My love story with the Garden Court Restaurant & Bar is almost a decade old. It was in 1993 that I first visited this place. And like the majority of love stories, this one too had that phase when I had to separate from the restaurant. That was the time, somewhere in 1997, when the food quality of this restaurant deteriorated. I remember that my sister-in-law had puked out all her food. But soon, the restaurant again made the vital changes, and restored my faith in its cuisine.
And today, Garden Court stands as one of the top ten in my list of favourite restaurants.
THE LOCATION
Situated at Andheri(West), this restaurant is just at the corner where Veera Desai Road meets J.P.Road. That will be the traffic signal just before Andheri Sports Complex, if you are going from the station towards Versova.
THE DECOR
You have a huge stone placed at the entrance of the restaurant(no, it doesn't block the entrance), and the restaurant has a decent seating arrangement for the waiting list people. You also see a small waterfall, which, for some unknown reason, never has the rollers working. Still, the water falls, and hence, a waterfall. Once you enter the restaurant, you are greeted by the Barman straight in front of the door. Being an emotional drinker, that is the kind of welcome I love! The hotel has two huge round centre tables, which can easily accommodate seven to nine people. The other are the normal rectangular tables with plush, comfortable seats. But my favourite seat is on the waterfall side, which is one whole glass, and you can enjoy your drink with the water gushing at the other side of the glass. The music is classy. Normally they have some soft instrumental like Kenny G. It builds up just the needed prelude to a fantastic evening.
THE DRINKS
Though I normally have my regular Blender's Pride, still, on some occasions, I have tried their cocktails. The Pinacolado is very well made, and so is the Bacardi Punch. I once tried some whisky based cocktail too, and it was okayish. My cousin liked it immensely, but I had an immediate switch over to the traditional whisky and soda. But all in all, the restaurant has quite a decent bar menu.
THE FOOD
A-haa! The final test for a good restaurant. And in all fairness, Garden Court can take a bow. The restaurant offers you superb Indian food.
For starters, I strongly recommend you any prawns dish. If you are not an avid seafood eater, go in for their Chicken Tikka or Chicken Hazari Kabab. For my veggie friends, you can go for the good old Hara Bhara Kabab or plain and simple Veg Kabab.
In the main course, do try their Mutton Kheema(normal kheema...stay away from kheema fry) or Chicken Handi. The vegetarians can try Veg Jalfrezi, Pancharatna Kofta or Veg Basant Bahar(it’s Veg Makhanwala with a flowery name).
But the one thing that this restaurants scores big time is its exotic Biriyani rice. May it be Chicken Biriyani, Veg Biriyani or Prawns Biriyani, they beat all the other restaurants hands down. The skill of the chef is evident when the aroma of the chicken, prawns or vegetables, rules the dish, without taking anything away from the exotic Indian fragrance of the Biriyani rice. It is a pleasure for your taste buds, nostrils and the digestive system. Do not miss the Biriyani experience as and when you visit this restaurant.
Stay away from the Chinese food, except, maybe, for the soups.
PLEASE NOTE:I never eat vegetarian in a non-veg restaurant. The vegetarian dishes mentioned above have been recommended by my wife, who is a hard core Gujju.
THE SERVICE
The service is excellent. I have never had any reason to complain on the staff of this hotel. They know their job perfectly well, and are always near you when you need them. Serving time is never more than your patience.
THE OTHER AMENITIES
Other than all the above things, the restaurant also provides you with child chairs, in case you have a toddler. It's a different thing that the toddlers enjoy watching the waterfalls and banging the spoons rather than being imprisoned in a child chair.
The toilet is very clean.
THE PRICE
A bit on the expensive side, the average cost of a meal per head comes to around 700-900 rupees, and that is inclusive of drinks. Though I agree that it is indeed a bit expensive, still, one needs to pamper himself once in a while.
IN CONCLUSION
All in all, the Garden Court experience is indeed a refreshing experience, much unlike the Garden Court in Pune, which was ghastly, except for the beautiful view.
I highly recommend you to visit Garden Court, Mumbai.
And yes...I am open for an invitation.
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