Zorawar Karla's dream of bringing Farzi Café to Mumbai sees the light in this dimly lit place in Kamla Mills today on 6th May, 2016
Well 'First Day Last Show' just happened!
Pa Pa Ya was my first choice for the evening but it did not grace me with a reservation. A blogger friend popularly known as Grubzonee put a picture on Instagram of a desert from Farzi Café. I called them for a reservation in the afternoon and the shrill voice came from the speaker,' sorry maam we are booked for the night.' I persisted, thinking in my mind,' I understand you do not have endless space but you are in the hospitality industry, you can't refuse a guest'. She said,' we keep some tables for walk-in, you can try that'. Walk-In!!! We did walk in at 8.30 and were seated without any hesitation for the gastronomic flight.
Pa Pa Ya was my first choice for the evening but it did not grace me with a reservation. A blogger friend popularly known as Grubzonee put a picture on Instagram of a desert from Farzi Café. I called them for a reservation in the afternoon and the shrill voice came from the speaker,' sorry maam we are booked for the night.' I persisted, thinking in my mind,' I understand you do not have endless space but you are in the hospitality industry, you can't refuse a guest'. She said,' we keep some tables for walk-in, you can try that'. Walk-In!!! We did walk in at 8.30 and were seated without any hesitation for the gastronomic flight.
The first impression of the place was thumbs-up! The sense of space was created by the absence of walls. No no! its not an open-air restaurant, no will dare to open one in the traffic infested Mills of Mumbai, all food served on the table would be smoked by carbon dioxide. One wall was absconding due to a large screen on it and the others had very interesting terra- cotta tiles; seating was comfortable with variety of sofa and chairs, lighting was dim but enough to complement the place; not great for pictures though.
Cocktails
The cocktail menu is modest with a few signature drinks which comes in multiple flavours, which brings Delhi closer - Aam Panna, Kaala Khatta, Shikanji. The drink that they recommend the most is The Farzi Apple Foamatini, my friend obediently tried it. She found it a bit more sweet for her palate but enjoyed it. I tried a Gin based cocktail, which was great. Santa Banta also made its way to the table in lemon soda bottles popular in Delhi. All the cocktails are priced at 425 INR in the menu.
Tapas
Two words to describe them!
Innovative and Inspiring
Everyone on the table loved Dal Chawal Arancini, this Indian version of the Italian dish transformed our staple diet into an elegance.
Tandoori Margarita Kulcha- Just a little bigger than bite size, these were succulent, cheesy and smokey. We ordered them twice.
Innovative and Inspiring
Everyone on the table loved Dal Chawal Arancini, this Indian version of the Italian dish transformed our staple diet into an elegance.
Tandoori Margarita Kulcha- Just a little bigger than bite size, these were succulent, cheesy and smokey. We ordered them twice.
Goat Cheese Walnut Tikkis with Basil Sauce
These were a little heavy for the stomach and some of my friends did not like it.
Misthi- Dohi shots were given to neutralise our palates, it did work most importantly to built an appetite for more food.
Mains
Desi- Dishes with a twist!
Paneer from North, Apams from South, Pav Bhaji from Amchi Mumbai all came in style!
The artistic pottery and innovative plating made simple food look extraordinary just like a girl on her wedding day.
The artistic pottery and innovative plating made simple food look extraordinary just like a girl on her wedding day.
The stew with Appam was crunchy asparagus and water chestnut with mustard seed and curry leaves. My friend could not stop praising the chutney and said,' its better than what you get at Madras Café, Matunga.'
The Ratatoullie Pav Bhaji was as delicious as Sardar Pav Bhaji.
Desert
We had eaten so much that we wanted to skip the desert.
But, Shabaaz who served us and served us with big smiles and considerably well had some other plan in his mind.
But, Shabaaz who served us and served us with big smiles and considerably well had some other plan in his mind.
He got this on the table and said,' its on the house'.
Cheese Cake sandwiched between biscuits in a pool of Rabri.
Rabri was delectable, cheese cake was perfect but I hope they replace the Parle- G biscuit with shortbread biscuit or McVities.
Rabri was delectable, cheese cake was perfect but I hope they replace the Parle- G biscuit with shortbread biscuit or McVities.