mention the amount of time they took after that to get our food.

Food: Well this was the saving grace. Had ordered an avial with tamarind rice  with the venkai pachidi. Huge portions and the food so good. Perfect blend of spices and excellent on the palate. The tamarind rice was served piping hot, and the avial was just like the way it should be. Even the soondal is really good. Makes you miss home even more. Try out their dosais/ appums, they also have a couple of desserts like the paysam.

Average cost is about 300 per person (without alcohol).

Overall if you like the above dishes, veggies must visit Gun Powder at least once, non veggies what can I say – it’s a treat!

                                              The view from Gun Powder

Delhi Darbar

Delhi Darbar

Adhchini, South Delhi
Indian/ Chinese
Avoidable

My second visit to Delhi darbar and the only reason I went back there was because its of the few places which takes orders even at 11 at night. It is situated at Adhchini, right opposite Qutub residency/ TCs on the other side of the road.

The place has an ambiance of a darbar, weird blue coloured walls, so not appealing! The menu has a calorie barometer against each of the dishes highlighting the no of proteins, carbs, fats and calories the dish carries. Makes you almost wonder why eat any of those! For the calorie conscious - they also have a section dedicated to highlight zero oil cooking! 

Delhi Darbar serves both Indian & Chinese. Good spread for the non vegetarians, they have everything right from fish, chicken, lamb, prawns. Average cost per person is around 250.

I had ordered the veg balti and akhara dal. The balti was oily, just off the gas, had no taste. The dal was okay. DD is so not worth it, strictly avoidable. If you in that area and want to eat some Indian food, head straight to waves, it is opposite the NCERT gate in Adhchini itself.

Laajawab

Laajawab, Bangalore
CMH Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore
Indian 
Give it a shot!

Laajawab - fine name for a restaurant :) but the food was 'Almost there - Laajawab'

The restaurant is on the first floor, the good part is it has valet parking :) One of the few places, where the Darban greets you with a huge ass smile.

The ambiance is strictly okay, the tables are too crammed, there is hardly any space to move within the restaurant. There is the lunch buffet and the a la carte.

Had the a la carte in perfect punjabi style. Tried the lahori aloo and the kadhai veg. The lahori aloo and the dal tadka were really good, a must have! The kadhai veg would not recommend. Do try the amritsari kulcha - although one is enough and can be very heavy. The lachha paratha is also pretty decent. Average cost per dish should be around 200. The service was a little slow, but overall not a bad indian food experience.

Ray`s Cafe & Pizzeria

Ray`s Cafe & Pizzeria
Hill road, Bandra
Pizzas, Burgers, Sandwiches


So what began a search for Moshe`s, lead us to Rays Cafe. Right behind Natures basket, Rays is a small cafe which has both indoor and outdoor seating. We went there on a saturday evening and the place was almost full. Cozy, comfortable ambiance, had the sun not been out..we would have preferred sitting outside.

Rays has a limited alcohol menu, they serve only wine and apparently serve it only on weekends. Sampled the Sangria with oranges in white wine, was quite interesting. Amongst the starters we ordered the potato wedges which were good. I just loved their thin crust pizzas, we ordered half a Margherita and another half with toppings. Its a must try. You can also order pizza by the slice.

Moreover Pricing is also quite decent, the average cost of a 9inch pizza is about 200 and a 12 inch is 300. Salads, sandwiches and burgers cost about 170/-

Overall had a great time - good old conversations in a quiet cosy ambiance bundled with white whine and thin crust pizzas, give it a shot !

Guruprasad Udupi

Guruprasad Udupi
Munirka Market, South Delhi
South Indian predominantly, also has indian/ chinese on the menu
Suitable for Home Delivery


In a mood for south indian in south delhi? There are a few options - Naivedyam, Gunpowder, the new Tamilnadu Bhawan, Udupi, Sagar Ratna. Well this one is about the Udupi at Munirka. Its situated at the Munirka market, nice open air restaurant. Well one can go there even during summers as they have equipped the place with a set of coolers. The place would definitely be much better and cooler during winters given its an open air place.

The menu has options for southindian, chinese and Indian. Have never had any other cuisine besides southindian well its an udupi, so obviously. They have the regular dosa, idli, vada, fixed rice menus for everyday of the week. Lemon rice on friday, tomato rice on thursday and so on. Sambhar rice is available everyday but would not recommend that. The idli is okay, vada is good. Try out their dosas - they are the best of the lot. The food comes in good portions especially the Chutney & Sambhar, try a home delivery and you will be drinking sambhar for the next two meals. Besides they also have mini snacks / south indian and north indian meals. Its decently priced, average cost of a dosa is Rs80/- the thalis is for about 150/-

Overall pretty okay but not the best for south indian, the new TN bhawan is any day better. But if you are at home/ office and want to sample some south indian, this place delivers which is decent enough.

