(Hey guys. I can’t seem to be able to add Vithals as it does not seem to exist.or perhaps I don’t know how to do it. For the record, however. this is a review of VIthal Bhelwala. The one located at CST. Have fun.)
One of Mumbai’s icon establishments is the roadside bhelwala. Nowhere else can one get this snack-in-a-minute and yet walk away with a happy pocket.and stomach. Most bhelwala’s are found on pushcarts alongside busy roads with patrons munching away unmindful of the dust in the dahi puri. Or the source of the pani in the pani puri. Or how clean the hand was before it liberally sprinkled onions on the bhel puri.
So for the hygienically inclined, you have Vithals Bhelwala. A right proper establishment that’s located conveniently between New Empire, Sterling and New Excelsior. The outsides are dusty and polluted but Vithals is an oasis in the grime and dust of the CST area.
The patrons that frequent the place are the sly Gujju businessmen talking shop. Or young couples eager to get some time alone. Or a couple waiting for the movie to start. The atmosphere is quite. Piped music not intrusive. Service quick, cordial but definitely not friendly. The ambience is timeless. When I used to visit the place 10 years back the décor was the same! Only now the paint is peeling.
The menu consists of the normal snacks like bhel puri, pani puri, ragda etc alongwith juices, milkshakes, cold drinks etc. Prices range from Rs 45 to Rs 50. A mango pulp juice comes for Rs 90. Prices are high and I feel that one pays more for the ambience than for the food(read: not worth it).
The pani puri we had last night had a certain tang to it. But it lacked the bite that one normally experiences with a road-side dish. Perhaps I prefer bacteria in my water. We liked it though so we ordered another while I opted for a ragda Patties. So so. I was paying for the ambience, recall?
Well the next pani puri came.and that brings me to the title of this piece(read: the itsy bitsy cockroach jumping about happily on the potatoes). Definitely not edible. Serious! A small itsy bitsy teeny weeny ’roach was on the bowl that had the potatoes.
So that put an end to that.