I was recently invited to check out the newly opened hotel called Grande 51 in Navi Mumbai and its restaurants. I had never been to Navi Mumbai before and am quite ignorant about the food offerings in the sub-city, so for obvious reasons, I wanted to go and check it out.
Grande 51, is located on a strip of Navi Mumbai called the pub street off Palm beach road. I was pleasantly shocked to see a good variety of pubs and restaurants lining the street. The hotel itself is a small 14 room property which started off as a group of restaurants and later expanded into the hotel.
A smartly designed business hotel, the architect has made clever use of the space by giving sufficient space in the room and also managing to create club space in the terrace complete with a pool table, darts and other games. The hotel boasts of three restaurants – its flagship restaurant – The Moti Mahal Grand, its oriental offering The Great Wall and the casual dining space called Italian Terraza.
The executive chef of the chain Mr. Ivan Arnold had an extensive menu planned for us and we started off the tasting with a veg and a non-veg platter. The veg platter included a Hariyali kabab, Hara Bhara Seenkh kebab and paneer tikka. While the Hariyali kebab was a bit dry, the hara bhara seenkh was the usual beans, peas, potatoes mix skewered on a seenkh and grilled and was quite flavourful. The paneer tikka however, was a bit heavy on the marinade and therefore the spices overpowered the softer paneer. The Baby Corn in Schezuan sauce brought in from their Chinese kitchen was a better starter with well rounded off flavours.
The non-veg platter was a complete delight with a very soft and silky Galouti kebab which was truly melt-in-the-mouth. The Tangdi Kebab with a delectable dry fruit and paneer filling had a subtle aroma of kewda and a sharp flavor of cardamom; Quite an interesting mix of flavours and aromas on the palate. From the Chinese kitchen we tried the Barbecue Lamb which was a double cooked lamb in barbecue sauce. The lamb had first been braised and then fried slightly in the work which ensured that the sweet and tangy flavours of the bbq sauce had seeped into the meat and at the same time it was soft enough to fall off the bone.
The best dish from the starter lineup was the dish which they call Popcorn Prawns, a deep fried tempura of prawns dusted with sesame seed, served with chef´s own wafu sauce. I found the tempura batter extremely light and thin and the prawns cooked to perfection. Despite it having been deep fried, the prawns were not oily and quite crunchy and flavorsome. The sauce was a good accompaniment.
The palate cleanser of Seafood rasam was a bit heavy on the hing (asafetida) tempering, but somehow I enjoyed it despite its sharp flavors. From the main course, we tried a Miloni Tarkari to represent the Indian veg selection and a Red Thai curry from the oriental side. For non-veg, the chef insisted on us to try their special Prawns in Mustard sauce. The Miloni tarkari was a cream based mixed vegetables dish which following the Moti Mahal style of cooking, was heavy, rich, slightly sweetish and pleasing to the palate. The Red Thai curry was average, a bit too sweet for my taste. I like my Thai curries spicier and with a prominent flavor of Kaffir lime leaves, both of the elements were lacking. The Prawns in Mustard Sauce on the other hand, was a huge letdown as the mustard was not treated well which resulted in the dish being quite bitter.
We finished off our meal with a Gulab Jamun with rabri combo. You can never go wrong with this classic combo and the same was the case here.
Though the dishes in the main course were quite weak as compared to the starter, I think the place has a lot of potential due to its zealous chef and his passion for food. A bit more effort needs to be put in fine tuning the dishes and the restaurant would certainly be a winner. A good family restaurant in the otherwise pub district, Grande 51 is definitely a fairly decent option to both dine and stay in Navi Mumbai.
Ratings out of 5
Food: 3 | Ambiance: 3 | Service: 3.5 | Overall: 3
Meal for Two without Alcohol: Rs. 2000 Approximately plus taxes| Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes|
Timing: Lunch : 11.30 – 3 pm Dinner : 7 – 11.45 pm
Address: Hotel Grande 51, Gound floor, Thapar Complex, Plot No. 51, Sector-15, CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai-400614
Telephone : 022 27580527 / 27580528
