Konkan café (Vivanta by Taj, President 90, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai, Maharashtra)

In a nutshell:
A classy traditional look restaurant that serves Yumm west Indian coastal food.

at the entrance
at the entrance

Address & other details:  Konkan café

Meal for 2: 2000 onwards

Cuisine type :  vegetarian & nonvegetarian

Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has paid for the full Bill & tips also. http://www.yummraj.com does not have even one featured / sponsored reviews. YUMMRAJ believes in going to a restaurant in anonymity, as a normal guest, experience everything & give a honest account of the same to you.

day 1 receipt - proof of payment
day 1 receipt – proof of payment

I rate all the food items & then give a final overall rating which is a simple average of the individual item ratings. What the ratings stand for: 5 = Excellent, 4 = Very Good, 3 = Good, 2 = Fair, 1 = Disaster.

day 2 - proof of payment
day 2 – proof of payment

Short description – in case u r in a hurry:

The restaurant is located inside Vivanta by taj – president. The inside of the restaurant  has a completely different feel to it.

inside the restaurant
inside the restaurant

An ornate pillar in the center draws attention.

pillar in the center
pillar in the center

Beautiful wall hangings / installations are all around.

another view of the interiors
another view of the interiors

The middle area is like a courtyard around which there are open balcony type areas.

on the wall
on the wall

One can see an open kitchen on one side

open kitchen on one side
open kitchen on one side

The utensils are all traditional, made of metal – they are very heavy.

utensils
utensils

Menu card is pretty easy to go thru, with good description of the food items.

seating
seating

Service was good on both occasions, though  both times, inspite of request ( to serve one by one, as and when they are ready, coz we wud share) , all dishes were served together.

near the entrance
near the entrance

Food was very good in general, still longing to get back

chair -detailing
chair -detailing

Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:

Day 1: lunch

Lamb soup medium thick, full bodied flavour of good meat, spices. Not hot. Gives a mouthful of taste and flavour. Outstanding. Flavour of curry leaves. 4.5/5

Lamb soup
Lamb soup

White chutney, yellow Dal based chutney, red chutney tomato based, green chutney pudina based. Loved the dal based one.

chutneys
chutneys

Papad and dried fried red chilly was excellent. The chilly was hot, crisp and full of enjoyable flavour.

Papad and dried fried red chilly
Papad and dried fried red chilly

Solkadi was not as rustic as say in Gomantak or satkar rice plate house. It was however very good on its own. It had its own way, slightly thicker, slightly paler. Rate it 4/5

Solkadi
Solkadi

Meen pollichatu was rawas in banana leaves served on a sizzler plate. There were crunchy  flavourful thickly chopped onions and garlic cloves on the top.

Meen pollichatu
Meen pollichatu

Loved munching on them. The fish had spices but they were not on the face. Onions in the masala added a sweetish tinge. The smokey flavour and a burnt feel was enjoyable. Fish was very nice. Rate it 4.25/5.

Meen pollichatu
Meen pollichatu

Mutton mapas was mutton cooked in coconut milk and coriander. Excellent it was. The gravy was thick, had loads of flavours and was just too good.

Mutton mapas
Mutton mapas

The meat pieces were small, super soft and melt in the mouth. Rate it 4.5/5

Mutton mapas
Mutton mapas

Appam was one of the best I hv had in a while. It was crisp on the outside, very soft within. It had a mild sweetish tinge to it and a fermented feel that was enjoyable. Rate it 4.25/5. Wud hv rated it higher if it Wud hv been served warmer – I guess it took more than prescribed time to b transported to table from oven.

Appam
Appam

Neer dosa was soft, had no fermented feel and had a bit of uneven texture. Very good but I have had better. Rate it 4/5

Neer dosa
Neer dosa

For dessert we tried elaneer payasam. It had scraped coconut in place of rice. Wow, what a taste. Full bodied flavour of coconut and milk along with that of good cardamom. Somewhat thick liquid payasam that was the showstopper. Rate it 4.75/5

elaneer payasam
elaneer payasam

Day 2

This occasion we went to the restaurant for breakfast:

We started with Neer moru –  it was buttermilk. We tried both versions – the plain and the mAsala.

Neer moru
Neer moru

The plain one was very good, but not something that everyone will like. It was rustic, had a fermented feel to it, was strong in taste and flavour, tad more sour than usual restaurant variety and pretty close to the real thing. Super loved it. Rate it 4.5/5

The masala neer moru was very good as well but was much more ‘tamed’ and ‘urbanised’…… A bit different than the rustic rural version. Yet liked it a lot as it is. Rate it 4.25/5

Ramassery idli was very good. Super soft, yet not too fluffy, had a bit of fermented feel to it and was very enjoyable.

chutneys with idli
chutneys with idli

I still like Murugan idly better. Rate the idly 4.25/5

Ramassery idli
Ramassery idli

Egg roast was excellent – organic eggs made into a curry coastal style – curry leaves, spices.

Egg roast
Egg roast

There was a mild sweetness due to onions which I enjoyed. Rate it 4.5/5

Egg roast
Egg roast

Kheema masala was mind blowing – it was able to retain the intense taste and flavour of meat while allowing spices to mKe their presence felt. A brilliantly executed dish I must say. Rate it 4.75/5

Kheema masala
Kheema masala

We also had an outstanding Malabar parota with the kheema. It was super flaky, crisp outside and soft inside

IMG_4886

Navadhanya dosai was something that we enjoyed a lot – it was made from a multigrain mix. The dosai was crisp and very Yumm as it is. The aloo, served separately, was very simple yet very Yumm.

aloo of Navadhanya dosai
aloo of Navadhanya dosai

Rate it 4.5/5

Navadhanya dosai
Navadhanya dosai

Loved the sambhar a lot too. It was full of flavours and super Yumm to taste. The spices were not on the face yet very effective. Rate it 4.25/5

sambhar
sambhar

Overall rating of food at Konkan cafe averages out to 4.4/5

Wud surely revisit.

3 thoughts on “Konkan café (Vivanta by Taj, President 90, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai, Maharashtra)

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