Dhaba Dining

When a friend of mine cajoled me into going to a dhaba on Saturday night, I resignedly accepted my fate and thought, at the least I’d eat a good plate of Butter Chicken / Naan!

However I was in for a surprise. I was taken not really to a dhaba but instead to a themed restaurant in Lokhandwala, called ‘The Dhaba’ (yes, very innovatively named!)

The restaurant was crowded and there were many people waiting to get in well after we left too. Statues of Punjabis dancing and others of women drawing water out of a well adorned the place - The decor though in keeping with the theme, was minimalistic; mats mostly.

Food was prepared on open tandoors. We sat just next to this particular guy who was making the naans and flinging them in the air onto the next platform where the waiters picked them up & served at various tables.

The food was filling and very good. Yes, I did eat with my hands - it seemed like a natural thing to do. We ate lots of Tandoori Chicken, Paneer Tikka, Papads, Reshmi Kababs, Mushrooms, Dal Makhani, Butter Chicken, Murgh Saag, Kadi / Chawal and lots of different types of Naans. I was also chided for being a bad sport and drinking Sprite when everyone was drinking Lassis or Jal Jeera pani.

However it must be noted, that a fine dining experience this was not. There were no serviettes. After I asked for one, the waiter then went and brought some. Another waiter proceeded to drop some Tandoori Chicken right off the serving platter onto my chair (missing my clothes by a quarter of an inch). The waiters looked like bouncers (so observed the gentleman besides me). I on my part noticed that their clothes were extremely dirty. It’s scary being served food by someone who’s wearing very dirty clothes.

The whole thing reminded me of Victor Victoria; this is a dhaba, pretending to be a themed restaurant, pretending to be a dhaba… If you want authentic dhaba, this pretty much is it!

I had a really good time with my friends and the food was good though which at the end of the day is what matters.

But if you’re from out of town and not sure you have the stomach for this type of food, I suggest ‘The Village‘ as a better themed experienced - a much better ambiance, clean, hygenic and more themed decor.

Tags: Bombay, Dhaba, Dining, Lokhandwala, Mumbai, Punjabi-Food, Restaurants, Restaurants-in-Mumbai, The-Village, Victor-Victoria