Sammy Sosa - The Road to Heaven Starts Here

Sammy Sosa 
Burrp page: http://mumbai.burrp.com/listing/sammy-sosa_oshiwara_mumbai_restaurants/120865089

Place: Near Mega Mall, Oshiwara, Andheri West.

Food:   - 10/10

Menu variety:   - 9/10

Service:  - 9/10

Ambience:   - 8/10

VFM:   - 8/10

Food
I cannot think of anything that I've ever eaten at Sammy Sosa that I haven't liked. It has been the only place where I've had dishes where I couldn't figure out what ingredient was making the dish taste so interesting. Sammy Sosa's food has a way of tingling your taste buds with a new experience. You have to try the place to know what I mean! Although it started out being known as a Mexican restaurant, it serves a whole lot of world cuisine (pure Indian food lovers - this post may not be for you). I'm not kidding when I say...try anything. Just anything. And you'll like it! If you can't make up your mind, ask the extremely friendly waiting staff what they would suggest for you, depending on the kind of taste you're craving for. For example, you could say, "I want something in fish, with a hint of lemon and lots of garlic!" And they'll give you something from the menu that is exactly that! Or just leave it up to them to suggest you a dish, in the choice of vegetarian or non-vegetarian, and I promise you, you will not be disappointed! Or try the day's specials that are written across the blackboard. The veggies are always done perfectly - not too raw, but crunchy enough - and the meat, poultry and fish are always juicy and well marinated.

Menu variety
Only one point cut because they don't serve beef. They would have made excellent steaks, if they opted to. I should not forget to mention the variety of beer they serve here. Sammy Sosa is an excellent place to hang out with a small group of friends (4-6 people) or even just catch up with an old pal over beer and/or food. They do not serve Kingfisher or Fosters, because they want to encourage people to try other beers. And they have some collection! And entire menu only targeted on beer drinkers. They also serve wine, but I don't remember having any wine here, so I don't know much about the wine collection.

Service
Beautiful. Since I'm a regular here, I always have a good time with the staff here. But even when I was there the first couple of times, I was always made to feel special. I once took my parents here (coz they hadn't lived life if they hadn't tried the food at Sammy Sosa!) and we found a piece of plastic in the food. Only time it's ever happened, by the way. We complained and not only did they replace the dish completely, but they also threw in free mocktails and desserts for us!

Ambience
A very fun atmosphere. The walls and ceiling have a lot of colorful posters and artwork. It's not a romantic joint with dim light or anything. It screams purely fun! Unless romance for you means eating awesome food with your significant other (yes those are my sentiments) of course!

VFM
A meal for two with drinks (they only serve beer and wine) would set you back by about 1500 to 2000 bucks. But purely for the quality of food they provide you with, it is totally worth it.


And in conclusion...
You'd be damned if you didn't visit this place. Yes, you will go to hell!

Mirador, mirador, roz roz mirador

The Mirador

Burrp page: http://mumbai.burrp.com/listing/the-mirador_andheri-e_mumbai_lounges-cafes/169491940

Place: Close to Andheri (E) highway, on the road connecting Andheri Kurla Road (from J.B. Nagar) to Highway

Food:   - 7/10

Buffet variety:   - 5/10

Service:  - 5/10

Ambience:   - 8/10

VFM:   - 9/10

Food
Mirador is the kind of place you wouldn't expect to find in Andheri (E). It was discovered by my friend Kashif, when he went there with his office gang for a celebration once. Although most of the people you'll find there are business travelers, I find it more appropriate for a cozy dinner with friends.

You can choose to either eat ala carte or the buffet, but at Rs. 275 + taxes, the Wednesday to Saturday midnight buffet makes for a tempting offer! There were a lot of items on display and we couldn't really fit them all in. So I picked up the items that looked most appealing. With a glass of whiskey, we downed some beautiful Fish Fingers, Chicken Sichuan Fritters, East African Fried Chicken and Irani Mutton Seekh. Also tried some good Paneer Kalonji Tikka and Corn Cake that wasn't bad either. The non-veg items were very soft and juicy, not even one item was too hard or too chewy. The paneer was extremely soft as well and I had absolutely no complaints.

Comparatively, I didn't like the main course as much, though I went mad about the Subj Kalimirch. It was like no vegetarian dish I have tasted before. Every vegetable had it's color intact and it made for this wonderful play of colors on the dish. And it had only a sprinkling of spices, with a strong, strong flavor of pepper...freshly ground! Sigh! I wish more people understood the beauty of freshly ground coarse pepper when they cooked!

For the desserts, call me a little orthodox, but I'd like having one item that's simply sinful dar chocolate based. The chocolate pastries I tried were lightly layered with raspberry crush and although it was interesting, I like my chocolate pastries with nothing else at all!

Buffet variety
The buffet has an average variety. The staff was nice enough to write me down the buffet menu when I asked for it. Here is it.

Vegetarian:

Soup
Cream of Veg Almadine

Starters
Corn cake
Paneer Kalonji Tikka
Veg Dumpling Flat Rice

Main Course
Sultana Pulao
Dal Kothmiri
Mix Pasta Arabiata
Chillie Pellenos
Paneer Asifa
Subj Kalimirch

Non-vegetarian:

Soup
Chicken Combination Soup

Starters
Fish Fingers
Chicken Sichuan Fritters
Irani Mutton Seekh

Main Course
Shredded Lamb Oyster Sauce
Murgh Nizami
Fish Berly / Oerly (can't read what this guy has written!)
East African Fry Chicken

Desserts:
Lichi Mousse
Chocolate Raspberry Pastries
Fruit Savrin
Warm Pears Pudding
Malpua and Rabri

Service
I give them a 5 because I didn't particularly enjoy the service, nor was I disappointed at any time. The staff was extremely nice in providing me with the buffet menu (handwritten, so effort taken...and appreciated), but I also noticed a slight bias towards serving foreigners before us. So overall, just average.

Ambience
With a live band playing soft music, this place is really nice to spend time with a small group of friends, or even with your significant other. It's not really a romantic place, but you will enjoy a nice quiet dinner for two. In fact the entire hotel has a nice comforting look to it (though the couches and chairs in the hotel lobby are not as comfortable as they look) and tends to have quite a calming effect on me.

VFM
Thumbs up all the way! Rs. 275 + taxes per head for a great buffet variety and good food quality...couldn't ask for more!

Location
Since it's very close to the Andheri highway, it's very conveniently located, whether you're heading there after a late night at work at Andheri or just driving around at night. I suggest night time due to the mid-night buffet being served from Wednesdays to Saturdays.

And in conclusion...
Go there at least once for their mid-night buffet! It's totally worth it!