Sunday 21 January 2018

“Idhar macchi ekdum fresh milta hain (The fish here is extremely fresh) “- Purandar Shetty, Manager


Harish Lunch Home, Irla     4/5
Address:  115, S. V. Road, Irla, Vile Parle West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400056
Specialty:  Manglorean Sea food
Type of Restaurant: All day bar and restaurant
The details above are from the restaurant/their website and are subject to change at their discretion
Price Range: 2200/- for two with one non-alcoholic beverage each. Exclusive of applicable taxes and charges. They don’t levy a service charge
The concept of a Lunch home is popular on the Mumbai food scene. Harish is, in our opinion, one of the best. They pride themselves on the freshness of their produce, particularly seafood. Other than their own cuisine, Manglorean, they serve food from the rest of the South, Punjabi and Chinese.
Ambience
No frills, comfortable. There are two family dining rooms on the 1st floor of the restaurant.
Life’s Good, but it’s not perfect
Starters: We started with the crab butter garlic. They serve it de-shelled, on request, and we prefer not to have to wrestle with our food, unless absolutely necessary. This is an Oriental preparation in a butter garlic sauce with spring onion and fresh red chilies. On the face of it, it looks like a simple dish, but it brings out the delicate crab flavour perfectly. This is the dish that takes us back .
From the tandoor, we had the fish Noorani Tikka. This dish has boneless pieces of Rawas or Indian salmon marinated in a brown spice mix, unlike the typical fiery red tandoori masala we are accustomed to. A good sized portion, you get six perfectly cooked pieces, served with a coriander and mint chutney, shallots, lemon wedges and pickle on the side. A dollop of the chutney and a squeeze of lime…pure bliss.
Next came the Prawn Malabari Fry, a delicacy from Gods own country, Kerala. Batter fried, akin to a Prawn Koliwada. The spice mix with the curry leaf garnish is a perfect snack if you’re having a drink. 14-15 medium sized prawns, deep fried to a golden brown. So perfectly done, no condiment is required.
They do a mean prawn tandoori and a pomfret stuffed with
prawn. The latter, being a tedious dish, does takes a while to
prepare.
Mains: We had the Prawn Mallipuram with Neer dosa and Appam. Delicately flavoured yellow gravy, with a coconut milk base, this dish busts the myth that all keralite food packs a punch. We paired this with Neer Dosa and Appam, both rice pancakes, one from Mangalore and the other from Kerala. Both worked a charm. You could have this with rice as well.
You could also try the Gassi, which is a Manglorean coconut based red gravy with seafood of your choice. They also serve it with chicken and mutton. Equally interesting is the seafood Pulimunchi .
Drinks: They have a vast choice of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The cocktail selection is limited. If alcohol is not your thing, ask for a glass of chilled sol kadi-a concoction of coconut /coconut milk and kokum with a dash of chilly, garnished with green coriander. This is just so refreshing, particularly in summer!
Service wise, the servers are attentive and friendly. Do ask them for recommendations.
Insider tips
Don’t judge a book by its cover. The humble exterior is deceptive. Take your taste buds up a flight of stairs, they’ll thank you later.  
What to wear Anything Casual.

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