Beyond the name, the similarities between Berlin's famous cocktail bar and a blue-lit borderless cuisine eatery in Bandra, draw a blank
Beyond the name, the similarities between Berlin's famous cocktail bar and a blue-lit borderless cuisine eatery in Bandra, draw a blank
What is Marathi for go go? Zaza!? Hardly what a new multi-cuisine fine dine and lounge hoped to derive its name from.
No no, it's the iconic cocktail bar in Hamburg they would rather aspire to. This one doesn't have its panache or French dancers.
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Famous neighbour Candies has spawned at least two more cafes and a restaurant in the same wide lane opposite Lilavati Hospital. Post-op recovery treat, anyone?
Zaza got the quiet location right, but killed the atmosphere with icky blue lighting and 80s disco music. Slicing a Sicilian Pomfret to vintage Ace of Base is hard work. We dived into the food with dogged determination, anyway, and found it to our satisfaction.
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The dish with sides of cheesy mashed potatoes and steamed veggies is a meal in itself; cheese overkill forgiven. Despite the expensive rates mocktails at Rs 115 to Rs 140, main course Rs 250 onwards, we would place Zaza in the moderate range.
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The portions are large enough to make up for the prices. Each dish comes with a generous serving of steamed veggies, sauce, greasy mashed potatoes or fries, and in some cases, spiced rice.
Still, if the glaring lighting and corridor seating get to you, shift next door to the sheesha lounge. It has sofas you can sink into, television to catch the matches and dinner-friendly lights. It may also be free of the overbearing manager who asked our opinion of every dish even before it touched our lips.
The menu is a mix of "Conti", Indian and Arabic. The continental cuisines are named in French despite the dishes showing little resemblance to France, while the Arabic dishes have no description whatsoever.
We ploughed through the pages and settled on passable Berry Delight and Girl Scout mocktails, competent Cream of Asparagus soup (Rs 120) and delicious English Veggies sizzler (Rs 240) that strangely came with a brown "espagnol" sauce.
Since when did the English turn Spanish? Laham (Rs 275), charcoal-grilled tender cubes of chicken marinated with Arabian herbs, tasted distinctly like desi kabab. We loved the cheese stuffing of the Saltimbocca Steak (Rs 295) steak pounded thin and rolled up with herbs and cheese.
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We practically skipped dessert until the waiter placed a complimentary Caramel Custard on the table. It wobbled just right!
At: Lane opposite Lilavati Hospital, Reclamation, Bandra (W).
Call: 26455800
Zaza didn't know we were there. The GUIDE reviews anonymously and pays for its meals.
