Ashraya is a well known veg restaurant located near Shivaji Park(Gadkari Chowk) on the opposite side of Ashirwaad Restaurant, LJ Road, and just little before it(towards City Light) . Usually it is hard to find a place in this restaurant at peak time as it is mostly full. Being Pure Veg with reasonably priced menu, nearby office workers and pedestrians stop by regularly for lunch.
I went to eat in Ashraya around 12 Noon. It was empty then. We chose to occupy the center table of the restaurant.
It has no air conditioning. The restaurant is clean. Ambiance is not the right thing to talk about as this is the place for hungry and budget oriented people and not aimed to provide an experience.
We began our meal with Hot and Sour Soup(Cost: Rs. 75) . It had lot of raw vegetables and big pieces of garlic and ginger. Obviously, it was spicy. It was a fast serve. My mother loved it but I found it little less than OK.(My Rating: 2.5/5)
Next we ordered Ahraya’s Special Masala Dosa(Cost: Rs. 70). The difference between normal and special dosa is that the former has additional scrapped beetroot, carrot and cheese. It was served cold. We were disappointed. Though, it tasted nice, it could have been a better experience had the waiter served it hot. I liked it but my mother found it just OK.(My Rating: 3/5)
My mother had earlier eaten their Thali(Cost: Rs. 250) and loved it. But, as we already had soup and dosa, I suggested to end the meal with dessert and so ordered Fruit Salad with Jelly and Ice Cream(Cost: Rs. 100). This was the best part. Basically, it was custurd with the topping of red jelly and one scoop Vanilla Ice Cream. The quantity was good for two.(My Rating: 3.5/5)
The service was not upto the mark. We have to ask them to provide everything, from water to salad and sauces. As mentioned, we found dead house fly in the vinegar. We were two person and with every dish the waiter( the fat one with dark complexion wearing spectacles) provided only a spoon and fork. We have to ask for extra one everytime. Also, the Dosa was served cold.
On the whole, Ashraya is an OK restaurant and if you are near by Shivaji Park and don’t want to spend too much on food, you may try it. I won’t mind visiting again to catch their other dosas and try their pav bhaji as well as thali. Surely, their fruit salad would be always on my order list. Being low on price, their poor service can be neglected.