Restaurant Review - The Pantry
Kalaghoda, Mumbai
First Impressions 8/10
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The Pantry
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Nestled in one of the many bylanes of Kala Ghoda, The Pantry looks like a neat clean & hip deli. When you enter it, you are assured it is a neat, clean & hip deli. The white exterieors in an otherwise old dilapilated fountain area is re-assuring and once inside, you feel you are in soho or just about any international cafes or delis worldwide. Nice bright interiors with quirky wall hangings, paper murals and pots and pans line up the walls of this tiny eatery, aimed to please the young hip lawyers, bankers, the arty-farties & the day shoppers frequenting the Kala Ghoda area. So you can expect a quick bite or a laid back meal. Both are available.
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| The Menu |
Service 6/10
Smart, attentive and knowledgeable, the service did not fail. Sauces brought to the table in little aluminium buckets, spoons kept in tin mugs , food served in platters, the entire feel was modern, contemporary and warm. The food came quickly - a bit too qucik for our liking (we are not office-going executives!!! ) the mains arrived before the soups and that was a bit disappointing. The food was way to hot to be eaten and we dont like to wait to take a bite if the food is kept right in front of you! A friend landed up burning her palette. Not good.
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The Delicious Deli Section
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The Swirl Tart - Deli Section
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The Food 4/10
Now this is where the eatery was a complete let down. Looks ARE deceptible. Unfortunately the food did not match up to the look and feel of the place. We started with a bean salad, rather insipid and borring. Very rarely can you go wrong with a salad, these guys did! A spiral tart was amazing and lets say the saving grace of the evening, very attractive to look at , it was, like its name says a tart with spirally arranged strips of zucchini, onion, carrots , tomatoes, best enjoyed nice and warm, this was delicious and serviced with a tomato coulis and mustard. Attractively delicious - a feast to the eyes and the palette! But then everything just went spiraling downwards. The leek, zucchini and sweet lime soup was just alright and it split us dinners into fifty-fifty, I quite liked it as every spoon left me with a sweet and tangy taste of sweet lime - clever.
The rest found the soup boring and unimpressive. My main was a ginger soya steak with beet and burghul wheat base. Now soy is a very tricky product if not handled correctly, this was done well but was left flavorless, so it gave a nice crispy crunch but had no flavor what so every. The burghul was also insipid with the beet adding a wee bit of its flavor, else zilch. I had to add additional tomato coulis and mustard to be able to eat it. Not good, not good at all. Although the deli stuff on the counters looked far better and more inviting, should be a better bet than the main food. Maybe try that the next time. Decently priced so that was a saving grace. Mains at about 350 on an average and deli-food at about 140-200. Not bad.
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Meringue Tart
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The Verdict 5/10
The Pantry, well what do I say, a bit of a waste of a lovely concept and deli. I do hope the management realizes this and brings about some changes. Guys, its never about the decor or the ambience its ALWAYS ABOUT THE FOOD!
FIND THE PANTRY
Ground Floor, Yeshwant Chambers,
Military Square Lane, Kala Ghoda, MUMBAI.
MAP TO THE PANTRY
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