Poornima restaurant
In the bylanes of Mumbai’s Fort area, you will find a wide variety of food options, catering to different palates and appetites. One such joint is the Poornima restaurant situated on Mudanna P Shetty marg. Blank?!!! Ok Ok, I’ll give you the directions – Go to Flora Fountain (or Hutatma Chowk as its known now). Look around, you’ll see the Hongkong Bank building, bang opposite this is the old Central Bank of India building. Just take the road inside (this road is Homi Mody street). As you walk along this road, on your left you will find the famous Bombay House (yes, the Tata group HQ). Take the first right lane and there you will find this restaurant. From the outward appearance, it is a seedy looking joint – not the types you will make a beeline to if you don’t know what’s in store inside. Of course, if you have been working in the Fort area for some years, its unlikely that you have missed this place.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What type of occasion would you want to go there?
But if you are alone or with 2-3 close friends in the vicinity around lunch time and want to have a quick but wholesome meal, then its worth a visit.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type of food:
95% South Indian, 5% others.
Obviously, you would not want to go there for their Punjabi cuisine.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Description of the place:
If you reach there around lunchtime (which is the only time I’ve gone, so cannot describe how it appears at other times), then you will find the place overflowing with office goers. But the pace of service as well as eating is so brisk that the waiting time is very little. On the ground floor, you get snacks, mainly idlis and dosas, as well as some rice dishes such as bisibele bhaath and other rice preparations. There is limited seating arrangement and most of the time, you will have to be satisfied with standing around the tall tables. If you are looking for the Poornima lunch, which is a speciality in this locality, then you will have to climb onto the mezannine floor or the first floor. Ok watch your head while climbing. On these two floors, you will have to sit and waiters will serve you standardized thalis. If it is crowded, you may have to either wait around staring at all the plates to see which patron is going to vacate his seat first and position yourself accordingly (get the drift??) - Of course since everyone does this here, it is not looked upon as bad manners. You will have to buy coupons in advance and then go to the food counters.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Food: (which is the only reason you could be here)
If you are a snack eater, you could go in for the great dosas and superb bisibele bhaath. If you are one of those “Meals ready” connoisseurs, then the thali is the ultimate ecstacy for you. Here you get 2 chapatis, two bowls of rice, three South Indian sabjis, a bowl of dal and a bowl of sambhar, a small bowl of curd and some pickles. The dal and sambhar are unlimited. All this for Rs.22/- and for another Rs.3/- you can get a choice of either an additional bowl of one of the sabjis, or a bowl of rice or a glass of buttermilk. If you enjoy south Indian food, this will be a typical “Home-made type” wholesome food with the right flavours and aroma.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The crowd
The crowd is mainly the office-goers of the area and due to a plethora of banks in the vicinity, you will find that every other person is a banker.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Drawbacks:
Since we are going there for a quick meal, the décor is not particularly on one’s mind. However, the space constraint does make it a bit uncomfortable. The restaurant tries to squeeze in as many tables in the confined space and you will have to rub shoulders with other customers.