“Where we make memories is our happy place – A place your feet may leave but your heart will always be”
This is how I would love to describe The Hood where I had a whale of time and is now one of my happy places to be at. Read to know more. 🙂
Location: Opposite Goregaon Sports Club, Near Infinity Mall II, Malad Link Road, Malad West, Mumbai
Timing: 12 Noon to 1:30 AM
Cuisine: American, Chinese, Continental, Indian
Price Range: Rs.1000 for two approx. (with alcohol)
Reasons to Visit:
- Best drinks (cocktails and mocktails) in entire Mumbai (According to The Epicure)
- Lively Rustic Ambience
- Scrumptious Vegetarian food (And that’s coming from a Hardcore Non-Vegetarian)
- Unplugged Nights
Recommendations:
Drinks: (All the drinks are Highly Recommended)
- Topless Tequila (Cocktail)
- Caribbean Casanova (Cocktail)
- Bluejob (Mocktail)
- Mango and Ginger (Slush)
Food:
- Tandoori Tales (Highly Recommended)
- Stuffed Shrooms (Highly Recommended)
- Tu Cheese Badi Hai Mast Mast
- Samosassy (Stuffed with Paneer Tikka is Highly Recommended )
- Bhutt Teri
- Khakranchos (Highly Recommended)
- Kabhi Haan, Kabhi Naan (Highly Recommended)
- Torta De Tres Leches (Highly Recommended)
Tip: Visit it in evening when it just gets better
The Hood, located in the suburban area of the lively city – Mumbai, is the brainchild of two young and passionate guys – Prattyush and Akash. Their hard work, determination and passion are clearly reflected in the neatly done ambience, creative and unique drinks and DELICIOUS food of this Pub.
Yes, you read it right! I am reviewing a “pub” today! People who know me also know why I avoid such places. I have never taken any keen interest in Bars or Pubs merely because of the fact that such places don’t serve “good food” and of course that’s coming from my personal experiences! But a visit to The Hood has completely destroyed this myth for me!
What difference does this place make other than that is the pure originality behind everything about it. I am highly impressed by the amount of efforts these guys have put and have gone that extra mile to make everything extraordinary!
It has a soothing rustic ambience with upper and lower decks. They have sport mostly cricket themed interiors with those cute upside down helmet chairs and mini jerseys on the table. They also have some comfortable couches. The reason behind dividing the place in two decks is to welcome families and people who want to spend some quality time together with lower music volume at the lower deck and also the party animals who love loud music at the upper deck! I simply loved how they have made use of the available space. PS they have an amazing and grooving playlist to which I couldn’t stop myself from shaking a leg and I was already in love with this place!
After being highly impressed by the ambience I took a look at the Menu and I actually spent a good 10-15 mins reading it like it’s a funny rom-com book! The way they have beautifully designed the menu card is so commendable. You can find all those ‘firangi’ dishes been given some interesting Indian twist to please the local’s palate. But what blew my mind were the names and description of each and every dish! Everything has been taken from the famous Hollywood’s and Bollywood’s TV shows, Movies and songs. I had a very good time reading it! (I know I am weird that way, but the Menu cards were really interesting to read. No kidding! Just read the names mentioned below you would get it too!)
I finally decided to order few drinks for me and per my likings the bartender whipped me up few of their best drinks which were perfect for my mood.
Mocktails:
1. Bluejob:
Wait did you read it right? Well I didn’t the first time I read it on the Menu and being curious (more like wanted to put it on my story!) I ordered it. It’s a refreshing Mocktail comprising of simple mixture of blue fruit punch and sparkling cider with hints of lemony and orange flavours.
2. Mango and Ginger Slush:
The thick and pure mango puree with hints of ginger is another good drink to order here if you like slushes or sweet drinks.
Cocktails:
1. Topless Tequila:
It’s a spicy blend of Tequilla and Beer. I am a sucker for this combination and they just got it right with the addition of some spicy ingredient. One sip and I really felt like going topless because of that extremely picante punch which couldn’t be handled by my high spicy quotient taste buds! Oh no I didn’t really go topless … (also I am not drunk writing or maybe I am you never know *slowly winks*) I just diluted it with some more beer! It’s good for two people and if you have got the extreme high level of spicy quotient I bet this is going to challenge you.
