Cuppa Bistro, Ahmedabad

Cuppa Bistro,
Acropolis Mall,
S G Highway,
Thaltej,
Ahmedabad
+91 9727056865

Its a nice place to stop and sit down for a snack and a drink before or after watching a movie at PVR.

They have a very large range of teas, including herbal, green and flower teas.  I tried a South African Honey tea (120/-) and it was quite amazing. Just a mild hint of sweetness without adding any extra sugar.

They have lots of snacks and small eats on offer. However, everything is either deep fried, cheesy or full of carbs. Not a place that you want to visit if you are on a diet.

The food is tasty, but the problem is the set up that they have, is like a semi open kitchen, so each time they deep fry something, the whole seating area starts getting smoky and smelling of hot oil.

Rating : 3.5 / 5

Goodies, Ahmedabad

Goodies,
Opposite ATIRA,
IIM Road,
Vastrapur
Ahmedabad
079 30257202

The first time I visited Goodies was because I heard how much they were revered in Baroda. I had a lovely Cafe Latte and an extremely interesting wafer per eeddu (eggs fried over a base of potato wafers/chips - 130/-), I even had some Parsi chicken curry and rice (220/-) and it was all very tasty.

However, on my second visit with my husband, which was over a weekend, the service was extremely slow and they forgot his main course (which didn't arrive for over 30 minutes and I had finished my main course by then) so he wasn't happy with his experience.

The food is good, but its best to visit when it isn't too crowded, unless you don't mind a long wait for your food.

On a later occasion, we went to Goodies for lunch today, since both buzz in town and timescity had posted an advertisement that Goodies was having a seafood festival from 25th Oct to 1st November (2013).

Buzz in town said "Seafood Festival at Goodies Cafe. Fish Korma, Fish Moilee, Fish Pakora, Fish Tikka, Fried Fish, Indian Fish Curry, Prawn Chilli Fry & Prawns Masala etc. " and TimesCity said " If good food pep ups your mood, then drop in at Goodies café for sea food feast. The venue brings a special ‘sea food festival’ for its patrons wherein they can enjoy a large variety of sea food cooked into wonderful recipes. Choose from sea jewels like fish, prawns, lobsters and crabs that will not only tingle your taste buds but will also give a taste of the real flavors of the sea. So head to the venue and pamper your heart with some marine delights."

Me and my sister were really looking forward to have some fresh fish, prawns and lobster, so we got really excited when we saw these advertisements and headed to Goodies for lunch.

Sadly when we arrived, we were told that there was no such festival going on and they only had their regular menu on offer.

So, we just had some wafer pe eedu and chicken tawa biryani (230/-) washed down with cold coffee (90/-). Food was good, but we were disappointed to not get any seafood specials.

Later in December, I took my parents to Goodies, to give them a taste of Parsi food. Unfortunately most of the Parsi items weren't "available" that day, including the wafer pe eedu that I especially wanted them to try. I then asked for a grilled chicken salad (150/-), but even that wasn't available. I asked for one of the other salads - the chicken and mayonnaise salad without the mayonnaise - but they said that wasn't possible as the mayonnaise was already mixed into the chicken.

This continued for quite awhile, we ran down the list of pizzas, burgers, sandwiches etc, with them claiming more than 8-10 dishes weren't available. We made the best of what we could, but after this we definitely aren't going back to Goodies.

We have found that their service, food and standards have been steadily dropping over the last few months, so something will have to improve drastically before we go back.

Rating : 2 / 5

Brewberry's, Ahmedabad

Brewberry's,
1, Prime Plaza,
Opposite DLA School,
NFD Circle,
Bodakdev
Ahmedabad
079 40092200, 079 40082200

After hearing some good stuff about this cafe opened by a group of college friends, I was quite keen to visit Brewberry's especially since it was a cafe that also served non-veg.

Recently, I managed to cross it off  my wishlist.

Its a nice comfy place to sit down. There are tables that are convenient for those who want to eat a meal and sofas with low seating, for those who want to relax and enjoy a coffee. The cafe also provides board games, if you would like to just sit around enjoying the company of friends.

We were slightly hungry, so aside from the coffees - I just had a simple iced mocha (79/-). The waiter, suggested I have a BBC or something else, but I told him I wanted a simple cold coffee without ice cream or whipped cream or anything more fattening. I was reserving my calorie indulgence for french fries (45/-) and chicken nuggets. And I'm glad I did so. The coffee was light and refreshing, the french fries had a nice desi home made touch to them in the spicing and the nuggets were the best among all the food we ate here.

My sister had the coffee crunch (115/-) which was blended and topped with crushed cookies which she really enjoyed.

