EATING OUT: GLUTTONY @ CRAFT, MUMBAI

A crazy shopping spree at the Phoenix Marketcity, Kurla, Mumbai ended up creating hunger pangs that required immediate satiation. While making our way to the food court, we came across the newly opened Craft - Deli.Bistro.Bar one level below it.

The place looked classy from its external experience and see through glasses at this new eatery ensured our curiosity got the better of us. We skipped the food court plan and quickly settled in for lunch. It came as a relief that we had to encounter absolutely no waiting time to secure a table on a bustling Saturday afternoon.

The ambience shouted the word wood loud enough for everyone to notice yet was oddly chic. The gastronomy here is predominantly European but there are a select Asian offerings as well. The Italian influence on the menu is quite evident. Well, we were a sizeable group of diners, so trying out several options on the food menu was possible and we went ahead and did so.

Here is the fare we ended up trying:

SMALL PLATES
So, that’s what the restaurant calls appetizers I presumed, since the offerings under this heading ranged from crostini to chicken strips to bisque and much more. We settled for two items from this section of the menu which were as under:

QUINOA CHICKEN STRIPS: These were scrumptious chicken skewers that came with a honey mustard dip. The crunchiness from the chicken and the sweetness of the dip made this preparation lip-smacking.

DARK SOY SHRIMPS: These were not really out of the ordinary. The dish, a typical Asian starter of prawns with flavor of soy sauce that can easily be found in numerous Asian joints spread across the city. A side of wasabi slaw was served with the prawns but did little to add life to this appetizer.

SALAD
CRAFT ASIAN SLAW: It was a great way to start the meal. The salad came garnished with toasted sesame seeds, shards of fried spring roll sheets and comprised of two varieties of cabbage, carrots, juliennes of bell peppers and chicken strips. The peanut ginger dressing did what it was meant to do - bring all the ingredients together in a delicious way.

PIZZA
CAJUN SPICED CHICKEN: We were left thoroughly disappointed with the pizza. The topping was scanty as you can see in the image and even though there was some hint of pineapple, capers and onion in the topping, the whole pizza merely tasted like plain bread topped with cheese.

BREADS
I found this section the most interesting part of the menu since it boasted of some delectable burgers and sandwiches. In this section too we opted for two different preparations.

GRILLED FRANK BUN: This came filled with two sausages and had a juicy filling comprising of mustard mayo, balsamic onions & lettuce. The menu offers the choice of chicken or pork sausages. The onions brought sweetness to the dish and made it simply delicious. A portion of French Fries provided went perfectly well with it.

CHICKEN & CHEESE WAFFLE: Well, this was a special request that was made to the kitchen. The menu lists a ham and cheese waffle. But, the gentlemen serving our table was sweet enough to get the ham replaced with chicken on our request through with his chef. When the plat arrived on our table it comprised of oodles of chicken, arugula, tomato & my favorite mustard mayo sandwiched between two waffles. This too came with a portion of French Fries.

LARGE PLATES
This I assumed was the main course section of the menu.  I would like to point out here that the portion sizes in this course cannot be termed large and that was precisely the reason we ended up ordering three dishes.

BEET & RICOTTA RAVIOLI: The pasta was delicate and the filling of beetroot and ricotta in it was generous and luscious. The ravioli came laced with brown butter and a garnish of sage, red onions and baby tomatoes. The butter elevated the dish to a grander level and left us begging for more.

HOUSEMADE POTATO GNOCCHI: One cannot go wrong with a combination of potato and cheese especially gorgonzola. Do not even think about eating this if you are on a diet. The dish had a rich, creamy texture and hints of rucola and fennel.

ARTISANAL RIGATONI: This was not too different from the regular tomato sauce pasta. Also, I felt the dish was a bit dry and could have done with more sauce.

DESSERT
After being thorough gluttons and going in for all the aforementioned dishes, it was a struggle to go through the dessert course. However, we wanted to end the meal on a sweet note and so settled for PECAN PIE ESPRESSO MOUSSE. The dessert did not really stand out as none of the flavors from it stood out as exceptional.

A few points that I should mention:

• We had a great time due to some really delectable food that made it to our plates and would definitely return for these lip-smacking preparations. However, some dishes were clearly off the mark and need to be relooked.

• Also, we had no complaints from the service, everything arrived promptly but we did hear commotion over food arriving late at a neighboring table.

• As a personal opinion, I found the pricing slightly on the steep side. However, one of my friends was prudent enough to point out that what we would consider as Craft’s contemporaries also offer a similar price range.

Nevertheless, the dining experience was a pleasant one and we did end up enjoying our lunch. Do visit this place and let me know your experience.

Till then, HAPPY EATING…

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