Ditch fancy this time around and head to a simple and cozy restaurant for cuisine from across the country
Ditch fancy this time around and head to a simple and cozy restaurant for cuisine from across the country
If a quick dinner is what you prefer tonight and not something fancy, there's a new option for you to turn to, bang amidst the entire city's hustle-bustle.
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While O! Ustaad, the restaurant serves cuisine from all over India, it has another avatar in the form of Joey's Cafe (named after a character from the popular American sitcom Friends), a casual cafe that serves sandwiches and other snacks in between meals.
Entering the restaurant will give you the comforting feeling of having arrived in somebody's living room. 
The interiors are brightly coloured and have with it a certain warmth of personal touch attached, the Sufi music in the background adds to the ambience.
Knick-knacks of all kinds line the walls, from lamps to pickle jars to glazed teapots and pictures of street food. Potted plants adorn the window panes and a colleague admitted to taking a fancy to one such red planter.
A cafe at odd hours, the eatery transforms into a different avatar of a full-fledged restaurant O!Ustaad at meal times serving cuisine from across the country, including street food specialties from Mumbai and Delhi.
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The name gets you nostalgic to those times when the chefs in kitchens were fondly referred to as Ustaad.
We were recommended the Pondicherry Bullet Paneer (Rs 125) and Mutton Suckling (Rs 165). The paneer turned out to be a snack, coated and fried with a mix of spices and was fiery red in colour.
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The Mutton Stuckling, a specialty of the day, was a minced meat preparation coated with a curd based marinade.
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The flesh was tender and the flavour of the tangy marinade had seeped into the meat balls. The preparation was quite the show stealer and now we were all set for the mains to come.
Only select preparations of chicken were available on the evening we decided to stop by, and we were happy about our choice of Mutton Stuckling.
For the main course we opted for a Mumbai Bhuna Gosht (Rs 165) and a rather intriguing Broccoli Almond Shaam Savera (Rs 125).
These were paired with tawa chapattis and a Mint Pulao (Rs 75). The mutton was a semi gravy preparation heavily marinated and spiced.
A layer of perfectly caramalised onions formed the gravy. The mutton was flavoursome and spicy, with a hint of ginger and caramelised onions. The meat though was a little tough for our taste.
The Broccoli Almond Shaam Savera came with broccoli koftas and a tangy tomato based gravy and didn't quite impress us with its taste as it did with the presentation.
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The gravy was too tangy and tasted heavily of cloves. The Mint Pulao is what caught our attention with the sublime fragrance of mint leaves as soon as a bowl of it arrived at our table.
It turned out to be a winner despite being a simple preparation of long-grained rice and mint leaves and left a distinct refreshing aftertaste.
We decided to finish up our meal with a simple dessert of Shahi Gulab Jamun served with Rabri (Rs 90). Piping hot and inviting initially the gulab jamun, though well done was hardly anything to write home about.
Following this was a long wait for the bill that perhaps took longer than any of the dishes on the menu to come to our table. Altogether, O! Ustaad did leave us satisfied and caused nothing close to a dent on the pocket.
At O!Ustaad/ Joey's Cafe, Residency Road
Call 4151 8147
Meal for two Rs 750
O! Ustaad didn't know we were there. The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals.
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