It often takes hours to decide on a place to eat out thanks to the numerous cuisine options available around the city. With seven brands under one roof, the all-new Coffee House @Mount Road makes it easier and offers a variety ranging from Italian to Indian.
The newly opened food court in West Mambalam (yes, it’s not in Mount Road despite the name) holds seven restaurants and can seat up to 45. The interior is rather tasteful, but the lack of air-conditioning was a surprise. The food is served on steel plates layered with banana leaves, and drinks are poured in transparent reusable plastic cups with paper straws.
The owner of this franchise, Sridhar Murugan tells us, “I wanted to start an affordable eatery that can cater to all classes of the society. This is why we have expensive interiors, but no air conditioning, and why we sell coffee and biscuit combo at `10.” The restaurants bring in their dishes and essential ingredients from a central kitchen daily and make the final product at the self-service counters.
From their seven cuisine choices, we first tried their Indian chaat offering at the Delhi Chaat Centre. It’s imperative to note that the curd they use is top-notch – it’s not sour, and has a hint of sweetness. The Dahi Puri was refreshing and served with a generous amount of sev and chutney. Another curd-dipped dish we tried was the Dahi Cutlet. It was sprinkled with sev and fried peas, and the mildly spicy dish was a unique take on the cliché cutlet. Finally, we took a bite from the staple North Indian delicacy, the Pav Bhaji. It was generously dressed in butter, toasted to a light brown and served with curry. However, we did think that a dash of lime would have enhanced the taste of the dish further.
Next, we explore The Italian Café. They offer the standard Italian spread and a little more. For instance, apart from the usual pizza and burger options, they offer Indian-inspired pizzas like the Chettinad paneer pizza. All their bases are approximately eight inches, and come with mildly sweet tomato sauce and cheese. If you’re in the mood for a snack, ask for the paneer roll. Not very oily, the dish is served moderately hot.
To complement your food, there are a variety of milkshakes and juices available in 200ml quantities at Sip and Shake. It would be advisable to opt for the juices over the milkshakes, unless you’re keen on ice-cream mixed, sugary drinks. For those who like less of sweet the lassi is a must-have. However, if you’re in the mood for ice-cream, they have that too.
The Indian dining option is called Rice and Roti, and at feel-good prices, the diner offers everything from pre-set meals to a la carte orders like the rather sweet-tasting Puri Bhaji, Dosa varieties and other South and North Indian dishes. The food court also houses a bakery that sells entire cakes and other sweet delicacies like biscuits and tea cakes at reasonable rates.
The best part about the coffee house though is the coffee. At `10, you can enjoy piping hot coffee with strong decoction with one rather fat, sweet-and-salt biscuit. It’s the perfect start or end to a day, and probably the most affordable evening snack. All in all, the food court is a good place to dine in if you’re looking for multiple cuisine choices under one roof, or if you’re looking to save a penny or two.
Rs.150 on average per person.