This quirky Chembur eatery can do better in the food department

Chembur's Abstrakt Bistro and Lounge offers a value-for-money menu but stutters a bit en route to a near-perfect experience

Abstrakt
Food: Can do better
Service: Good
Ambiance: Relaxed

Recently, several city restaurants where we’ve dropped by appear promising with just one look at the menu. However, all high claims on the menu fell short when it came to delivering on the plate. This thought rang true when we visited Abstrakt Bistro and Lounge in Chembur (close to Kurla station).

Loaded Nachos

Kudos to its owners who seem to have used idea and imagination to create an industrial chic, almost quirky sort of space (we found it too cool for this neighbourhood). Our wallet did a jig when we spotted the prices on the menu — a pint of beer for Rs 140, cocktails for Rs 195.

Tomato Basil Mojito

Excited, we ordered a Tomato Basil Mojito (Rs 195) and an Abstrakt Margarita (Rs 245). The Mojito made for good-looking drink with its cherry tomatoes and basil leaves. However, it fell a little short on our palate, we couldn’t taste the tang of the tomato, and all that was left in the end was way too much ice. The Abstrakt Margarita, on the other hand, was a good drink with kokum as its base flavour.

The Crispy Calamari was the standout dish on the menu. Pics/Dhara Vora

For food, we picked on a few interesting-sounding dishes on the menu such as Chow Chow Potatoes (French fries with an Asian twist) but we were informed that none of the Asian and grill-based dishes were available till 6 pm. This was a bit disheartening as it wasn’t mentioned on the menu nor were we informed about it over the phone, earlier.

We settled for Mushroom Crostini (Rs 169) and Loaded Nachos (Rs 189) to start our tasting round. The Crostini worked well on textures with toasted bread as the base and smooth mushrooms cooked in white sauce. The mushrooms lacked any flavour though and a slather of chutney on the bread saved the dish. The nachos were overloaded with beans, cheese sauce and veggies. This dish had one glitch; the sauce was a bit runny.

The Crispy Calamari (Rs 289) was the only dish that came, sans the quirks. Since we weren’t in the mood to eat naans or curries, we opted for the Chicken Jalapeno Pizza (Rs 289). The same trend followed. The base was good, the sauce was flavourful, but the chicken was overcooked. Our final cocktail, Good Morning Vietnam (Rs 195) had none of the promised pineapple juice in it.

Abstrakt has a wide, smartly-priced menu; its interiors aren’t too jarring as well. However, they need to sort a few niggles (which we found in every dish) to make for an ideal hangout, especially one in that part of the city.

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