Truly an old world experience - Sarvi

 

Having heard innumerable tales of Sarvi's sheek kebab's, we ventured down to Nagpada in a South Mumbai suburb on Diwali, last year. You hear about Nagpada in the same breath as police station, but this little treasure is definitely worth a visit. This haunt has been in the Sarvi family for over a half a century & kudos for the management for just letting it be the way it was back then.

You can take your pick of seating areas, a table with the view of the Nagpada police station or one with a view of the erstwhile Imperial Bank. Its fun watching the world go by while rubbing shoulders with taxi drivers & mêlée  of other transient Nagpada residents.

Nothing much has changed since my Mum frequented this quaint eatery close to 30 years ago. (I promised my Mum wouldn’t give her age away).The typical Irani marble top tables and wooden chairs may have lost their sheen, but the guys in the kitchen haven't lost theirs.

We stuck to the basics which were sheek kebabs and naans. Must I say, they were done to perfection. The meat is done just so, & is mildly spiced which does not set you up for heartburn later. (No blasts from the past here). The kebab's have this unusually crusty outside & a melt in the mouth inside. Ohh!!! the naans have to be the biggest in all of Mumbai & are definitely better than any other I have had anywhere else. They are soft & fluffy, without getting all rubbery in five minutes. They also make a mean bheja fry( brain). Their service is quick, helpful and extremely efficient. Suffice to say that the portions sizes are large with excellent VFM.

The only drawback is they offer no desserts. To add to our woes, Rolex (which is across the street) has now sold out, so that’s the end of their famed pudding. Well I guess if you liked stone pudding…..But if your sweet cravings still need to be pandered to, then don’t miss their cutting chai in the most mismatched teacup set you will ever see. i like it because the teacups & saucers look very nice together even if they don’t belong to each other.  All in all it’s a must do, if you are in the vicinity.