In an area governed by art, eateries from Kalaghoda should be nothing less than quaint habitats for creative souls. On the contrary, This one square kilometer patch of Kalaghoda features some of the most chirpy and versatile spaces. From rustic Ayub's to the grandeur facade of Cheval and from expats packed Nutcracker to this exhibition room like white brick wall and ebony wood snuggery named 'Kalaghoda Cafe'.

Its rectangular area carves out space for five tables squished closely together and another additional table at the mezzanine. Keeping up with the spirit of the neighborhood there is pretentious display of paintings on the exposed walls. Due to the space constraint, securing a table at lunchtime means a minimum half an hour waiting under the scorching sun while contemplating a plan to instead dine at the next door 'Mamagoto' or 'Trishna'.

The fare is compact, highly european yet features only a handful of red and white meat based dishes. We called for a KGC Special Sandwich, Waffle with Dark Chocolate Sauce, Mint Cucumber Cooler (from the summer menu) and a Cold Coffee. While the Cooler and Coffee arrived in quick succession, we were devoid of a basic glass of water until we asked for it. The Mint & Cucumber Cooler turned out to be more of a health-oriented juice and sans any lemon or honey. Our KGC Special Sandwich (with Chicken) arrived sooner with some well seasoned chicken, rocket lettuce and melted 'Padano' all squeezed between a tightly pressed Ciabata. No whatsoever complains on the sandwich; A perfect plate and well priced. The culmination of the meal was indeed a disappointment in the form a rather average tasting, not at all warm block of Waffle. The Dark Chocolate Sauce was lacklustre in flavour due to its dilute viscosity. While the plate appears appetizing enough when one pours chocolate sauce over the waffles, sadly it only remains nothing more than a moment of food pornography.

*Left : KGC Special Sandwich & Right : Waffle with Dark Chocolate Sauce.*

The damage to pocket for this summer lunching was 750 bucks, which is not a bad deal, but considering the unsatisfactory level of our stomach and palate, it could have been much elevated had more importance been levied to quick service and consistent quality of dishes. With the positive word of mouth about this place, it seems like a much elaborate visit needs to be considered next time around to verify if it's all buzz and no show.

Location : 10, Ropewalk Lane, Kala Ghoda,Fort

Two-One-Two's all day cafe & bar recently opened its door to the lesser fortunate side of the eastern suburbs at Phoenix Marketcity, Kurla. Located at the upper floor, 212 occupies the spot next to the Irish Pub and also extends at the backside into a descent al-fresco area too. The thought of having a Sunday brunch in al-fresco was near perfect, but was dropped as soon as we saw the construction work within a few metres and also the afternoon heat was making things all the more uninviting.

So, We settled on one of the corner high seating table with an 180 degree view of the restaurant. The Lime Green dress code of the staff and the classy wooden interior builds quite a contrasting imagery on first reception. On a good note, the well staffed service is easy to spot without having to stress your eyes.

*Classic wooden interiors and shades of lime green moving around at 212 All day Cafe & Bar*

Menu is well segregated and compact without much of a fuss. The same cannot be said about the Drinks menu, which is a lot more columned. Our brunch started off with a portion of beer battered onions rings along with one deadly indulgence, one of the martini and a glass of 'Rising Sun' to sober us up. Portion was large, rings were fresh and filled with absolute crunch from the thick beer batter coating. To cover the void, we had also ordered a flat bread pizza 'Bolognaise' which sits as a chef's recommendation on their zomato page, but was a bit of a dud on portion size. The crude rectangular shaped pizza seems to be fad these days and the same is followed here. It is high on taste, texture and ingredients though better justice on the portion size is needed considering the price of the dish (495/-).

Next up on our order was the Sunday special - Beef steak, but soon conveyed to us was out of stock. Weird that in first hour of service and not many tables filled, one runs out of the day's speciality dish hero ingredient ! Quite unacceptable in my notebook. Replacing the mains was a Three Egg White Omelette and a portion of Chicken Skewers. The fluffy omelette was served hot in a skillet with potato wedges, grilled tomato and a spoonful drip of Mushroom cream sauce. Neatly executed and it is high on combination of textures from the foamy egg whites with wedges and the cream sauce. Chicken Skewers is an absolute must-order dish. The bird meat is ever so succulent and the tomato chutney plays the perfect accompaniment for it along with a handful of mix greens.

Lastly, Dessert was part disappointment and part orgasmic. My Crème brûlée ramekin was double the size of any other restaurant, but the custard inside was firm - Almost mousse like in texture than the runny one it should have been. Cheval's Crème brûlée in the past many months has been an epitome and I’m still to find someone to take that crown from them. The Lava Cake and it's oozing centre was copybook stuff. Piercing through the sponge and reaching for that molten chocolate is so sensual that there isn't any replacement for it.

212 defnitely has an audience in this mall and the potential to thrive provided their teething issues (mentioned above) are resolved sooner. One important fact to be noted here is the level of salt in each serving, which was always on the lower side and that surely gets them the brownie points. The fare for three people inclusive of taxes ran to slightly above 3k. That's on par with SMD or Tertulia or any other European cafe across the city.

So, Until the next one - Salud !

Kalaghoda Cafe

212 -All Day Cafe & Bar