Slice of Italy

Slice of Italy
Vasant Vihar / Munirka - South Delhi
Italian
Cheap & Good Italian

If you ever in a mood for some inexpensive but good Italian, this is it. Slice of Italy has its branches across the city. There are available both for dine in and delivery.

Tiny, barely can accomodate over 4 tables, slice of italy is situated right oppposite the Vasant vihar bus depot, on the nelson mandela road. This place has good italian food both veg and non veg. Be it their salads or their sandwiches.

For the Veggies - Do try the submarine sandwich Hot Vegas, its really good, a little spicy on the palate. The Bonasera salad is also worth a try. Slice of Italy has a good variety of main course - calzone, pizzas, pastas, risottos on offer. Its also very reasonable. Pizzas about 240, pastas 160, sandwiches about 120, they have good portions. Liked their white sauce pasta, cheesy and yum! For Desserts - Try their chocolate truffle, a must!

Overall great value for money for good italian cuisine, one of my favs in delhi !

Basil, Off CG Road

Basil, Ahmedabad
CG Road
Indian / Italian
Must try their Fixed Dinner & Chocolate Decadence

So there is bawarchi on the first floor for Indian and basil on the ground floor which serves Italian Cuisine. Believe they are both owned by the same person. So Basil has this awesome 5 course unlimited dinner thing. They have it both in Italian & Indian. It costs about Rs 250/- per head and its completely worth it.

Italian - The only limited food items are the soup and the chocolate mousse.They have different types of breads for starters (garlic bread, bruchetta) among others. Main course includes pesto, arabiatta, aalio oilio, alfredo pasta, some 4 types of thin crust pizza and think there is also the risotto. And yes the starters and the main course is unlimited. The food is good and all you doing is just eating for a good two hours.

Its absolute value for money. If you want to eat a lot and be also kind on the wallet - do try the unlimited dinner meal at Basil, have heard even the Indian fixed meal is really good.

Oh and if you try their A la carte - you should and i mean it in CAPS, try their chocolate decadence, its out of the world!

The New TamilNadu Bhawan

The New Tamilnadu Bhawan
Opposite Chanakya Cinema Hall, Chanakyapuri
South Indian - though they have other cuisines on the menu but wont recommend
Rupiaya - Rs 200/- per person
Suggestions - Worth one Visit


So i am a big (like really huge) Andhra Bhawan fan, and i just need an excuse to go there. But this time (and since we were in the mood for some experimentation) we went to the New Tamil Nadu Bhawan. The name is the New TN Bhawan which is next to the Chanakya Cinema Hall, right behind the petrol pump / CCD.

So the TN Bhawan building is quite swanky, As you climb the steps to go inside, one can see two foundation stones. Yes - you guessed it right, one installed by Tatha (Karunanidhi) and one by Amma (Jaylalitha) :P
The walls have images of Amma, her minsters, the recent CM swearin in ceremony, Huge TN maps. The Bhawan also has a cute auditorium, a small fitness centre and i believe rooms for accommodation (have heard its open to outsiders, but not sure!)

After exploring a little bit, we headed towards our mission which was obviously to eat. The mess is like a little canteen, with a separate section for residing guests.

The ambiance reminds you of all those numerous south indian homes one has visited - typical neel blue and green paints on the walls :P
AC was a bit dysfunctional - but never mind!
The menu - is an all cuisine menu, it includes mughlai, 'dragon chinese', and a lot of non vegetarian dishes.
Service - Sweet, although they do not ask you for seconds

okay so the food - we were 3 of us, and yes the three of us ordered 2 southindian thalis, 1 bowl of chettinad chicken curry, 1 sada dosa, 1 plate idli and 1 plate vada. The advantage - i got to taste all of it, the disadvantage - well we couldnt move after our meal.

The thali was decent - 2 vegetables, curd, sweet dish, sambhar, rasam, 1 roti, 1 papad, and a bowl of rice. The Sambhar was good, although not that great, liked the rasam better. The dosa was fine - very good coconut chatni, idli was not that great, vada was fine. Chettinad chicken can be spicy for some.

What was surprising was - they did not have the traditional Mulgapodi (Gunpowder chutni) which is a must with dosa/ idli/ vada. The Coffee however lived up to its traditional coffee taste.

So well, overall the new TN bhawan has good food, but the problem is Andhra Bhawan has just set very high standards, the food at AB is also way better. It has better service where it seems like their motive is just to feed you food. Beside with the thali, they also give you ghee, pickles, powders. Given a choice i will always pick AB! But not making this look like a AB review, the new TN Bhawan is worth one visit. And if you want to be tempted, there is Goa Bhawan somewhere close by, which is going to be my next :)

Cheers!