For the main course, we had the Mexicano Pizza wrap (125/- - which was nice and spicy) and the chicken quesedilla (which was actually made with chicken salami) Don't expect a TGIF or Ruby Tuesday kind of quesedilla and you will quite enjoy it as something different.

I'd go back for coffee and snacks, but not for a meal, as their menu is not really meant for a meal.

As a note : The hot and cold coffees at their AlphaOne Mall outlet are excellent, but they are pure veg there and don't have many snacks on offer - just the occasional sandwich and cake.

Rating : 3.5 / 5

Beera Samosa, Ahmedabad

Beera Samosa,
Advance Cinema Road,
Opposite CTO Office,
Bhadra
Ahmedabad
+91 9909287178

Bera is a small hole in the wall, famous for their samosas. The samosas are filled with mutton and encased in thin pastry and deep fried.

If you want to eat here, don't bother looking into the large kadai in which he fries the samosas, meat balls and chicken which is located right at the entrance. Just step in, order however much you want by weight and either pack it for a takeaway or eat at the location.

I would recommend eating at the location, because all these items are such that they taste best straight out of the frying pan, rather than slightly cold and soggy or reheated in a microwave or tawa.

I personally prefer their chicken kebabs (deep fried) to the samosas and meat balls.

Rating : 3 / 5

Chandra Vilas, Ahmedabad

Chandra Vilas,
Near Ratanpol,
Gandhi Road,
Kalupur,
Ahmedabad

079 22174647, 079 22146530

We had heard a lot about Chandra Vilas (oldest food joint in the city - since 1900, a large part of the restaurant was burnt down during the 2002 riots hence they operate from a much smaller space), so since we finally found ourselves in the old city on Saturday morning, we decided to have breakfast here instead of our normal haunt at the Green House.

Sadly, we were quite disappointed. It wasn't just the shabbiness of the place, (we have eaten good food at far shabbier places) it was just that the food wasn't as great as it was touted to be.

Seems to be that Chandravilas is living on past glory and reputation like Delhi's parathewali galli.

The jalebis were the only dish we could even consider ordering a second round of. We tried their well touted fafdas (flat besan fritters) which weren't bad, but the accompanying papaya salad was extremely bland, the kadhi was average, only the accompanying green chilli made it palatable. The patra (coclocasia leaf rolls) was extremely oily, the sev ussal was just piping hot, but did not have much flavour.

Each dish costs about 30Rs or so

Rating : 2.5 / 5

So South, Satellite, Ahmedabad

So South
Opposite Wide Angle Multiplex,
Behind Celebration PArty Plot
Next to Karnavati Club,
S G Highway,
Satellite,
Ahmedabad
+91 9099000981


Wanted to have So South's dosas as snacks this evening, but didn't want to brave the traffic of Alpha Mall on a Sunday evening, so we decided to try the outlet on SG Highway.

They've just opened a month ago and we were the only people there, so service was a little slow while they got their dosa pans prepped. However, the open air setting is lovely and ideal in this weather. Surrounded by trees on all sides, the chirping of birds and the fresh breeze was extremely soothing.

The dosas were good, but not as good as the outlet near Alpha One Mall. The final balance of flavours left just a little bit to be desired.

We had the mushroom jini dosa, roast paneer tukda bhaji dosa, the maggi stuffed dosa and the butterscotch caramel dosa with chocolate icecream. Husband quite enjoyed the maggi dosa and the other unusual combinations. He also felt this was one of the better sambhars served in Ahmedabad. However the highlight of the evening for his was the dessert dosa. He felt that this slightly salty dosa was a better combination with ice cream than a regular cone.

Do head here before the weather gets too hot to sit outdoors.

Rating : 3.5 / 5

Special Lassi Wala, Jaipur

Special Lassi Wala,
315, MI Road,
Jaipur

+91 9667188811

This lassiwala on MI Road is very well known. He is almost a de-facto pit-stop for anyone shopping on MI Road. His lassi is not overly creamy like those that you get on the Delhi Punjab route. Its just the right balance of liquid and cream and its perfect on a hot sunny afternoon in Jaipur.

Rating : 4 / 5

Falafel Express, Ahmedabad

Falafel Express,
Departure Terminal - T1
Sardar Vallabhai Patel Domestic Airport,
Hansol,
Ahmedabad
9724621956

Seems that these days, the Subway at the airport is almost ALWAYS closed "for maintenance" or "for cleaning". Standard response seems to be "Sorry maam, we will start serving after 1 hour" Ridiculous time frame for an eatery in an airport!

The only other *bordering on non-veg* option in the airport, once you have checked in, is Falafel Express - I say *bordering on non-veg*, because they serve omelette pitas. Its just eggs, no meat.

