27 June,2012 10:02 AM IST | | Soma Das
Well before we spotted Café Verve, we spotted a tree dressed in fairy lights in front of it. It made for a picture-perfect setting, especially given that the eatery is located near a lake. Once inside, we had the option of sinking into comfortable couches or sitting on chairs with glass-topped tables; we chose
the latter for convenience. Photographs taken by the team behind the café adorn its walls.
The ring-shaped Philly Cheese Bagel is stuffed with creamy Philadelphia cheese, chopped olives, lettuce and tomatoes, and makes for a hearty snack
The menu boasts typical American café fare, so there are pizzas and bagels, as well as a variety of coffee-related concoctions, tea, mojitos and thick shakes. We started with a Philly Cheese bagel ('185). The ring-shaped bagel loaf was stuffed with creamy Philadelphia cheese, chopped olives, lettuce and tomatoes, and made for a satiating snack.
Next up, was the Lumberjack bagel ('175), which had a delicious filling of wood-smoked chicken. While we couldn't detect a âsmoked' flavour we didn't mind, as the filling was generous and the chicken tasted finger-licking good. While waiting for our next order, we had a Café Caramela ('85), a refreshing cold coffee mixed with caramel, and Marooned ('79), which is a thick strawberry milkshake with vanilla ice cream. The milkshake was average, reminding us of regular flavouredmilk.
The photographs that adorn the walls of this Thane café have been taken by the team behind the eatery. Pics/ Sameer Markande
Next up, we savoured the Verve Gourmet pizza ('185) and the Verve Extravaganza ('195). The 8-inch Verve Gourmet Pizza had a topping of olives, paneer, mushroom, capsicum, onion and cheese, and was neither too thin nor too thick. Thanks to the vegetables it looked and tasted healthy as well, and rid us of at least some of our guilt pangs. The Gourmet Extravaganza was topped with spicy diced chicken, capsicum, maize, and onions. It was our favourite of the lot. For the sake of curiosity, we decided to savour the Brown Eyed Sundae ('125), which promised nutty brownie bits, choco vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. It was a tad too sweet for our liking but made for a sinful dessert.
Our last decision of the day to try something from their pastry counter back-fired and ruined an otherwise pleasant evening. Based on their recommendations we opted for the Blueberry Cheesecake ('65), which is made in-house. It tasted rubbery (a possible consequence of being left outside too long), and we had to abandon it after a few bites. All in all, Café Verve is worth a visit provided you stay away from the dessert counter.