Tomatoes

Tomatoes
CG Road, behind the Titan Showroom, Ahmedabad
Multi Cuisine
about 350 per person
Suggestions -absolutely brilliant !


so given my love for this place, i should get a loyalty card or something. okay to start with Ahmedabad has limited options for non gujju/ non indian food, esp if you are from bombay where you are spoilt for choice.

its always full (yes amdavadis are true foodies!), take the seating that goes downstairs (lovely!). little booths on either sides, gives you that space you want when you going to have a good meal. lovely ambiance, after being there - you really wish that this place serves alcohol!

food - the popcorn they serve initially can be stale, and dont eat too much of it, cause the foods just awesome. Among the mocktails - the cranberry one is quite good. starters - I absolutely love their nachos, chimmichangas, and a cheesy dish (name i dont remember).

Main course for me is the mexican hot pot rice. i dont think i know anyone who has had the mexican hot pot (veg and non veg) and has not liked it.

desserts - book your desserts in advance, they have a limited stock of pastries.
It is about 350 per person for a full meal and their portions are quite good.

Tomatos is one of my fav restaurants in Ahmedabad and i have to go there (in bold) whenever i am in the city.

Pop Tates

Pop Tates
Where - R Mall, Mulund West, Mumbai
Cuisine - Italian / Drinking Place
Rupaiya - Rs 500/- (Per person without alcohol)
Suggestions - Great place to chill / drink / watch a match

So i should definitely get a loyalty card for this place too ;) There was a time, when I used to frequent pop tates almost every week. And every time i have been there, weekend or weekday, noon or evening - it always full of people.

The alcohol is very decently priced. About 180 for a LiiT and 140 for a regular cocktail. Happy hours is from 2 something pm to 7pm, its applicable on beer and not on regular cocktails.

Ambiance - Perfect for a place like this - Movie/ artist blown up images adorn the walls, a bit dingy, great music and always playing some match.

Service - never had a complaint - have always been cooperative every time i have had a problem with a drink/ food.

okay so now lets go order.

Good alcohol - its a bit easy on the pocket, so one does have the liberty to order in quantities. At times, you might have to just ask them to spike your drink. The Happy hours for beer is quite a steal tho. I like their classic margarita (not the flavoured ones) and their long island iced tea!

starters (veg) - jalapeno bangers a must, not sure if they are still available. nachos are okay, dont like the ones with baked beans, makes the nachos soggy.

Main course - try their pizzas/ sizzlers are also decent. It comes in good quantities, so watch what you order. Would not recommend having a dessert there.

Overall a great drinking place, its perfect to meet a bunch of friends, spend a couple of hours, get a bit buzzed. A tip - start the evening at pop tates, get your alcohol and once done, head to urban tadka for a good punjabi meal.

Cocoa by Belgique

Cocoa by Belgique
Select City Walk Mall, Saket, New Delhi
Cuisine - Italian
Rupaiya - Rs 450/- per person (Includes Alcohol)
Suggestions - Not worth it !

Lazy sunday afternoon, lunch was at the mall and both select city and dlf place has lots and lots of options. Big chill would have been my first choice without a doubt, but i was in a mood to try something new. we chose cocoa by belgique, its right next to Haagen Dazs.

To begin, Cocoa by belgigue has these fixed combo meal offers which sound quite good. They include sandwiches+ a drink, burgers+ a drink, a main course+ a drink and so on. The drink is an option between a Tuborg pint (worth it) or any other mocktail / cold coffee. Good spread on the menu for A la carte too.

The ambiance is good - cosy appeal, good enlarged images adorn the wall, not bad i say. The music however was a bummer, we were there for over an hour, and the playlist kept repeating itself. The service was strictly okay. There was just one person around, and getting in touch with him was always not possible.

My friend ordered a chicken ceaser salad with a cold coffee. The salad was just lettuce, some excuse of chicken pieces, and mayo :( The cold coffee was more like coffee water with just like too much ice in it.

I ordered for the classic veg sandwich - the veggie clubber. The portions were huge (couldnt finish) which is good but the sandwich was a regular one with tomatoes, cucumber and cheese. My drink was a chocolate Monk which was okay, in retrospect should have just ordered the pint !

anyways this was my first and last visit to cocoa by belgique.. next time its back to big chill baby!

Swagath at Malviya Nagar

Swagath
Where - Malviya Nagar Market, South Delhi
Cuisine - recommended Indian
Rupaiya - Rs 700 for two (Without Alcohol)
Suggestions - Worth a try - good Indian


My second visit to Swagath, easy to find, its at the Malviya Nagar market.

Swagath has an ambiance of a typical family setting. Cushion chairs and sofa booths.

We Ordered a mix veg and the Malai Kofta and the Kofta was yummm. The portions are small, so dont be suprised to order more. The service is good and overall the food is tasty. It costs about 350/- per head if you want to have a full meal (without alcohol). Must go for decent and cheap Indian.

Plus there is the temptation of going to Gyannis for dessert which is right beside Swagath :)