Falafel Express operate from a limited space and have a pretty decent variety for the size of their eatery. Falafels, omelette pitas, some dips, mccain french fries and a few other of their ready-to-fry items, in a couple of different flavours (seasonings) seem to be their fastest moving items.

Service was efficient and fast, the french fries (130/-) were lovely. The omelette pita (150/-) was quite filling as a mini meal.

Its not the best food, but the best option at the airport for a hot meal, when subway is non-functional (chocolate Room is great for coffee, chocolate cake and cold chocolate drinks)

Rating : 3 / 5

Naturals, Ahmedabad

Naturals,
Ground Floor,
Shri Krishna Centre,
Mithakhali Six Roads,
Navrangpura
Ahmedabad
079 26403252

I'm a great fan of Naturals. Right from their original store in Juhu - Bombay to Bangalore & Hyderabad, Jaipur & Mangalore, Goa & Pune and now here in Ahmedabad.

All the Naturals ice creams are made in one location and then shipped to stores across the country, so the quality of ice creams is spot on. But, the service and staff at the Ahmedabad store are really bad. Most Naturals Parlours are lively and bright and you can see the ice cream tubs from the customer side of the counter.

But the Ahmedabad store is dull and dreary and depressing to sit in, which is why I guess, I never see any other customers at the store, even though Gujarat has the highest per capita ice cream consumption in the country.

Go here for the ice cream and carry a half or 1 litre tub as takeaway is my advice.

My favourites are the tender coconut and watermelon. But if you love fruits, you will love every flavour on offer as they are all as natural as can be made with the best quality ingredients

Rating : 4.5 / 5

Naturals, Jaipur

Natural Ice Cream
A 5, Ground Floor,
Suryavanshi Pearl,
Sardar Patel Marg,
C Scheme,
Jaipur
0141 4005500, 0141 4112500

The same awesome natural ice creams with the same great quality as you can find in every other Naturals Ice Cream Parlour across the country.

Tender coconut and watermelon are my all time favourites. Their roast almond, mocha and mango are also very good. They also have seasonal fruit flavours like jackfruit, custard apple and chickoo which are very popular.

All natural flavours, no added food colours or flavourings. Ideal break on a warm summer day.

Rating : 4 / 5

Anokhi Cafe, Jaipur

Anokhi Cafe,
C 11, 2nd Floor,
KK Square,
Prithviraj Road,
C Scheme,
Jaipur

0141 4007245

This is a tiny cafe located within the Anokhi store in C Scheme. Its always crowded and it takes time to get a table.

The menu is completely organic, mostly focused on snacks and sweets. Its a lovely place for breakfast, tea breaks, or even a light lunch.

The cakes are excellent, not too sweet, so just right to enjoy with a cup of coffee. A good place to take a break after shopping. I however head here more for their cheesecake and carrot cake than the shopping per se :)

Canadian Donut Co. Ahmedabad

Canadian Donut Co.
A 1/2, Sankalp Building,
Opp. Corporate House,
Opposite Choice Restaurant,
Judges Bunglow Road,
Bodakdev,
Ahmedabad
079 40071525

I'd had a lousy day with none of my jobs on my "to do" list getting crossed off inspite of my best efforts, so what I really needed to get out of the horrible feeling was a good chocolate fix and since I was passing by this area, the choice was between 2 dessert places on my wishlist. Canadian Donut Co and Melt In. Given that the weather was too cold to have an icecream, I stepped into CDC.

The interiors are nice and clean - I loved the white and bright red combination - and the staff behind the counter are extremely helpful. They told me that by liking a couple of pages online I could get discounts at Canadian Donut Co. (facebook and mydala or something like that) I however, wanted 2 doughnuts and a cold coffeeish drink and there was a lovely combination of 2 doughnuts + drink for 175. Given that the doughnuts are around 55 each and the hazelnut shake was 110, this was a good offer.

I tried the Irish Cream doughnut which was very good. Since it was a filled doughnut, the centre was nice soft and gooey. However the hazelnut centered one was a little on the drier side. I prefer center filled donuts, but they did have regular donuts too in various flavours - chocolate seemed to be predominant though.

They had a pizza flavour and cheese flavour doughnut too, but I wasn't in THAT adventurous a mood.

The donuts are nicely laid out and look colorful and bright in the display units. There aren't too many kept on display, so I hope that means that they are made fresh repeatedly and not left languising in the cases. The staff were also dipping & rolling donut holes, while I sat there sipping my drink, but I did not see them on the menu.

CDC offers an exciting new option in Ahmedabad's Dessert scene, but they aren't as good as Mad Over Donuts (who promised to arrive at Alpha Mall, but sadly changed their plans)

Rating : 3.5 / 5