I read a recent review on the makeover of this restaurant, which is part of Abbott Hotel in Vashi. Those who are not from Vashi or new to the place , I am going to being at the beginning so you can understand why I went there at all.
The story began...
at a time when there werent many decent restaurants in Vashi where you could go for dinner with family. For most of us, a dinner out meant a visit to The Creek or The Cottage (same place but with a bar) followed by dessert at the ice cream parlour outside Cactus in Sector-17.
The dirty twist...
came few years back when the service was shoddy. Standards slipped. Food was awful. And finally plenty of good competition arrived on the scene.
The Creek lost many regular patrons like yours truly.
The salvage attempt...
was this recent makeover that was hyped about in the Mumbai Mirror. They raved about the new menu and it seemed the place was more than restored to the glory of its hey days.
The verdict...
Lets take it bit by bit.
Ambience
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As we all know, it is now mandatory to have a non-smoking section in every restaurant. The Creek allegedly has some fancy ventilation thingamajig which makes them get away with a neat smoking section and a passive smoking section. I didnt see no non-smoking signs around. And the new arrangement makes it seem cramped.
Veg Fare
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The key attraction they claimed was a Zero Oil Menu. Surprisingly the key attraction is relegated to a single side on the last page of the menu. There is practically no choice because the menu is restricted.
Even the regular Punjabi food (with oil) isnt much to rave about. And the portions arent great. Serving bowls and cutlery seem to be the ones that were there when the restaurant was started.
Tried:
Zero Oil menu
Sesame Seekh kabab -- Strictly so so
Roast Mushroom -- Excellent but minuscule portions
Babycorn Masala -- Strictly so so
Regular menu
Bhindi masala -- Edible
Veg Kofta -- Edible
Veg Pulao -- Avoidable unless you like to combine your main course with dessert. (Yup its sweet)
Roti tokri -- Mostly nan (Where are the different types of rotis you used to serve?)
Service
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Sadly there has been no improvement in the service standards. Much to my dismay, a lady at the adjacent table had to actually tell the waiter to get whatever food is ready coz it had been an hour since she ordered and that she was really hungry.
Fortunately for us the food arrived on time, but sadly they got the starters in installments and had to be repeatedly told to refill water. Due to a leaky jar, some water actually dripped on my plate!!
I wouldnt go back thats for sure. Why would I when there is Indian Spice, Flavors, Chenab, and I could go on...