In a nutshell: A Mediterranean food & beverages focussed, large, fine dining restaurant at mumbai fort, that has a fab ambience, by chef Saby (sabyasachi Gorai) Address & other details: recca Instagram: recca Facebook: recca Meal for 2: ₹1500 onwards Cuisine type : vegetarian & non vegetarian Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has paid for … Continue reading Recca (above Chetana restaurant, kala ghoda, fort, mumbai)
In a nutshell: A beautiful multi-storeyed restaurant with different deco on each level that serves some usual and quite a few ‘not so widely available in india’ Persian dishes that r yumm and flavourful. Address & other details: Persian Darbar Meal for 2: 1000 onwards Cuisine type : vegetarian & non vegetarian Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he … Continue reading Persian darbar (5, Alexandra Terrace, Dr BA Road, Near Gloria Church, Rani Baug, Byculla East, Byculla, Mumbai)
In a nutshell: A 5 star fine dine restaurant that had quite a few slips but more than made up all that by its outstanding food. Address & other details: Souk Meal for 2: 3000 onwards Cuisine type : vegetarian & non vegetarian Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has paid for the full Bill & … Continue reading Souk (The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Apollo Bunder, Colaba, Mumbai)
In a nutshell: A Mumbai based chain with restaurants in Mumbai & Pune where food is the prime focus & they serve YUMM Mediterranean food. Address & other details: Moshe’s 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 … Continue reading Moshe’s (7, Minoo Manor Building, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai)
In a nutshell: Beautiful opulent interiors, live Middle Eastern Music, option to njoy ur evening in an open air cabana that is weather proof or in the plush interiors, excellent service & impressive food. Address & other details: Casablanca Meal for 2: Rs. 3000 onwards. Cuisine type : Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & … Continue reading Casablanca (DoubleTree by Hilton, Golf Course Road, Sector 56, Gurgaon)
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
This was our first dinner in a restaurant ever since cities got locked down due to COVID. We were deliberating between different options & narrowed down to spectra. We were looking for European food. Very Glad that we came here – the experience was totally worth it.
The restaurant is situated inside leela ambience gurugram. As we alighted from our vehicle, a guy in uniform came for valet parking. I handed over the keys & the car. He asked my phone number (he said it was mandatory). I asked for the receipt. He said physical receipt will not be given & that I will receive an SMS in 10 minutes. The SMS however never came. After our dinner I walked out of the gate, told the security about my car. He asked me for SMS. I said I did not get. He got me the car & handed over the keys!!! So imagine someone can quote another person’s Bentley’s number & drive it away!!! Super wierd.
As we entered the hotel we were asked to put all our metal belongings in a tray and pass through the security so that there is no need for physical patting and checking. As we reached the lobby, we were asked to stand in front of a machine that could measure the temperature without physical contact.
After this,when we moved on to the restaurant, it was about 7:40 PM and the restaurant had about 4 to 5 tables occupied. it was as silent as it could be it. No chatter, no clattering of cutlery. It seemed like walking into a restaurant in a hotel at 7 AM in the morning for breakfast on Sunday, sharp at the opening time.
When we had called earlier, the guy did not tell us that the last order will be before 8 pm. We were lucky we walked in at 7.40. Else we would have to return.
Our server was extremely warm and constantly kept us engaged throughout our stay in the restaurant. We felt like being guests at his home.
As we sat, he got us a scanner. It had a QR code, which we had to scan from our camera of the phone. immediately as we scanned the code, a link appeared and it had the entire menu of all the restaurants in the hotel. The E-menu was Crisp and very very easy to navigate through. it was very user-friendly, I must say.
The final check however came in traditional printed paper. Thankfully, inside the restaurant we could takeoff our masks because the tables are apart anyway and due to low occupancy people were seated far from each other.
Few customers in the restaurant and imports not yet being normal, led to some ingredients being absent in the kitchen. so few of the dishes that we wanted to have , cud not be served to us. However, whatever we had was outstanding and by far made up for not getting the ones we were looking for.
Absolutely loved the food
Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:
As we waited for the food, we were served a complimentary Immunity booster – it had strong celery flavors, had a tinge of salt, it was not too sweet & overall it was a great refreshing drink. Rate it 4.25/5
We ordered grilled Norwegian salmon. It was just brilliant. It was so juicy that At times it felt like that I was having watermelon!!! The fish was flaky, full of flavors and perfectly cooked. the skin on top was Crisp & super enjoyable. Chef had made a marmalade Inhouse, that was spread on top of the fish. excellent. Loved it so much that our plate was polished white by the end of the meal. Rate it 4.5/5
Grilled lamb chops were perfectly cooked as well. The pieces of meat used in the lamb chops were also excellent. The meat pieces had a layer of fat in the corner. These had become Crisp outside. as we would bite into the meat, the Crisp thin layer of fat wud burst into a flavorful thick liquid. Outstanding is an understatement. rate it 4.75/5
For dessert we had banana walnut caramel tart. The tart base was very good. The filling was good, the caramel sauce excellent, the bananas were very ordinary, flat taste ones – not too sweet, a hint of salt. Overall the dish was very good. Rate it 4/5.
