Nov 23, 2008 12:57 PM
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This old restaurant in the old part of Mumbai does not live upto its reputation as a great place to eat, for vegetarians! It would definitely do well to do something about its speed of service or lack of it, which was evident on a weekend - a day on which restaurants expect and are prepared to handle large crowds.
I happened to go there on a weekend expecting a crowd and a wait and was proven right! A noisy children's birthday party was on and it was affecting the restaurant's business without the management showing any inclination in dealing with the situation! The children were all in the first floor and were not leaving inspite of having finished their event! This, when the entrance was filled with close to 20 guests all waiting to be seated! I was just not able to understand why the children and their handlers were not asked to be quiet and leave the place quickly rather than wait for each child to be collected by their parent which took almost the whole hour that we spent at the restaurant.
Waiting for our turn I had a good chance to observe how quick the staff were in serving and helping guests out. And found that speed is something which Cream Centre staff are definitely not known for! Whether it was serving the food or clearing the table or bringing in the finger bowls or the bill or collecting the payment, the waiters continued to work as normal(read slowly!), disregarding the long line of customers waiting to get a table!
When our turn came, it was our turn to be served royally(read slowly!) and we took almost an hour to finish our meal and leave(of which more than half hour was spent waiting for the next event to happen!).
Having spent most of our time waiting rather than eating(which is what anyone goes to a restaurant for), I found the food too not as good as the hype around this restaurant has made it to be. For starters, I don't know how on earth the restaurant claims its nachos to be the best in the world! Some gumption to make such a claim! The nachos which were average were floating on a bed of cheese and could have been better(for some reason Cream Centre makes its nachos orangish red which will surprise those used to yellow nachos). The thali was average too with the famed chole-bhatura nothing great as portrayed by the restaurant(the bhatura was rubbery and soggy). Rest of the contents of the thali were average too and the food could defnitely have been better! Forget the colourful pictures in the menu - the real food is definitely not half as good as most reviews claim and as the restaurant portrays.
This old insitution of Mumbai defnitely needs sprucing up on all counts - its food, its service and the overall dining experience of the customer. Presently, the ambience and decor are what seem the highlight of the dining experience(where else do you get to see live television peeking at you in the men's room!). The exotic(foreign cuisine) is either indigenised too much or they are not able to replicate the dish authentically and thus if you do venture to Cream Centre, try and stick to the Indian menu(this of course is something common to all the Blue Foods chain). Patience of course, you will have to carry with you in plenty when you get to Cream Centre, as service is defnitely not quick! Service should be the real cream of this restaurant and I hope they work on it to give better dining experience to Mumbaikars!
