Back after a hiatus of over a decade, the redux
version of the erstwhile Bandra café—Pot Pourri offers up great value for money
food in its brand new shabby-chic Chembur avatar
By Raul Dias
Completing the trio of Mumbai’s ultra-popular ‘90s
restaurant brands, along with Bombay Brasserie and Copper Chimney—that have
seen a recent resurrection at locations different from their original ones—is
old-time favourite Pot Pourri. Taking over a decade to migrate from the
hipster-cool neighbourhood of Turner Road, Bandra West to the city’s
restaurant-infested eastern suburb of Chembur, Pot Pourri is back with a bang!
While it is tough to draw parallels to its erstwhile easy-breezy, curbside, all-day café avatar, given its new, second floor, evenings only ‘mall restaurant’ status, along with its flea market chic, bric-a-brac accentuated décor, two major Pot Pourri mainstays are thankfully pat in place. We’re talking about the stellar food and its very affordable price—something we were hoping would remain the same.
After an aborted first attempt to check it out for lunch, where we ended up coming face to face with a closed door and a suitably apologetic security guard, we recently trooped in for an early dinner. Seated at one the many semi-circular booths, under an art piece depicting the space’s renovation process, we take in the many ‘selfie-worthy’ spots that this humungous restaurant has to offer. The wall adorned with large typewriter-like QWERTY keys seems to be the most popular, while the yellow bicycle installation comes in a close second.
Despite the place being almost empty for a good half hour into our visit, we find the service to be a tad sluggish with our first order of a pulled pork burger (Rs 350) being bungled up. But when it does arrive, it’s taste more than makes up for the unnecessary tardiness. Packed with yummy shreds of hickory-smoked pork, topped with a perfectly runny fried egg, all ensconced in a toasted sesame bun, it is all the things a good burger should be, making for some messy satisfaction. We chase it with a zesty virgin mandarin mojito (Rs 100) whose reasonable price is certainly not the only thing great about it.
Our half portion of French onion soup with chicken (Rs 120), is a great, comforting foil to the unseasonal, wet weather outside and a near spot on rendition of the classic, gruyere cheese toast floating atop it et al. Despite being suitably crispy, the beer batter fried calamari (Rs 270), leaves a bitter, unappetising taste in our mouths, quite literally and is the only downer. The generously portioned slow roast lamb shoulder (Rs 590) that our server informs us had been cooked for close to four hours is an absolute cracker of a dish with juicy, falling-off-the-bone lamb accompanied by creamy mashed potatoes, veggies and a luscious red wine jus. A perfect contrast to the meat-y excesses, the delicate ravioli funghi (Rs 350) doused in a smoky scarmoza-parmesan cream sauce is Italian vegetarian comfort food at its best.
Spying the orange crème brûlée (Rs 180) served at the table next to ours, we order one for ourselves and are at once taken in by its caramelised glassy top that holds within it a silken, orange-infused set custard that explodes with citrus-y goodness in every bite. We can’t think of a better end to a meal that worked for us on so many levels, and one that we’d be happy to trudge up two flights of stationary escalators and brave inclement weather for. Anytime!
While it is tough to draw parallels to its erstwhile easy-breezy, curbside, all-day café avatar, given its new, second floor, evenings only ‘mall restaurant’ status, along with its flea market chic, bric-a-brac accentuated décor, two major Pot Pourri mainstays are thankfully pat in place. We’re talking about the stellar food and its very affordable price—something we were hoping would remain the same.
After an aborted first attempt to check it out for lunch, where we ended up coming face to face with a closed door and a suitably apologetic security guard, we recently trooped in for an early dinner. Seated at one the many semi-circular booths, under an art piece depicting the space’s renovation process, we take in the many ‘selfie-worthy’ spots that this humungous restaurant has to offer. The wall adorned with large typewriter-like QWERTY keys seems to be the most popular, while the yellow bicycle installation comes in a close second.
Despite the place being almost empty for a good half hour into our visit, we find the service to be a tad sluggish with our first order of a pulled pork burger (Rs 350) being bungled up. But when it does arrive, it’s taste more than makes up for the unnecessary tardiness. Packed with yummy shreds of hickory-smoked pork, topped with a perfectly runny fried egg, all ensconced in a toasted sesame bun, it is all the things a good burger should be, making for some messy satisfaction. We chase it with a zesty virgin mandarin mojito (Rs 100) whose reasonable price is certainly not the only thing great about it.
Our half portion of French onion soup with chicken (Rs 120), is a great, comforting foil to the unseasonal, wet weather outside and a near spot on rendition of the classic, gruyere cheese toast floating atop it et al. Despite being suitably crispy, the beer batter fried calamari (Rs 270), leaves a bitter, unappetising taste in our mouths, quite literally and is the only downer. The generously portioned slow roast lamb shoulder (Rs 590) that our server informs us had been cooked for close to four hours is an absolute cracker of a dish with juicy, falling-off-the-bone lamb accompanied by creamy mashed potatoes, veggies and a luscious red wine jus. A perfect contrast to the meat-y excesses, the delicate ravioli funghi (Rs 350) doused in a smoky scarmoza-parmesan cream sauce is Italian vegetarian comfort food at its best.
Spying the orange crème brûlée (Rs 180) served at the table next to ours, we order one for ourselves and are at once taken in by its caramelised glassy top that holds within it a silken, orange-infused set custard that explodes with citrus-y goodness in every bite. We can’t think of a better end to a meal that worked for us on so many levels, and one that we’d be happy to trudge up two flights of stationary escalators and brave inclement weather for. Anytime!
TIME:
4pm to 1am
AT: 2nd Floor, Cubic Mall, Vasant Vihar Complex, Chembur East.
CALL: 9699509699
AT: 2nd Floor, Cubic Mall, Vasant Vihar Complex, Chembur East.
CALL: 9699509699
(An edited version of this review appeared in the 11th December 2017 issue of the Mid-Day newspaper, India http://www.mid-day.com/articles/turner-roads-pot-pourri-is-back-with-some-great-twists-to-its-menu/18814178)
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