Juice Lounge & Rollacosta, Ahmedabad

Juice Lounge & Rollacosta
12, First Floor,
Camps Corner 2, (above Raisin & Chocolate Room)
Opposite Prahlad Nagar Garden,
Prahlad Nagar,
Ahmedabad

+91 7878017629
079 30000900

Stopped here for just a quick break today as I've been wanting to try it out for awhile. I loved the interiors. The framed food quotes with puns were funny. The black and white muralled wall seems to be gaining favour among eateries here.(also seen at the new Shakti Sandwich in Prahladnagar)

We had a sweet lime juice (90/-) which was nice and fresh. I had a Lean Body Shake (140/-) with apple, pineapple and watermelon with a fat burner blend, that was surprisingly a good combination. How good the fat burner blend combination is, we will have to see on tomorrow mornings weigh in :)

They had spiced carrot cake (195/-) on special today and we had a slice of that with a side of vanilla ice cream. It was very good. Homemade style, nothing elaborate, slightly dry, more of a brownie-ish construction, but it was still very tasty.

Juice lounge and RollaCosta offers a range of milkshakes, smoothies, soups, starters, shawarmas, rolls, pastas, salads, pizzas, sandwiches, pav bhaji and some Indian mains. They are a pure vegetarian eatery.

Prices seem to be on the higher side for juices in this area. But then its the only place that has a high hygiene factor and air conditioned interiors.

They have a little shelf with a surprisingly good collection of books to browse through.

Definitely don't miss the chocolates that come at the end with the bill, they are really yum, with a lovely surprise center.

Added on 5 Aug 2014 :
Tried the Shawarmas from Rollacosta Prahladnagar on Saturday. Only ordered from here (veg restaurant) because there were very few options for home delivery post 3pm.

A lot of the food (Indian / Tandoori / meals) weren't available. The person on the phone very sweetly and apologetically explained that they only served the rolls and snacks after 3pm until dinner time. So a lot of the dishes I had hoped to order, were off the menu.

I have to confess the paneer xcelerator shawarma(140/-) was AWESOME. I'm rarely so enthusiastic about veg versions of what are essentially non-veg dishes, but this one was totally worth it. Brilliant hummus, just a little more on the liquidy side than normal, but worked brilliantly with the paneer and pita. What lovely pita bread. It was perfect. I would give this shawarma a 5/5 rating.

The corn chilli cheese express rolla (160/-) was also very good. Loved the spinach in it and it was not overly cheesy (a la Shakti Sandwich / Honest types).

The Mexican Salad (140/-) was missing the promised Tortillas, but it was light, fresh, healthy (lemon / vinegar dressing)  and spicy. We loved it.

The gobhi & Aloo Parathas (80/-) each were large sized, but had a lot more space that could have been used for stuffing :) It came with raita and pickles. since dhal and sabji weren't available after 3pm, I just made some dhal at home and it was tasty, but lacking a bit on the stuffing side.

Loved the roll and shawarma, so will definitely be ordering home delivery from here more often. I only hope that they will send some of their complimentary chocolates home with home home delivery orders too. Upgrading their rating from 3.5 to 4 / 5

Upgraded Rating : 4/ 5

Girish Coldrinks, Ahmedabad

Girish Coldrinks
Abhishek Complex,
C G Road,
Ahmedabad
079 26460328, +91 9374425833

After spending a couple of hours browsing the book exhibition at Smt Sushilaben Ratilal Hall on CG Road, I really needed something to quench my thirst,

Seeing Girish Cold Drinks was next door and had been highly recommended by foodie friends whose opinion I trust, I did not have to think any further. The place was small and practically on the road side, with a few tables spread outside.

I asked for a pineapple juice without sugar, the waiter honestly told me that it wouldn't be possible. the juices he could give me without sugar were narangi, musambi and watermelon, so I chose the watermelon (30/-).

It was so good and refreshing, that I also asked for a bhelpuri (and forgot to mention meetha kam - Chaat in Gujarat tends to be too sweet for my taste buds) Inspite of that I got a perfectly balanced bhelpuri (50/-), the mix of sweet, salt, spice and sour was perfect. The only thing that did not completely appeal to me were the pieces of beetroot on top. I understand the need to add color to a dish, but I don't like seeing healthy veggies atop a sinful dish of chaat.

I'm definitely going back to try their thandai and kaju anjir shake as recommended by my other friends.

Rating : 4 / 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

Gandhi Cold Drink House, Ahmedabad

Gandhi Cold Drink House,
Opposite Nishat Restaurant,
Khasbazaar,
Bhadra
Ahmedabad
079 25507555

Gandhi Cold Drink is famous because they are credited with being the first place to start serving falooda in Gujarat.

Its a small shop near Bhadra Fort. You can either wait to get seated at one of the 4 tables inside or you can stand or sit outside the shop and enjoy your falooda.

Personally, for me the falooda is too sweet and not milky enough. I prefer the Bombay version of the falooda (there's excellent falooda to be had near Crawford Market in Bombay). I do like their ice creams though.

They do have a couple of locations within the city too, if Bhadra is too far for you to visit. The CG Road outlet seems to be their most popular one.

