Culinary Masterpiece - Indigo Cafe'

I had planned on reviewing a shitty place so my reader(s) (is plural being too optimistic?) wouldn’t think that I’m too lenient and appreciate just any food. I wanted them to know that I could be a hardass too, which I really can. But that plan went out the window when I ate at this place. It’s so good I would eat there every night if I could afford it. I’m sort of glad I can’t though because it’s not one of those places I want to overdo and get over (read: Red Box.)

I’m talking about cuisine paradise, Indigo Café located in the heart of the suburbs, Shastri Nagar, Andheri (West.) Being raised in the US, I’m used to expecting foods like Eggs Benedict, pasta, apple pie: the basics, to be made to perfection. Sadly, once I moved to Bombay I realized that’s really asking for too much and that places claiming to be pasta specialists (Ginger Marie, Lokhandwala) served dishes that were actually worse than pasta I can whip up in less than half an hour at home. One has to be REALLY selective about the places they choose for “continental cuisine” in Bombay and in those restaurants they need to make sure they order the right thing. How do you know what to order? You have to pretty much ask the waiter about most popular dishes or stick to the basics. Note: Pesto dishes in Bombay are NOT the basics.

Anyway, getting back to Indigo Café, I have been there numerous times now making excuses to go spend practically my month’s salary dining there. It started with special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries, but now I try and make Monday Blues an event to celebrate just so I can go feast at this delightful place. The ambience is small and quaint will dim lighting, seating about 10 tables outside and another 10 on the inside. The dim lighting and casual ambience makes for great conversation and somehow the lighting is flattering enough for everyone to look their best (great place for dates.) They play really low music and it comprises of Jazz and Retro tracks that are easy on the ears and let conversation flow easily without people losing their voices.

Now the food. I don’t know how to do justice to the quality of the food through this entry. I don’t want to use lame lines like, “words cannot do justice…,” but I guess I just did. The food is byfar some of the best I have tasted in Bombay and that does mean a lot since I give myself credit of eating practically all types of cuisine available in the city. Indigo Café offers all day breakfast where you can get everything from a complete English Breakfast to delicacies such as Eggs Benedict, Bagels with smoked Salmon and their signature omelets. I am a huge fan of Eggs Benedict and can vouch for theirs, being made in delicious, perfectly textured Hollandaise sauce.

They have a pretty extensive menu ranging from Salads, Burgers, Sandwiches, pastas and Risottos to Meat and Mashed Potatoes and Roast Chicken. However, not everything is traditional and predictable. For example, they have Bombay BBQ chicken wings which are prepared with different types of spices and masala’s. This however, does not come off like dishes at New Yorkers that also claim to be fusion cuisine but actually just have khatta meetha sauce on everything. Instead, this dish leaves your palette pleasantly surprised and craving for more.

For starters, I suggest that you try their nut crusted cheese balls. I was hesitant to try this since I expected it to be cheese balls deep fried with small traces of nuts somewhere in the dish. However, the creation was spectacular, comprising of lightly sautéed fresh mozzarella balls encrusted within an abundance of almonds along with a tantalizing sauce that one could easily eat alone with a spoon (classy, I know.) I followed the dish with a Caesar Salad that was pretty traditional except for a poached egg resting on top. That was unusual but still definitely good on the taste buds. Having been there numerous times I can say their whole range of salads are pretty appetizing and go down real easy.

There are a few places in Bombay known for their pasta’s such as Mia Cucina and Mezzo Mezzo which definitely do justice to pasta, which they better being that they are Italian restaurants and that’s pretty much basic when it comes to Italian food. Hard Rock Café has amazing burgers but once again that is what they are known for. The great thing about Indigo Café is that their pasta’s are just as good as the Italian restaurants I just named, their burger was equivalent or maybe even better than Hard Rock and those are just two of the many types of exceptional entrées that they serve there. If I HAD to pick what I loved the most there, (my heart breaks at the thought of choosing one amongst the multiple great dishes I’ve eaten there) I would have to pick the BLT. I chose this because getting a decent BLT in Bombay or even across India is practically impossible. It’s probably not one of the most sought after dishes in the country but for BLT enthusiasts such as myself, Indigo is the place to go. Served in a toasted yet soft baguette, the BLT sandwich at Indigo Café melts in your mouth and each bite leaves you craving for more. Made in an extremely traditional way, all the ingredients in this dish are top of the line and you aren’t left with an oily, clammy taste in your mouth, often the issue with such heavy sandwiches. It comes with a side of homefries that are also delightfully seasoned. However, if BLT’s aren’t your thing their 200oz Burger is mindblowing, their blue cheese penne is luscious and insanely good, their mushrooms filled with goat cheese are to die for and their Roast Chicken is YUMMY!

Now now, as tempted as you are to order everything on their menu, you practically don’t have the choice of opting out of dessert. The waiter will casually ask you to at least look at the desserts they have to offer on their dessert counter and then there is no turning back from there. I am a complete chocolate lover and their orgasmic chocolate mud cake almost got me escorted out for misconduct. Filled with molten chocolate that oozes out when you take your first bite, this desert comes along with a tiny scoop of icecream (ask for the Belgian chocolate flavor.) As great as that was, once again I’m going focus my credit for them on serving a rarity in Mumbai: great cheesecake. The menu says they offer different cheesecakes every day (cheesecake of the day!) therefore, the one I got to try was their Blueberry cheesecake. I know some people reading this are saying well, “5 Spice serves great Blueberry Cheesecake,” no it does not. Maybe you guys are saying, “Del Italia serves great cheesecake,” you probably aren’t going to think so after trying it here. The cheesecake was amazing here and very reminiscent of stuff I had had at The Cheesecake factory in the US. It doesn’t get better than that.

The only downside, if it can be considered one, is the price of dining here. It is definitely pretty steep ranging at about Rs.1000+ a person (including a starter, entrée, dessert and a non alcoholic beverage), but then again the food totally leaves you feeling like it was worth the price and maybe not all of you eat like an ape like me. If you are fascinated by Bollywood stars, you will definitely come across a couple of star sightings here and if you are lucky probably a few wannabe Lokhandwala models as well.

Overall, this place floored me and has undoubtedly entered my list of best places to eat in Mumbai, which is surprising since it is relatively new. You cannot go wrong with what you order here since the chef seems to know what he’s doing, so if you want to take a risk and try something offbeat, this is definitely the place to do so. Make a reservation on weekends because the popularity of this place is sky rocketing, they also have the option of take out as well though I wouldn’t recommend missing out on the complete experience. Hopefully this review left you salivating, I’ll be back with more soon!

Meal for 2: Rs. 2000+