What’s My Favourite Restaurant? Well, It’s Complicated. Like Every Indian Family Drama.
Some people give you straight answers:
“Olive Bar!”
“Bastian!”
“Some place with a chef who wears tweezers in his pocket!”
Me? I spiral.
Because this question isn’t just about food.
It’s about identity, taste buds, AC bills, and the emotional trauma of paying 1200 bucks for 3 pieces of fish.
🐟 If It’s About Food Quality?
Then Home is my Michelin Star.
Look, I know Home isn’t technically a restaurant.
It’s where people live, cry, binge-watch Netflix, and lose socks.
But when it comes to food quality?
Home. Wins. Every. Time.
Because my favorite food is seafood.
And if you know seafood, you know:
- It’s either perfectly fried with soul,
- Or it’s a disaster served on a lettuce leaf with parsley nobody asked for.
And when it comes to Bombil Fry (a.k.a. Bombay Duck, a.k.a. heaven in crispy form)?
There is no restaurant on the planet—not even in a Marvel multiverse—that can beat the one from home.
💳 If It’s About Value for Money?
Then Home is also the real MVP.
Because let’s face it—
Seafood in Mumbai restaurants = financial heartbreak.
You order prawns.
You get 4 pieces.
Your soul gets crushed.
Your wallet writes a resignation letter.
And you’re like: “Did I just eat dinner or make a down payment?”
Meanwhile at home, you’re eating like a royal fisher-king, and the only thing breaking is the fish bones, not your bank account.
🛋️ If It’s About Ambience?
Well, Home still wins… but let’s play fair.
Yes, my sofa has seen better days.
And yes, the playlist is just me screaming “WHERE’S THE REMOTE?”
But for the sake of stepping out (and not being a total introvert 24/7), I do have a few favorites:
🥂 Café Mondegar
Because Mario’s art on the walls + retro jukebox = good food + better vibes + slight Goa nostalgia in Mumbai chaos.
🍻 Leopold Café
Legendary. Iconic.
Also: You feel like you’re in a movie where people randomly become poets and order beer with biryani.
✨ ITC Maratha
Luxury that whispers: “You don’t belong here, but we’ll pretend you do.”
Buffets so fancy, you need Google Translate for the dessert section.
🧾 When the Bill Arrives: A Horror Story in 3 Acts
Act 1: You’re smiling. You’re full. You’re happy.
Act 2: The waiter brings a tiny leather folder like it’s holding state secrets.
Act 3: You open it and instantly need therapy.
“Service charge? Convenience tax? Breadsticks weren’t even ordered!”
And just like that, your Rs. 499 Bombil Fry becomes a Rs. 1,249 emotional experience.
Meanwhile at home:
Your mom gives you three refills and yells, “Eat more, you look like you haven’t eaten in weeks.”
Zero guilt. Zero GST. Full soul.
🤳 Food Presentation vs. Reality
In restaurants:
Your dish comes with:
- One edible item
- Five inedible garnishes
- A smear of chutney that looks like an abstract painting
At home:
The plate looks like a warzone.
Rice overflowing. Curry leaking. Papad snapped.
But guess what?
The taste slaps harder than any Instagram reel.
🪑 Ambience You Didn’t Ask For
You go to a “fancy place” for ambience.
What you get is:
- AC too cold
- A table next to a crying couple breaking up
- And a DJ who thinks “Munni Badnaam Hui” is fine dining appropriate
Home ambience?
Chappal sounds in the background.
Someone shouting “Gas band kiya kya?”
TV running some 90s movie where Govinda is yelling in full color.
And somehow… it feels perfect.
🧡 The Emotional Bonus No Restaurant Offers
You know what restaurants don’t serve?
- That one aunt who adds extra masala just for you
- That smell of fish fry drifting from the kitchen making you run like Tom chasing Jerry
- The accidental second helping because “beta, thoda aur le lo na”
Restaurants serve plates.
Home serves memories.
“My Favourite Restaurant? Ask My Stomach.”
(A Dish Served Hot with Drama & Deep Fry)
My home is not just walls and tiles,
It serves me love with crispy smiles.
Though not listed on Zomato’s chant,
It’s secretly my favourite restaurant,
Yes sir, still my favourite restaurant.They ask me, “What’s your top-tier place?”
I say, “Where sambhar hugs me with grace.”
No valet, no reservation grant,
But mom’s kitchen is my favourite restaurant,
Forever will be my favourite restaurant.You think ambience needs fairy lights?
I’ve got dinner in pajamas and midnight bites.
No saxophone, no waiter’s flaunt—
Still feels like a five-star favourite restaurant,
Because comfort is my favourite restaurant.You paid twelve hundred for a Bombay duck?
I paid zero, plus got second luck.
They fry it golden, not overblunt—
Which makes my home the favourite restaurant,
Fiscally sane favourite restaurant.ITC Maratha’s fancy, I won’t lie,
Buffets that make you question why.
But emotionally? I still can’t flaunt,
That it beats my soul’s favourite restaurant,
Nope, not beyond my favourite restaurant.Leopold’s cool, Mondegar has charm,
Retro walls and jukebox alarm.
Yet none of them replace the jaunt,
To fish fry land—my favourite restaurant,
My lip-smackin’ favourite restaurant.In restaurants, you pay for water,
And ambience that feels like slaughter.
But back home, it’s a love-filled jaunt—
Spicy and warm, my favourite restaurant,
Not a bill-loaded favourite restaurant.They bring you sauce with sugar and pain,
Call it “gourmet” for financial gain.
But raw, rustic, and honest haunt?
That’s my unofficial favourite restaurant,
Soul-fed certified favourite restaurant.Fish curry in a steel ka dabba,
Served with bhakri and zero drama.
Michelin may frown, but I’ll still flaunt—
Home is and was my favourite restaurant,
Forever hungry for my favourite restaurant.So ask me now, go ahead, inquire,
Where do I dine when moods require?
No neon signs or influencer rant,
Just me and my heart’s favourite restaurant,
Always and only—favourite restaurant.Signing off with a burp and a flourish:
🚀 “Food is temporary. Bombil Fry is eternal.”
🎯 Final Verdict?
If you ask me what my favorite restaurant is, the real answer is:
Where the food makes me feel at home—even if it is home.
Because sometimes, happiness is crispy Bombil Fry served on a steel plate by someone who doesn’t charge you 18% GST.
Yours in seafood, sarcasm, and sambhar stains,
🚀 Jugnu Express
💬 What’s your all-time favorite restaurant? And is it also your kitchen? Let’s talk taste buds and trauma below, does it come with love or just lemon wedges? Tell me below, let’s dish it out!
Watch out for more posts on The Jugnu Express
Thank you for reading, if you liked this then check our earlier post on why Walking is an Excercise
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