Kafe Kaliyan's seedy interiors might provide refuge to a truant, young Gujarati, looking to smoke a hookah without being caught. But for a foodie, it doesn't have much to offer
Kafe Kaliyan's seedy interiors might provide refuge to a truant, young Gujarati, looking to smoke a hookah without being caught. But for a foodie, it doesn't have much to offer
We didn't have a good feeling about this place right from the start, what with the K in Kalian sadly alliterated in Kafe. Yet, we thought, the place should be given a fair chance, just for the audacity of getting the rare hookah joint to a predominantly Gujarati area. 
We were quite unsure of what to expect as we climbed the staircase of the crumbling, bright purple building to reach the seedy, eight-tabled joint. The only youngish boy who sat smoking a hookah on one of the low-seating tables was, we were told later, the owner himself.
The menu was a huge disappointment. While Mexican and Italian food, along with yummy shakes found their way into it, the smiling waiter informed us when we were ready to order that only the Chinese fare and sandwiches were available. The reason? The chef was conveniently on leave.
As we skimmed through the sections pointed out to us, we were surprised to find a Croque Monsieur Sandwich (Rs 140), the main ingredient of which supposed to be ham. What we got instead was a simple cheesy, grilled sandwich, the sort you get on a footpath thela. The Veg Bullets (Rs 130) turned out to be dry Manchurian, which were quite nicely smoked but the Singapore Rice (Rs 140) was bland and inedible.
Young couples and groups of friends, who started pouring in as we ate our meal, were smarter than us and stuck to the hookahs (Rs 250 onwards), available in strawberry, mint, cherry and other flavours. But we were looking for good food to go with our hookahs. We should have just hears out our gut instinct instead.
ADVERTISEMENT
At: First floor, next to Monica Bar, 90 Feet Road, Ghatkopar (E).
Call: 32160220 Time: 11 am to 2 am.
Kafe kaliyan didn't know we were there.
The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
