The likes of Busybee and Rashmi Uday Singh had always built up Trishna as being “THE” place to go to in Mumbai, if you are looking for great seafood. So, when one opened up in the neighbourhood, I was dying to go there and sample it for myself. But I must say that it was not what I had expected and this experience turned out to be quite a disappointment for someone who had always heard praises about the restaurant.
The location of the restaurant is very convenient. It is located bang opposite Cinemax multiplex at Andheri(west), which also houses a buzzing mall and therefore gives the restaurant great visibility and so, good business. On weekends it would be advisable to book in advance to avoid waiting for as less as 15-20 minutes.
The interiors, consist of textured walls completely done up in white with chairs to match, although, their backrest being absolutely upright might be the cause of discomfort for some guests. The tables are simple, with black granite tops and two simple throw-overs covering them.The lighting is also very subdued.In my opinion, the interiors seem a bit too dull and can start to feel boring after a while.
Now let’s get to the main part. The food and beverage. The beverage menu is quite extensive and apart from the regular selection of spirits, they also have a decent selection of wines, both Indian and foreign to offer, keeping in mind the new and emerging group of wine connoisseurs. The teetotalers, I must mention do not have much of a choice, what with a few mocktails thrown in at the end of the huge beverage menu.
The variety in seafood that this place offers is commendable. With big or jumbo pomfrets, jumbo or king-size prawns, squid, crabs, lobsters, rawas, surmai, bangda and a whole lot others, u can have a field day choosing what you would want to have. Not only, do they offer a variety in the kind of seafood they serve, but also try and cater to different taste buds by preparing these in every possible style, from the classic butter and garlic flavoured to Hyderabadi, to the popular koliwada, to Chinese green sauce, to the south Indian specialties like gassi. If you are not a seafood lover or worse still, a vegetarian, going to Trishna is not really a good idea, but they do have some mutton and chicken selections and also veggie dishes, so you won’t go hungry if you are one of those.
The prawns butter pepper garlic, my eternal favourite was made to perfection and I loved the deliciously well cooked prawns. The peas and the French beans added to this dish however were totally avoidable. The pomfret gassi came in a huge portion which had an amazingly well spiced coconut based gravy with tender pieces of the freshest pomfret. This I must specially mention, because it has been my experience in even in the best of restaurants, not to find fresh fish, even though they might be well prepared. To go with the gassi, we had neer dosas, which were as good as(if not better than) the ones I have been having at my Manglorean neighbours’ place since ages. There was a small selection of continental fare which featured paella, which I have always prepared at home, based on a recipe given to me by a Spanish friend. So, my curiosity got the better of me and I ordered that. It was not quite what I had envisioned. The rice, the clams, the shrimp, the chicken, and peppers were all there. But the one thing that gives a paella its character, the saffron was missing. Instead, I could taste some raw turmeric which I guess was the ingredient which gave it, its characteristic yellow colour.
The one reason why Trishna did not live up to my expectations is the lack of efficient and quick service. The steward had to be asked to clear away our mocktail glasses, which he had not noticed much after we were half way through our main course. The one sure shot way for me to judge the efficiency in service in a restaurant is how often the water is refilled and whether the steward has to be asked to serve water. The service personnel sadly did not pass this test.
Overall, as a person who has visited this place for the first time and based on reviews heard from its patrons, I would say that this place has survived based on the sheer quality of the food and needs to consider, providing its service staff with a refresher course at being attentive towards their guests. And then may be even I would have to agree that Trishna, indeed is one of the best places in Mumbai to go to have great seafood!