I'll be very honest with you, I initially read Naani's Cafe reviews on Yelp, and was unsure if I should try it out. The thing that made me try it out were the aromas coming from the cart-like kitchen next to the ordering station, plus the lack of variety (and availability) of the other restaurants offering food at the Mall of India Food Court.
Any ways, long story short, we decided to take our chances, and ordered the following:
Pav Bhaji - the pavs were prepared to pure perfection with the taste of real butter and spices. This isn't your regular pavs - these pavs were on steroids in terms of taste! I could eat these by themselves! If that wasn't enough, the bhaji was the right consistency and thickness and well spiced and flavored. 10/10!
The Idli (2) Vada (1) Combo - the idlis were soft and pillowy and the Vada was good, but the STAR here, my friends was the sambar. Not watery, and the PRRFECT consistency for dipping your Idli and vada into, and the podi wasn't just a hodge podge of spices, it's nice and well balanced. The whole combo is quite flavorful and very reasonably priced, might I add. 10/10 even my son approved of both the Idli and Vada (as clearly demonstrated in the picture!)
Cut Mirchi Bhaji - NEVER have I had cut mirchi Bhaji where the outer shell retains its crunchiness. That's usually because it's impossible for the besan shell to remain crunchy when it's being topped with the sogginess of tomato and onions. Somehow, these guys managed it!!!! Of course before we could finish both the mirchis the outer shell began to get soft, but it came out nice, spicy, topped with fresh and tart tomatoes and onions to cut through the spice....just a total delight. 10/10
But guys, wait for it...
The star of the show...
FILTER COFFEE - the lady at the ordering station warned me that the coffee was strong and without sugar (THANK GOD!!!). This was perfect because not everyone likes their coffee doused in sugar. One sip, and I was in heaven. This is PRECISELY how filter coffee is supposed to taste like - rich, flavorful with just a hint of bitterness after you've swallowed that heavenly sip! Filter coffee craving MANAGED!!! Damn this is good!!! 20 out of 10 for this one!
As long as Naani's Cafe CONSISTENTLY delivers flavor (restaurants with extensive menus often compromise on consistency, which can be their downfall)...this may be the only restaurant standing, thriving and drawing the entire crowd in at the Mall of India Food Court! Kudos to the team at Naani's Cafe!!! read more