A take-away that we hope will stretch out its dough with more outlets in Mumbai
Juno’s Pizza was set up in the 1970s, yet till date it has only two outlets in this expanding city. The first, in Kemps Corner, which almost every South Mumbaikar has ordered out from and the second, a recently opened centre, in the Bandra-Kurla Complex.
Since we aren’t from South Mumbai, we weren’t familiar with this take-away, but a quick look at their website lured us in with words like ‘home-made pizza since 1974’, and ‘India’s first pizza delivery service’.
ADVERTISEMENT
The House Special Pizza is a great option for pizza lovers. Pic/ Kiran Mehta
The website also shared their endearing history - Juno’s was started by the current owners’ grandmother. She created a pizza that was vegetarian, home-made and Indian. The family has preserved these original recipes - which is what patrons can expect today.
We placed our order online, but our location didn’t feature. So we made a phone call instead where it became apparent that our location was going to pose a problem. The Kemps Corner outfit only delivered within South Mumbai with Worli / Lower Parel as the cut-off point, while the Bandra-Kurla outfit only delivered within the complex. So, we made our way to the National Sports Club of India (NSCI), Worli.
Despite the fact that we were asking for delivery within a club, our order was taken and we were assured of delivery within 30 minutes. Like clockwork, the food arrived. But then Juno’s had to survive another test - another half-hour drive to our home in the suburbs. Yet, when we arrived, there were no sauce spills; the food was warm.
We ordered four 11-inch pizzas, giving their 20-inch pizza (Rs 1,000) a miss. Our order consisted of the House Special (Rs 290), the Fiamma (Rs290), the Baker’s Delight (Rs 240) and the Full Smash (Rs 390). Juno’s also offers a Jain Pizza (Rs 240) and the Workout (Rs 290), which is a special diet-pizza with no cheese. We ditched the health-conscious tag and even indulged our sweet-tooth with the only dessert on the menu, the Chocolate Mousse (Rs60).
Immediately, we noticed the thin crust, a trademark of home-made pizzas, perhaps hand-stretched. The ends were biscuit-ey, just as we like them. The sauce had a distinctly fresh flavour and took us back to the website that promised us ‘pizza sauce, made fresh every day’. These two basic yet all important ingredients gave Juno an immediate edge. The flavours were enhanced and distinguishable from popular pizza chains that lack that personal touch.
The House Special came with green capsicum, melted into the cheese and pieces of garlic to give it extra bite. The Fiamma consisted of onions entangled in cheese and red chilli-flakes, while the Full Smash was packed with a variety of colourful vegetables, in large pieces, and made for a full meal. The Baker’s Delight was a good-old cheese pizza where the flavours of the home-made sauce came across.
Though Juno’s is known for its pizzas, the chocolate mousse, too, was delicious. Its melt-in-the-mouth consistency and sugar, that didn’t overpower the chocolate flavour, made this a perfect end to a lavish meal. While we really enjoyed Juno’s Pizzas, we hope they would deliver to other parts of the city too.
At: Juno’s Pizza, Anand Nagar, shop 1/1A, Forjett Street, off Kemps Corner.
Call: 64520022/33
The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
