In a NUtshell: A 3 day old restaurant started by chef Alex Sanchez (former chef at The Table) in fort, mumbai, that serves slow American food (very different and refreshing offering than what most ‘American’ themed restaurants in india serve. Address & other details: americano Meal for 2: ₹800 onwards Cuisine type : vegetarian & non vegetarian Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ … Continue reading Americano (123,nagindas master road, Kala ghoda,fort, mumbai)
Very interesting ambience & food – can turn a bit adventurous as well. Check it out if u wanna venture outside the usual Chinjabi (Chinese food Punjabified) stuff that u get in Gurgaon.
At the entrance of the restaurant
Meal for 2: Rs. 300 onwards
the eating hall of the restaurant
Short description – In case u r in a hurry:
From outside it looks like a good Goa shack with outdoor sitting.
Outdoor sitting, Tibetan Kitchen
As u walk in, u enter a very colorful room with Tibetan pictures & drawings on all walls, fans on the ceiling (did not see airconditioners), British style ceiling with wooden beams.
the ceiling of the eatery
The menu cards are ‘black & white’ print-outs on normal paper & then laminated. The waiting staff wears a jacket in which the restaurant name is written. They talk to u from ‘one person’ to ‘another person’ level & not ‘trained waiter’ to ‘customer’ level. I admired the innocence of the guy when we asked ‘R the prawns fresh?’ he said ‘of course, I went myself to the market to buy it today’. They are very polite & smiling but I guess under tremendous pressure to deliver.
Tibetan lamp shade in the balcony outside the eating hall
The adventure bit – The restaurant is located right next to a ‘Wine Shop’. People come in groups, buy booze, have it in open air, bring along with them to the restaurant & drink straight from the bottle. The side effect may be that the guys in the table besides u start laughing 5 times louder at almost non laughable comments post they get drunk etc. So in a way the place might look like a cheap bistro that u get to see in Clint Eastwood movies. The only difference is that some families do come also.
the superb pork
The food is very good but not extraordinary. It is better than the food at Blue Poppy Kolkata.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
The Chindian (Indianized Chinese food) is tasty & nice but lacks on the authenticity front. For ‘close to authentic Chinese food’ in Gurgaon, YUMMRAJ recommends The Monk, Galaxy Mall. However, if u do not give a damn to authenticity & r willing to dig into anything tasty, Dine Esty is a good choice. Infact its a very good choice for a nice evening out with some good food.
The main dining hall – another view
We have been to Dine esty several times & always had been eating at the Live Japanese Teppanyaki (Japanese Grill) Counter. This time around we decided to sit in the main dining hall & ordered some Chinese (turned out to be tasty Chinjabi) alacarte section.
starter at Dine Esty
The menu card was almost 10 pages long & really requires a great deal of study by foodies to decide on food. Too many interesting names pop up before the eyes & ity becomes a challenge (in a good way) to narrow down & finalize the order. In the menu card there are sections like soups, dimsums, starters, main course etc like everyone else but all these section in turn have detailed sub sections – chicken, pork, lamb, vegetarian, duck, fish, crab, seafood. I saw some interesting items like seafood dimsum, crystal dimsum, pork gouza, prawn harkaw (a dimsum that has potato starch as wrapper) – I fondly remembered harkaw that we had at Royal china. To summarize, every Chinese place has sections but this one was in great details.
The interior has three sections – a lounge & bar setting on the left (as u enter) & this is covered by a see-through wooden partition. Then there is the Main dining Hall with Restaurant setting & at the end is the Live Teppanyaki counter where u can sit on the counter & njoy seeing the food being prepared in front of u. A chat with the chef is also an interesting option. Getting the food made with ur choice of sauces is surely another option.
The lounge & bar setting behind the wood partition
The Japanese concept of teppanyaki is very cool though – it is essentially a flat Metal plate (say 1meter by 2 meters) that is heated at all times. The customers have the option to sit around this hot plate & the Chef stir fries veggies / fish / meats in front of u & serves fresh out of the Teppan.
Stir frying on the teppan right in front of the customer seats – u see the cooking right infront of u
Inspite of the fact that the sauces here r tweaked to cater to Indian tastes – the overall taste is very enjoyable. ………….. Infact not too many people might b able to appreciate the 100% original taste the way it is served in Japan or China. I Do love the original though & do not mind the tweaked versions at times.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
In case u have been to the link above, u wud have figured out that Chef Joy, the owner, Chief Chef & conceptualizer of the restaurant calls it – contemporary Bengali cuisine & I have called it continental cuisine inspired by Bengal. Read more about this debate & about Chef Joy’s interaction with us in the detailed description.
If we keep aside the birth credentials of this food, it is good food & appeals to the taste buds & worth a second, third & so on….visit.
The Chilli pickle & cheese baked crab with Kolmi greens was mind-blowing – one of the best oriental flavors of crab I have ever had, mutton & cherry tomato skewers was a superb concept – slightly suboptimal in execution, stir fried prawns with muddled grapes was awesome, Pork Vindaloo & Royal Bengal mutton with bhuna sauce & mashed potatoes was good. The desserts were out of the world – Gondhoraj soufflé, Spiced mango soufflé & Mustard & tender coconut mousse.
……….. a must try
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy readin:
I always like to get a grub here if it’s a morning. My comment after first several visits : “Love the breakfast. Also good things r – a bright & colorful decor, peppy music, fun & cool staff – they actually crack jokes at times, make u feel like u hv come to a cool hangout place.” Experience on my last visit – We came across a disaster of a waiting staff – worst than anyone I have come across anyehere in Europe / USA.
The Giraffes at Heathrow airport
Had a breakfast set menu – Soft & creamy scrambled eggs with some really good bacon, rich & super tasty sausages, baked beans , grilled tomatoes & some really crunchy potato fries.
A graphiti on the wall inside the restaurant
Detailed Description: In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
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