Restaurant Review: Why this new joint in Mahim is a fun hangout

Chicken Rice Plate

Quarter house
Food: Good
Service: Efficient
Ambiance: Fun

A full house greeted us on a Friday night, when we walked into Mahim's newest watering hole, Quarter house. The music was loud but added to the cheerful ambience. Posters and coasters with quirky quotes about alcohol and life, fit right in.

Interiors of the Quarter House

When we got a table after a ten-minute waiting period, and took a look at the menu we realised that there was no small peg on the alcohol menu. You could either order a 60 ml drink or a quarter. We are sure this would add to the cool quotient of the place for a lot of people. What we found interesting is that the crowd was a mix of young twenty-somethings, corporate thirty-somethings as well as an old-boys group who seemed to have found a new hagout for their evening round of Whisky and whatnots.

Mojito

On the first floor, after an hour of us being there, the crowd had managed to push aside the chairs and make space to create what was then a full-fledged dance floor. Wanting to find out who this DJ was who had managed to get our feet tapping, we asked a member of the staff. Giving us a shy smile, he told us that the staff was playing music off a pen drive and that there was no DJ around. We were both amused and impressed.

Chicken Rice Plate

We found space in the basement of the two-storey restaurant. The music here gets slightly filtered and allows you to be able to talk to each other. The menu featured a mix of desi-style bar food. The first section on the menu is called 'Chakhna'. and features the typical masala dal, boiled eggs, chakli, peanuts and other farsan priced at Rs 60. In the little food section you could choose to go traditional with a Mandeli Fry Rs 150 or a Bombil Fingers Rs 200 or experiment with Koliwada Prawn Popcorn Rs 250. The mains have a section called the rice plate, which used to be a common feature in a lot of lodges and budget restaurants.

We skipped the pegs and ordered a Long Island Ice Tea Rs 450 and Mojito Rs 650 instead. Competitively priced, the drinks were nicely done. A plate of complimentary masala puris were served with our drinks. We started off our binge with the Char Grilled Lollipops Rs 250. Unlike the typical chicken lollipops served in similar places, this version had no added red colour and was fresh off the tandoor.

It tasted more like a tandoori chicken kabab served on a lollipop stick. Convinced that were in a good space, we got experimental, and ordered the Bheja Cutlets Rs 250 which was tasty. It was the first time for us, and so we were unsure whether its consistency was meant to be a tad soggy but we enjoyed it nevertheless. From the vegetarian side of the menu, we asked for the Paneer Tacos (Rs 150), which had a yummy paneer filling stuffed in regular tacos. For the sake of nostalgia we called for Chicken Rice Plate (Rs 300). The thick chicken gravy with plain fluffy white rice worked for us. The surprise element though was an unusual white rassa that was served in a bowl, alongside the chicken. We nearly mistook it for raita, initially. Made of coconut gravy this one was a hit. A must-try in this happy house.

At: 123, Kapad Bazar Lane, Opposite Paradise Cinema, Mahim.
Time: 11 am to 12 am
Call: 30151129

Quarter House didn't know we were there. the guide reviews anonymously and pays for its meals