Breakfast Of Champions – The Konkan Cafe At The Vivanta By Taj

I find breakfast to be the most interesting meal of the day. Despite skipping it when I’m having a busy morning bursting with meetings or  the fact that my breakfast affair at home is a rather modest one, it is still my favourite meal. It is usually when I travel that I do the most justice to a hotel breakfast buffet or the occasional weekend indulgence like I did recently. As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m going to now start taking the time to do more breakfast based reviews and this is my second one in what is already turning out to be a popular series.

I find most restaurants in Mumbai clones of each other and after a point boring even. There are some I enjoy and some I’m extremely partial to. The Konkan Cafe at the Vivanta by Taj ( formerly the Taj President Hotel ) is one that falls in the latter category.  Friends that live in the area always talked about the restaurant serving an excellent breakfast spread on the weekend and after many failed attempts, I finally made it to breakfast.

The Konkan Cafe is a beautiful restaurant that reflects cuisine from the Konkan coastline and other South Indian specialties. The restaurant itself is designed in such a way that it reminds you of a typical Manglorean house with its own little courtyard ( only this one is indoors ). Lots of earthy tones and even the cutlery and crockery is made from brass to make your meal as authentic as possible. I’ve eaten full meals here, specially their signature thalis which are beautiful but breakfast is a first for me.

I can’t remember everything I had but it was a rather extravagant affair full of dosas, idli, chutneys and podis. The exact names are hard to remember but I just went by what was excellently recommended to me. I do remember a lovely ragi dosai, cool buttermilk ( my sister tempted me into some tender coconut water as well ) and an outstanding chicken roast. Honestly if you can get past a dosa and idli and maybe a little of the chicken roast or kheema you’ve got a healthy appetite as the portions here are quite generous.

While there is a certain charm of eating at those adorable South Indian eateries in Matunga, I will admit that not having to wait in the heat for a table is a big plus and the possibility of dining with strangers on my table is not something I miss. Surprisingly the breakfast items are not outlandishly priced as one usually expects in a five star hotel and on average you’re looking at Rs 150 a dish for the vegetarian ones and Rs 250 a dish for the non vegetarian ones ( plus tax of course ).  Not as inexpensive as the Matunga folks but very doable and of course you pay for a certain level of comfort and service which the Taj excel at.

 

I’d suggest opting for the breakfast on Saturdays as it’s not as crowded instead of Sunday which I’m told is packed to the gills ( I went on Saturday ). If you’re looking for a great breakfast outing and something slightly different from the usual buffets and eggs benny, give this a go.