Mumbai Food: Why this Lower Parel restaurant fails to impress

Coldplay may have found its Delhi outpost cool enough for an impromptu gig, but Summer House Cafe needs to find its sweet spot to stand out among the big boys

The interiors are pretty bare, with only a handful of knick-knacks gracing one wall. pic/shraddha uchil

Meet John. John is an accountant. He watches the same TV show every day, owns seven white shirts - one for each day of the week - and has zero hobbies. That's boring ol' John for you. And if John were a restaurant, he would be called Summer House Cafe.

With its launch in Mumbai, this Delhi kid seems to be relying on drawing crowds by virtue of being “the same place where Coldplay played an impromptu gig back in 2015.” And while - as we hear - it is a fantastic place to visit on gig nights, as far as a regular day goes, the space doesn't even attempt to crawl above average.

The Popcorn Shrimp is crunchy and best paired with a glass of chilled beer

Brick or treat
The entrance foyer is decked in beautiful patterned tiles, but that's where the feeling of awe ends.

Inside, the exposed brick walls and fittings lend the cavernous space a stripped down, industrial vibe. The only decor is in the form of a handful of knick-knacks like a cuckoo clock and a vintage metal fan placed on shelves lining one wall.

Sure, we could assume that the space was aiming to be functional and nothing more, in order to focus on the music. And, for their sake, we hope that's the case.

Unfortunately for us, the night we visit, the stage area wears a forlorn look, and only four tables are occupied. We settle down on one of the four-seater tables and are handed copies of the menu. We pick our drinks while singing along to the catchy 2009 Pop hit Empire State of Mind.

The Thai Veg Curry comes close to the traditional green curry found in Thailand 

Currying favour
Although it takes around 15 minutes for our drinks to arrive, we quite enjoy the Coconut Mojito with a Twist (Rs 425), which reminds us of a piña colada, minus the pineapple. However, the second cocktail - the Raspberry Mai Tai Slush (Rs 400) - while appropriately slushy, is high on the raspberry puree and low on rum.

As we peruse the food menu, we thank our stars that we aren't vegetarian. The menu is noticeably meat-heavy, and offers a limited selection of dishes for those who love their veggies. Secondly, the menu, although vast, is - and we hate to say this - boring, and distractingly so. After staring at it for a good 10 minutes, we settle on five dishes.

BBQ Cottage Cheese Fingers. 

Although served with a forgettable mayonnaise dip, the Popcorn Shrimp (Rs 474) makes for good chakna with a beer, but that's about it. After all, it's tough to go wrong with crispy, batter-fried shrimps. Meanwhile, the BBQ Cottage Cheese Fingers (Rs 265) is also crunchy, yet devoid of personality, made only slightly better by the dip.

The Veg Thai Curry (Rs 395) wins our vote for being closest to the authentic green curry we tried in Thailand - light, spicy, and not doused in coconut milk. However, we feel cheated by the Bacon Jam, Cheese and Jalapeño Cuban Pressed Sandwich (Rs 345), which uses dry candied bacon instead of the sticky, smoky-sweet jam it promises. The last dish - Butterflied Chicken Breast with Mushroom and Peppercorn Sauce (Rs 445) - is stingy on the sauce and is yet another dish you'd find better versions of at any average Continental restaurant in SoBo.

The Raspberry Mai Tai Slush is cloyingly sweet and masks the taste of any rum present in the drink

To go or not to go?
When there isn't a gig, Summer House Cafe is downright dull. Moreover, the service is slow even on days when the place isn't fully occupied. In a neighbourhood where every other joint screams personality, this bland establishment will have to try harder to carve a niche for itself.

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