There was a time when the area of Churchgate / Fort boasted of housing the best dining options in Mumbai or Bombay as the city was then known. For Chinese food, there was Kamling, for Mughlai food Khyber and continental food was only meant to be had at Gaylord's. The Kapurs opened Copper Chimney in Worli in the 70's and its chelo kebabs started drawing patrons away from Khyber. Soon after in the early 80's came Nelson Wang's China Garden at Kemps Corner and Churchgate started to lose its culinary numero uno status altogether. I belonged to the Churchgate fan club for the longest time and whilst there is a Copper Chimney at Fort (Kalaghoda), making a trip to the Worli parent is always at the back of my mind when I go to Mumbai. Having recently discovered that a Copper Chimney has opened its doors at Phoenix Mills, I stepped in to sample their fabled fare.
The restaurant is housed on the ground floor of the mall area and as you enter, you are greeted by a large number of waiters huddled at the entrance. A lady showed us to our table and inspite it being a weekday, the restaurant was reasonably full. Copper Chimney has two floors of dining space and the ground floor has a bar area segregated by a door. One is struck by the immense brightness of the interiors and coupled with high decibel music, the look is jarring. The sofa seats are unique in the sense the table is cantilevered giving you lot of leg space without having to worry about knocking into table legs. However, some people might find the straight backed sofa seats uncomfortable for a two hour meal.
We ordered paneer tikka and reshmi kebab for appetizers. It was a relatively late dinner for us so I decided to skip the heavy chelo kebabs which come with buttered rice. There was no reason to regret the decision as the Reshmi Kebabs were excellent. Succulent and cooked to perfection. The paneer tikka was a big helping and at INR 265 is value for money. For the main course, we ordered the vegetarian Malai Kofta along with Chana Peshawari (chickpeas) and Murg Makhani (butter chicken) alongwith an assortment of onion kulchas, potato kulchas and roomali rotis. The Malai Kofta was decent albeit a bit too sweet compared to other restaurants where I've sampled it. Chana Peshawari was okay too though the the chana could have been softer. The Murg Makhani was outstanding. It is butter chicken the way it should be - buttery, creamy, sweet with just the right amount of spices. Given the good portion size, at INR 355 I found it reasonably priced. The breads at Copper Chimney are a winner with potato kulcha coming out tops.
Whilst our main waiter was decent, the overall service is sub-standard and can be attributed to poor training. Our request for change of plates after the appetizers puzzled the waiters at first but having understood once what needed to be done, they changed the plates promptly. The food took a long time to come as did the check. What goes strongly against Copper Chimney is the overall ambience. As if the extra bright lights are not annoying enough, the sight of few waiters getting together to chat at every opportunity adds to the disappointment scale. A table had requested for some kind of mocktail and the waiter prepared it in a juicer right in the middle of the restaurant ! Imagine having the whirring sound of a juicer on top of blaring music for company on your dinner. What also puzzled me is that Copper Chimney has a very large floor area available to it so what is the need to place tables all the way till the bathroom? There is a table placed literally at the entrance to the washrooms which I found totally bizarre.
Overall, I was disappointed with the evening. The good food got overshadowed by pathetic ambience and lackadaisical service. The INR 2k bill seemed high for the experience and the 10% service charge totally undeserved. I am crossing my fingers that the original outlet at Worli hasn't suffered the same fate. Good memories of great meals there will make sure I visit the Worli parent once but the Phoenix Mills outlet has ticked me off for good. You won't see me here.
The restaurant is housed on the ground floor of the mall area and as you enter, you are greeted by a large number of waiters huddled at the entrance. A lady showed us to our table and inspite it being a weekday, the restaurant was reasonably full. Copper Chimney has two floors of dining space and the ground floor has a bar area segregated by a door. One is struck by the immense brightness of the interiors and coupled with high decibel music, the look is jarring. The sofa seats are unique in the sense the table is cantilevered giving you lot of leg space without having to worry about knocking into table legs. However, some people might find the straight backed sofa seats uncomfortable for a two hour meal.
We ordered paneer tikka and reshmi kebab for appetizers. It was a relatively late dinner for us so I decided to skip the heavy chelo kebabs which come with buttered rice. There was no reason to regret the decision as the Reshmi Kebabs were excellent. Succulent and cooked to perfection. The paneer tikka was a big helping and at INR 265 is value for money. For the main course, we ordered the vegetarian Malai Kofta along with Chana Peshawari (chickpeas) and Murg Makhani (butter chicken) alongwith an assortment of onion kulchas, potato kulchas and roomali rotis. The Malai Kofta was decent albeit a bit too sweet compared to other restaurants where I've sampled it. Chana Peshawari was okay too though the the chana could have been softer. The Murg Makhani was outstanding. It is butter chicken the way it should be - buttery, creamy, sweet with just the right amount of spices. Given the good portion size, at INR 355 I found it reasonably priced. The breads at Copper Chimney are a winner with potato kulcha coming out tops.
Whilst our main waiter was decent, the overall service is sub-standard and can be attributed to poor training. Our request for change of plates after the appetizers puzzled the waiters at first but having understood once what needed to be done, they changed the plates promptly. The food took a long time to come as did the check. What goes strongly against Copper Chimney is the overall ambience. As if the extra bright lights are not annoying enough, the sight of few waiters getting together to chat at every opportunity adds to the disappointment scale. A table had requested for some kind of mocktail and the waiter prepared it in a juicer right in the middle of the restaurant ! Imagine having the whirring sound of a juicer on top of blaring music for company on your dinner. What also puzzled me is that Copper Chimney has a very large floor area available to it so what is the need to place tables all the way till the bathroom? There is a table placed literally at the entrance to the washrooms which I found totally bizarre.
Overall, I was disappointed with the evening. The good food got overshadowed by pathetic ambience and lackadaisical service. The INR 2k bill seemed high for the experience and the 10% service charge totally undeserved. I am crossing my fingers that the original outlet at Worli hasn't suffered the same fate. Good memories of great meals there will make sure I visit the Worli parent once but the Phoenix Mills outlet has ticked me off for good. You won't see me here.
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