An evening with stars, almost
Atypical hoity toity eatery where you feel judged by the second and by your every move is The Butler and The Bayleaf. Located at the posh Juhu Tara road, the restaurant is often frequented by celebrities as we also spotted one during our dinner.
As we got comfortable, we were given the menu and although it’s not an exhaustive one, it did have quite a few authentic Indian dishes with interesting twists to them. Exhibit A: the jackfruit biryani which immediately caught our eye and we decided to order that for the main course. But for now, it was time for starters and some drinks. So we called for some Fish Amritsari (₹550), Mushroom Gaualuti (₹350)with Vark as well as the The Butler Bhel (₹310), about which we had heard great many things.
They served us some complimentary salad, bhindi kurkure and moong chat before they brought along our starters. The cocktails seemed rather confusing than interesting. However, we settled for The Polmos Cooler (₹450), Paloma (₹450) and Spice Fashion (₹1,100) to accompany our food. The first two were so heavy on ice that any other flavour was barely recognisable. The Polmos Cooler was vodkabased with peach, green apple and passion fruit, while the Paloma was tequila-based with grapefruit syrup, rock salt and lime and soda, but truly in both the drinks, all we could taste was the ice and alcohol. The Spice Fashion was a winner as it had hints of bay leaf and cinnamon, and the flavours complemented the whiskey.
The fish and mushroom were truly masterpieces with both the dishes being extremely soft and melt-inthe-mouth delicious. The bhel, however, was nothing to shout about for it wasn’t very different from its humble roadside counterpart.
For main course we called for the Jackfruit Biryani (₹450) and TBCC —The Butler Butter Chicken — (₹675), and Tandoori Roti (₹110). The biryani rice was equal parts chewy and soft but the jackfruit wasn’t as good as expected. The pairing didn’t work and seemed out of place. But the rice in itself was delicious. The butter chicken was classic and we can only thank God that some things are left unexperimented with.
For desserts we went with the Death By Halwai (₹425) and it was everything we expected and more. The dish came with four small angoori bulb jamun and kulfi on a
bed of rabdi. The cocktail worked amazingly and it was a total winner.
All in all, The Butler and The Bayleaf is a great place to burn a hole in your pocket while also feeling faux posh, for a bit, if you are really not. But it can also be a good place to spend a nice evening if you choose your dishes wisely. (HT Café reviews anonymously and pays for its meals)