11 August,2011 08:51 AM IST | | Dhara Vora
Shivaji Park's iconic restaurant and bakery has been revamped and it has a new menu. Rest assured, it remains a vegetarian foodie's delight even though placing the dessert order is still a task
Other than housing the headquarters of a political party, Dadar's Shivaji Park area also has a sprinkling of some great restaurants of central Mumbai. But one place that has been serving a great mix of vegetarian continental, Mediterranean, Mexican and Indian dishes since many years is Oven Fresh. Their chocolate and fruity smoothies and super thin crust pizzas are some of the best in town. So when they introduced new dishes in their menu we were more than keen to pay a visit.
Mediterranean Sampler pics by bipin kokate
We visited the place on a Sunday, which also happened to be Friendship Day. As expected, the restaurant was full, with people lining outside, in spite of the rains. The inner seating area has been re-decorated and the yellow walls with Mario Miranda-ish frescos have given way to wooden beams and a very contemporary setting.
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Apart from the d ufffdcor, the restaurant has added new dishes in every section from soups to desserts.
Our first order was Spicy Corn and Tortilla Soup (Rs 110). The soup was super hot, not for those with a weak stomach. Accompanying the soup were two portions of bread, one sprinkled with herbs and the other with a crunchy oatmeal crust and a generous dose of butter on the side. We could not have enough of the warm and extremely fresh bread. As for the soup, the flavour was great with fresh basil leaves. A very good start for a rainy Sunday lunch, though we would have preferred our tortillas crisper. We then ordered a Paneer Spicy Sandwich (Rs 115). Though perfectly crisp with a fresh paneer filling (and coleslaw and wafers on the side) it was not at all spicy.
To lift up our spirits we ordered their Cheddar Smoked, Emmenthal and Mozzarella Cheese with Yellow Squash, Red Peppers and Harissa Pizza (phew!). As always Oven Fresh's thin crust pizzas did not disappoint. The Harissa paste complemented the pizza, which was bursting with cheese and our Cucumber and Green Apple Iced Tea (Rs 95) came right on time. It's a perfect summer drink with a tall glass filled with ice-cubes and the cucumber and green apple flavours play a hide-n-seek with your taste buds.
For the main course the staff recommended the Mediterranean Sampler (Rs 210) and gave us a very good description with every little detail about the ingredients. The Sampler was a neatly lined tray of Kibbeh, a Mediterranean variety of vegetable cutlets, Manakeesh an Arabic version of pizza, Spanakopita, Dolmas and two dips with Kalamata olives. The Kibbeh was marvellously crisp and the Zatar spiced Manakeesh had an unusual taste that might not suit everyone's palate. Spanakopita or Spinach and cheese stuffed filo pastry was so light and perfectly flavoured that we'd give it higher points over their pizza. The Pecan Nut Dip is a great accompaniment with the dish. The Dolmas (lightly flavoured rice rolled in grape leaves) are strictly for Mediterranean food enthusiasts.
The service at Oven Fresh deserves a special mention. In spite of the place being cramped, the waiters patiently gave us descriptions of the dishes from the new menu. They even took time out to click pictures of groups celebrating Friendship Day and religiously described different pizza toppings to a group of nine-year-olds who were figuring out what to order, all the while serving the orders on time.
Finally to our favourite part at Oven Fresh, their smoothies! We called for a Morello Cherry and Cocoa Smoothie (Rs 150). The tangy taste of the cherry is what hits you first and leaves you with a lingering taste of cocoa.
Their Hazelnut Chocolate Smoothie is a better choice over this one. They don't have a dessert or a pastry menu and we had to leave our seats to have a look at their dessert counter. Their cupped dessert looked delicious and the counter staff called it Chocolate Cream Brulee (Rs 70). Back at our seats when we tried placing the order the waiter asked us to accompany him again to the counter and tell him what we wanted and when it was served he called it a Chocolate Tiramisu. So, we were kept guessing what we were having, although it was delicious.
Other than the sandwich, which calls itself spicy, and the dessert mix-up we still remain Oven Fresh fans.
At Ovenfresh, Kiran Building, Ranade Road, Shivaji Park, Dadar (W).
Call 67600000 (they don't do home delivery).
Timings 10 am to 11 pm
Oven Fresh didn't know we were there. The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals.
