Review: JamJar Diner

  
You will wonder why the place is called JamJar Diner until you're served your drinks in cute little jam jars. *no kidding*
Located at Versova, where there is a queue of eateries trying to impress the locals, JamJar Diner is one of the most recent contenders. 

The little blue door that leads you inside this restaurant can be quite deceiving. Once you enter, you realize that the place is spacious, divided into two floors and has a terrace seating. We chose the terrace seating and simply loved the breezy, comfortable ambience.

The menu looks interesting but limited. The bar menu has all the cocktails with a twist. We called for the Red Sangria and the White Sangria. Although these sangrias were full of flavour, we would rather opt for the classic sangrias, the twist was too twisted for our taste buds. The Caprioska that we ordered next was stiff and perfect.

Coming to the food, we first called for the Nachos, and soon a huge portion of crispy tortillas with generous toppings arrived at our table. Absolutely delicious, we would totally recommend this! Next, we tried the Shrimp Popcorn. This was also quite good, makes for a great snack with drinks. Lastly we had the Chicken burger. The burger was passable as the patty could have been bigger and we missed some extra cheese!

For desserts we tried the Rocky Road - good, with large chocolate pieces that made it rather comfortable to eat, Mango Cheesecake - disappointing, we definitely think they need to work on this and the Ice-Cream Cookie Sandwich - this was the best out of the lot. 

Overall, JamJar Diner, with its impressive interiors, is a great place for a couple of drinks and some finger food. Skip, if you are looking forward to have an elaborate meal. 

Venue: JamJar Diner
Versova, Andheri West
Landmark: Next to Dhuan

Phone: 02226358880

Review: Polpo Cafe & Bar at Shatranj Napoli

There's a reason why we love Bandra so much! There's never a dearth of new places to visit. Polpo Cafe & Bar is an extension of the classic upscale family restaurant Shatranj Napoli. It is aimed at the younger crowds with a gorgeous al fresco cafe and an indoor bar. 

The all day dining place has multiple menus, cafe menu, bar menu and the shatranj food menu. We visited with a group of bloggers and tried a range of dishes. Let's talk about the ones we'd recommend! 

To start with, their Sangrias are one of the best that we've had. The blonde sangria, sparkling sangria and the red sangria, all of them were fruity and flavourful. A fellow blogger, Prachi absolutely loved the Limoncello! Read her review here. 
 

Next, we called for the starters. Some of the dishes we loved were the Asparagi al Prosciutto - asparagus wrapped with Parma ham, absolutely delicious, Pollo della Che - mustard marinated grilled chicken with garlic mayo, loved the flavour of the garlic mayo, Zucchine Fritte - batter touch sliced zucchini, served with tartar sauce, crispy and yummy!



In the mains, we called for the Gnocchi alla Ciociara  - gnocchi cooked with chili flakes, bacon, italian sausage, porcini & tomato-cream and the Gnocchi al Gorgonzola - gnocchi tossed in a creamy gorgonzola, both were well prepared and lived up to our expectations. The Toscana pizza was next on our list of mains -  basil pesto, mozzarella, chicken, onions & bell peppers on a thin crust base - perfect! The Penne alla Romana pasta prepared in cream sauce with chicken and mushrooms was also worth the try. The other ordered a couple of other mains, but these were our favourites!

And when we thought this was all, our round of desserts was served. The Bailey's Surprise - a sinful and delectable merge of succulent chocolate mousse and baileys, Tiramisu - a delightful combination of soaked sponge in coffee and rum and layered with mascarpone cheese and sabayon. and the Pizookie - freshly baked, hot out of the oven cookie topped with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and nuts. When you are not too hungry, we would suggest, start with the desserts, they cannot be missed!




A special meal had to be ended with something special. Italian Stallion – a peppermint and sambuca shot was our last course! Gulped in one go, we were happy and high! :)

Venue: Polpo Cafe and Bar
Shatranj Napoli, Union Park, Off Carter Road, Bandra West
Landmark: Below the Big Nasty

Phone: 26499844
 
 (Photos Courtesy: Kumar Jherumalani)