Overall rating of food & beverages average out to 4.25/5
Really happy we went there. Wud go for a Japanese dinner some day.
Below is the original post from 2011
In a nutshell:
Loved the experience & the food – a few ifs & buts though on the food. Will surely revisit to try out other cuisines.
Cool & colorful decor at Spectra Leela kempinsky gurgaon
Short description – In case u r in a hurry:
As u walk into Leela & then into the Coffee shop Spectra, ur eyes r overwhelmed with the decor & the look. I wud not say that it is the most artistic place I have been to but it is a visual delight.
........... a visual delight
As u walk in the restaurant u realize that the staff is very warm. I have this funny habit of wearing the most ordinary of clothes to a 5 or a 7 star & then asking for non bottled filtered water – The reaction is very interesting to see coz a section of the staff in most of these places tend to judge u by these initial parameters. Here at Spectra the reaction was as warm & normal as it could get & they passed my funny test with flying colors.
The Coffee shop has a very very interesting Japanese counter where u can chat with the chef, tailor-make ur sushis & sashimis & sit & eat on the bar table. The Chef rolls the sushis in front of u from scratch &serves.
A little away from there is the Chinese counter. Here again u can sit on counter, chat with the chef , tailor-make ur food & eat soups, stir fries , soupy noodles like thukpas etc. All ingredients are kept there as well & the colors of them are a visual delight.
There are also a good representation of cuisines that u usually do find too many Top end Restaurants specializing in. e.g Arab cuisine, Thai, Malaysian, Singaporean . They also have a large list of good unusual food (unusual when compared to menu cards of other delhi restaurants).
The menu card has a very large & wide selection vegetarian section.
Other interesting options are a breakfast spread Rs. 750 + taxes, a Lunch buffet of Rs. 1600 + taxes , a Sunday Brunch (with sparkling wine, house red & white wine, beer & vodka cocktails) & a Champagne Brunch for Rs. 3500 (Champagne in place of Sparkling wine + everything else) .
We liked the seafood soup, loved the Moroccan seafood grill & Freaked out on the outstanding tenderloin steak.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
This post is kind of a recap of non Indian cuisines & eateries in Gurgaon – I have covered detailed reviews of many of these eateries in doifferent posts in this blog . Needless to say that this is not a comprehensive guide of food places in Gurgaon but then it is good to start with – its about our favourite pik or not so favourite pik.
This post was first written in early 2011 for www.socialmantra.in. I am republishing this with minor changes. You will find updates to restaurants that we have revisited if u click on the links below.
Moving to cuisine from our neighboring country China, I must first explain the two types of food available Gurgaon. The first is authentic Chinese & the second is Chindian (Indianization of Chinese food). Manchurian is a common example of Chindian food – When I went to China years back, I asked for the famous Chinese dish Manchurian, to be told that they had never even heard of this. Later while reading a book called Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi, I came to know that Manchurian was invented in Mumbai by a Chinese origin Indian National hailing from Tangra in Kolkata who later opened a very successful Eatery in Delhi!!!! The Chinese of China have never even heard of it. The technique is basically to make koftas of meats & vegetables in the Indian way, deep fry them & then cook them in Chinese sauces. This form of food is so popular that last time I was in Boston I saw a restaurant with a board saying Indian Chinese Restaurant!!!
A good example of a restaurant serving Chindian food is Yo China. With most of the Chinese cuisines tweaked to cater to local tastes, this little eatery in MGF mall is a super success. Food is very tasty in general – Starts with a limited but good selection of dimsums (very chicken heavy). Honey chilli potato is a good vegetarian starter that even carnivores like me would love. Special mention for the fish & prawn dishes in starters as well as main-course. The full pomfret is excellent & so is garlic fish. Crispy mutton is also worth a try. There are a few very good sautéed chicken options as well. In the desserts section, there is a unique ‘snickers sundae’ which is actually pieces of snickers chocolate pieces dunked in vanilla ice cream. In food courts of other malls, movie halls & large departmental stores, you may come across a little colorful Yo China Cart which serves yummy momos & honey chilli potatoes. This is our favorite ‘little munch’ during our Gurgaon hopping exercises.
the awesome 100% herbivorous salad that even hardcore carnivores wud not b able to keep distance from
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
I have never been to the Arab countries & hence have no idea of what an authentic Arab food is / how it tastes. However, when we ate at the newly opened Zaitoon, the food was mind blowing good – Have no clue how authentic it was but the taste was just beyond all expectations.
Menu on the wall 1
They have equal number of options for mutton freaks, Chikenetarians & Vegetarians. The little taste of Veggies that I got in our platter was very good.
We went for a Zaitoon Mixed Mutton platter – A ‘to die for’ Mutton Basrawi Tikka, Mutton Baghdadi tikka, a kind of hand-made pizza called Mutton Arayes, Superb Mutton kabab, nice pita bread, hummus, tahini & a really hot chilli dip, a ‘never had it so tasty’ salad, turshi & some unwanted French Fries & Coke!!
the platter
Going by the little bits of vegetarian that we had + the overall intent of the guys to really serve good tasty food makes me believe that the vegetarian food is very good as well.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
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