Rating : 3 / 5

Juice Lounge / Truly Fresh, Ahmedabad

Juice Lounge has now been renamed Truly Fresh. Only the name and packaging has changed, everything else remains the same.

Juice Lounge,
Food Court - Alpha One Mall,
Vastrapur
Ahmedabad

The guy at Juice Lounge is very obliging. We normally give him a complicated order. Eg: 1 Watermelon juice, no ice. 1 watermelon juice no sugar, 1 apple juice no ice, no sugar and so on and he always fills our order with a smile.

Juice Lounge is the healthiest place in Alphaone mall to grab a drink, because he can make wonderful fruit juices and will not add any sugar, if you request him.

He has the standard, watermelon, lime, pineapple etc for 45/- range. He also has exotic drinks like iron booster, hangover cure etc, which are blends of different fruits and vegetables that are good for you in the 80/- range. The menu clearly mentions what juices make up a particular combination.

We have tried quite a few combinations. Obviously if you go for spinach + beetroot + carrot + no sugar, then you need to drink the juice without bothering to taste it. But some combinations are quite good.

The best part is everything is clean and there are no flies, so it feels very hygienic and hence extra healthy.

Rating : 4 / 5

Mocktail Shots, Ahmedabad

Mocktail Shots,
Food Court - Alpha One Mall.
Vastrapur
Ahmedabad
+91 9924116784, +91 9904875698

Disclaimer : I am not from Gujarat, just posted in this city for awhile.
So honestly, I feel sorry for the flair bartenders here at Mocktail Shots, who have a really smart jazzy looking location with flashing colored lights, they dress up much more snazzily than the staff at the other surrounding outlets in the food court, they have hip music playing in the background, but not a drop of alcohol to play around with.

Also most customers that I have seen in the food court, prefer to have a fountain pepsi, cold coffee or chocolate shake. Rarely do you see anyone standing outside the "Mocktail Shots" outlet.

However, one day, out of sheer sympathy for the guys who were juggling cocktail shakers and bottles with no one ordering anything from them, I decided to try a few mocktails, but it ended up being too sweet for our taste. The combinations weren't bad, it was just overly sweet for me. If I do try them again, I will definitely ask them to lower the sugar in my drinks.


Their drinks range in prices from 69/- to 169/- There are also a few shots priced at 50/-

Rating : 3 / 5

Pure Drinks - Real Fruit Sorbets, Ahmedabad

I met the husband-wife couple behind Pure Drinks at their stall at a recent exhibition at Rajpath Club.

They sell frozen blended fresh fruits. While they have labelled their products as sorbets, they can be used to make fresh fruit juice, fruit sodas or milkshake or even as toppings for ice-creams. The sorbets are 100% pure and natural with no added flavours.

They can't be used in tarts because once they melt, the consistency is completely liquid.

Most of their products have added sugar, but they also have some sugarless options. They also promised me that if I order in advance, they can make me sorbets in whichever flavour they offer without any added sugar.

They offer over 50+ varieties depending on the season. The Sorbets are sold in 1/2kg and 1 kg bottles. Fast selling variants like Faalsa are sold in 5kg bottles too. They don't just offer simple flavours, but also a gamut of combinations like Kiwi Pina (Kiwi + Pineapple), Kiwi Heart (Kiwi + Apple), Herbal amla, Muskiwi (Musk melon + kiwi) among others.

The product is frozen and they say that as long as you keep it frozen, it can last for a year. When you want to use, just take it out of the freezer, scoop as much as required and return the jar to the freezer.

They can be contacted at
Pure Drinks
B 1004 Prernasikhar Apartment
B/s Bodakdev Fire Station
Judges Bungalow Road
Vastrapur
Ahmedabad

Phone: 079 2685 7082, 97129 78724

Email : enquiry@puredrinks.co.in and puredrinks@rediffmail.com

Caution !!!!! The juice guy at the Khan

If you are thirsty after trekking the khan and looking for a juice, then the juice guy next to Egyptian pancakes at the Khan is MOST DEFINITELY NOT THE PLACE YOU WANT TO GO !

They are Bl&**$ scamsters !

I have always grabbed a juice there (over 20 times in the last year) with my Egyptian friends and it has never cost me more than 3LE.

I had recommended to my visiting aunts (2 weeks back) that they drink juice at his place if they felt thirsty in the area. I told them it would be about 5LE. (including the doubling of price for a tourist) The guy charged them 10LE for each lemon juice !

I thought it was some kind of mix up and ignored it.

When I went to the khan with my uncles last week, we ate at Egyptian pancakes & got the juice from the guy next door. He came back to me with a bill of 60LE for 5 lemon juice. 12 LE each ! (4 times the actual price !!!!!) He refused to see reason, even when I told him that he was charging us 4 times the price ! (To put it in perspective, a canned aerated drink in the market costs a maximum of 2.5LE)

Since the scamster doesn't have a menu, there's no way you can verify the price. 2.5$ for a lime juice is too much for any tourist (even if he/she is the supposed rich American)

Fix your price with the juice guy before ordering or don't order at all. I am definitely NEVER EVER going to drink a juice there again !

PS : The pancakes guy has a menu, so there's no trouble there.