In a nutshell:

One of the best Kerala food I have had in a while, outside of someone’s house

Address & other details:  Hotel deluxe

Meal for 2: 1000 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.

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.

Short description – in case u r in a hurry:

We heard about this restaurant from a friend first and then saw a video post on this from a fellow blogger.

So we reached here on a Friday night hoping it Wud not b very crowded. Thankfully it wasn’t. Coz in the day it is usually full.

The gentleman at the counter near the entrance greeted us with a lot of warmth as we entered, as if we were at his home. We went to first floor ‘partially AC’ section where another gentleman treated us in the same manner.

At the entrance of the AC area there was pic of a Kathakali dancer welcoming guests.

On the way back we saw another pic of Kathakali dancer bidding goodbye

The interiors were all full with pics from god’s own country.

Seating was around tables of 4. The people sitting on wall side got sofa and the ones opposite got chairs to sit on

A huge menu card arrived as we arrived. It had general South Indian food, some pseudo Chinese and some North Indian as well. We however stuck to the Kerala food section.

The gentleman on the counter constantly kept checking what we needed. He was like the ‘master of ceremonies’ in an event or like a ‘conductor’ in an orchestra. We enjoyed a good chat with him.

The waiting staff just carried out his orders and were nice.

Food was mind blowing good. It is not often that u go to a restaurant and everything that u order turns out to be good.

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

Day 1:

We started with sadya. It was served in the traditional way on a banana leaf.

We were served a pinch of salt, a ginger chutney, a mango achaar, an extraordinary pineapple preparation, a chana curry, korma and avial.

With this we cud have either or all of rice , Malabar parota, appam, idiappam etc

The ginger chutney was very nice though the ginger was a bit coarse and ununiform. The version that I had at my Keralite friends house had finely chopped ginger. Loved it though. Rate it 4/5.

The mango achaar was very nice as well.

The pineapple pachidi was mind blowing. I was not satiated even after 2 helpings. The base was thick, intense and too good and the choice of pineapples was Excellent. They were juicy, sweet and awesome. Rate it 4.75/5

The chana curry (kadala) was again awesome. It was a dry gravy preparation with a strong coconut and coconut oil flavor. The chana was perfectly cooked. I licked off two portions of this. Just too good. Rate it 4.95/5

The Avial was again outstanding. Shredded coconut and assorted veggies curry – it takes huge caliber to make it so honest, so good. Rate it 4.75/5

Kurma was very good as well but it was the relatively milder of the 3. A light , subtle yet nice gravy with assorted veggies cooked I coconut milk. Loved it and rate it 4.25/5

We were also served sambar. This again was one of the best commercially made sambhars I have had in a while. Made from scratch this sambhar was not on the face and the balance of salt, sour and hot was perfect. Cud feel the texture of daal in the dish. Rate it 4.5/5

We ordered karimeen and we were told that this is flown in from Kerala as it is not available in mumbai. Awesome. Perfectly fried, this fish was just too good to eat. The outer skin had become crisp and the fish  inside was flaky, soft and juicy. Rate it 4.5/5

We also tried kallumakaya ( mussels). These were made into pakodas and served garnished with fried curry leaves and green chillies.

Unlike the mussels usually available in other outlet, this was served not with the shell but without it. It was quite fleshy – we were told these too are flown in from kerala. Outstanding full bodied flavor and awesome taste. Rate it 4.95/5

Chaas (buttermilk) had thinly sliced green chilles that made it special. The balance of salt & sour was perfect. Loved it. Rate it 4.25/5

For cereal we had malabar parota. It was very soft inside and crisp on the outside. Perfectly salted, this parota cud b munched away just like that. Rate it 4.5/5

Appam was good. It had a mild fermented flavor to it. It was very soft & the edges did not turn crisp. rate it 4/5

Loved munching on Idiappam – rice noodles kerala style.

We loved the food so much that we went back the next day.

Day 2:

We started with fried squid. This was amazing. Crisp batter fried squids retained their softness & flavor, inspite of the batter & the spices in the batter.

Great to taste as well. Rate it 4.5/5

Chicken biryani (with bones) was very interesting. It was not made with basmati (thankfully) but with Kerala rice – short & portly. The rice & meat of the biryani (unlike the Awadhi version) was not cooked together.

The chicken was roasted, cooked in a dry oniony gravy and layered with the rice. Loved the flavor of the rice & the taste of the biryani. The chicken pieces were juicy (I cud see juices trickling out of the chicken piece as I broke a part of the piece with my fingers). Rate it 4.25/5.

Mutton masala fry was the one that delighted us the least due to an executional error. It had suboptimal salt. The mutton pieces were juicy but chewy & soft. Quite liked it the way it was. Wud have rated it 4.25/5 but for the salt re-rate it 3.5/5

I do not remember seeing Beef roast on the menu. I overheard a ‘home delivery conversation about beef roast & asked if they have beef roast. They said YES. We asked for it & the food made our day.

The meat was super supple after long hours of slow cooking I guess & it was full of flavors. The taste was surely YUMM. We were in disbelief when we were having that dish. Awesome. Rate it 4.75/5.

Payasam was very interesting. It had chana dal & gur (jaggery). Loved sipping on it from a tiny plastic container. Rate it 4.5/5

Overall rating of food at Deluxe hotel averages out to 4.45/5

Wud look forward to revisit.