2. Carribean Casanova:
After letting the bartender know about my love for fruity cocktails he got me this sweet and sassy blend of cranberry juice and Malibu rum served in a Tiki glass. The moment I had a sip of it I got the hint of presence of cranberry juice and I was like “Did the bartender just read my mind?” because I love cranberry flavoured cocktails more than anything on this earth (of course after Pizza duh!). PS Sorry I couldn’t take better pictures because I was totally hooked on them!
My hunt for the PERFECT cocktail place has ended at The Hood! For me they serve the BEST COCKTAILS in entire Mumbai! (That’s coming from me, who has tried cocktails more than street food! If you get it then you sure are my lovely follower 🙂 )
Then we moved on to appetizers.
Tandoori Tales:
These were the first one to arrive at our table. It consisted of succulent and soft barbecued Paneer (cottage cheese) cubes cooked in a very mildly spicy sauce. I really loved the softness of the Paneer and those required burnt edges made it taste more delicious! It was the best Paneer appetizer I have ever had!
Stuffed Mushrooms:
If you are mushroom lover then you shouldn’t really miss these juicy shrooms stuffed with a creamy filling! The minute detail of drizzling of the mildly spicy sauce helped in reducing the dryness of it in mouth which would have been the case without it. It was the best Mushroom appetizer I have ever had!
Bhutt Teri:
It consists of three types of corn on the cob slathered and sprinkled with lemon chili, tandoor tikkas and peppy pahadi chutneys and masalas served with a mint dip and salad. I am not much of a corn lover and that’s why it didn’t excite me as compared to the other dishes I tired but if you are a corn lover then you should really go for it.
Samossay:
They were as sassy as they looked! We tried it with two types of stuffing – Paneer Tikka and Mushroom Ragout. The one with Paneer stuffing really won my heart. The most highlighting part of this dish was the samosas weren’t oily at all!
Tu Cheese Badi Hai Mast Mast:
And no it’s not really a recipe by or dedicated to Raveena Tandon but is apparently better than her ‘thumkas’ is what these guys claim, and I completely agree with them!! It’s basically a fried cauliflower kofta stuffed with cheese and spices coated with breadcrumbs and fried to perfection. It was served with a side of raita to add that extra punch.
Mr. Cheesy:
It consisted of mashed cheese along with herbs coated with spiced bread crumbs and fried to perfection! These can be best accompanied with their amazing drinks.
I loved how each of the fried items were drained well before serving and how each of them were served with complimenting dips. These minute details sometimes really matter, don’t they?
Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naan:
We didn’t have much space left by then for a heavy entrée and stick to this dish. It is basically a stuffed naan. Soft tandoor cooked naan stuffed with SPICY Paneer butter masala was the best one of its kind! What made it more lovable for my taste buds was the spiciness of the gravy which is rare as most of the restaurants make it sweet. If you are here for a proper meal then this is something you should order.
Khakranchos (Veg):
We just called for it out of curiosity. These were fusion nachos where instead of using corn nachos they have made use of Khakras! These crispy munchies were served with salsa, cheese sauce and guacamole. The only downside of this dish was the Khakras were oily but I didn’t care about it because the toppings were to die for. The guacamole was the best one I have had till date!
Torta De Tres Leches:
I have always been a sucker for Mexican desserts and I knew I had to try one. It was difficult to choose between Churros and Tres Leches. If only I wasn’t too stuffed then I would have had both of them. I finally end up ordering Tres Leches which comprised of a luscious sponge cake soaked in three types of milk – evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream. It’s a perfect way to end a meal with a light and moist spongy cake in a sweet mixture of milk.
To cut the long story short, The Hood has took me by surprised with not only the drinks but also the vegetarian food. What adds a cherry on the cake is the kind and warm hospitality of staff which is the heart of this place! It is barely a year old and is already ruling hearts of many including mine. It’s one of the best places to unwind and hangout where food doesn’t disappoint at all.
Food: (5/5)
Ambience: (5/5)
Staff & Service: (4.5/5)
Cost: (4/5)
Don’t forget to let me know about your experience 🙂
The Saucy Xplorer 