The first thought when you enter is of a British colonial club in Calcutta circa 1960…then you realise the effect comes from the white wicker chairs. Yellow Tree Café is very pleasant to look at, small though it is. All white and that lovely sort of aquamarine, with distressed effect on the table tops, shelves and walls. Bright lights glint off the lovely bottle arranged above the bar. Which brings me to chief grouse number one (no, not Italian food, that's complaint number two): no Old Monk. It’s there on the menu but not on the bar.
They offered me Captain Morgan's instead, which of course costs more, but I refuse because well, Old Monk is the emperor and that’s all there is to it. Then they offer me a cocktail, which is really quite insulting when what I want is solid dark rum (why would I then want some girlie drink filled with pineapple juice and cream?). So I have a gin and tonic (as it happens, it goes with the general feeling and the food choices).Truly, this is my only quibble.
For starters, spicy hummus and pita bread and lemon pepper prawns. The hummus is good and spicy and there’s enough pita bread to wipe it up with, which is a pleasant surprise. The prawns are adequate but not much more than that.
The menu is intriguing because it builds on that British colonial club feeling with words like “bubble and squeak” and “bangers and mash” on the menu. Rock chick and I cannot
resist this, because it speaks to an era that we are getting nostalgic about in our old age. She has the fish and chips and I have the bangers and mash. I’m afraid cabbage and I are not very good friends so bubble and squeak remain on the menu.
The fish is firm and fresh and the bread in which it is fried has been herbed, which adds a nice touch. So does the fact that the chips are long and curly with red chilli powder on them. You get a little kick out of the extra flavour, which means no need for over-reliance on tartare sauce.
The bangers and mash — sausages and mashed potatoes — looks suitably nursery supper-ish, although the flecks of green in the mashed potatoes gave it a slightly grownup air. Excellent mashed potatoes, lightly streaked with gravy sauce, which I liberally added to. The sausages were more like frankfurters than bursting at the seams fat English sausages, but tasted well enough. With the potatoes, it was a match made in heaven of course. Very satisfying and would be perfect for breakfast with a fried egg on the side.
The dessert menu did not, alas, continue with the theme, so no spotted dick or sticky toffee pudding. We opted for a baked cheesecake and a bitter chocolate apricot mousse. The baked cheesecake was the real thing — not too sweet, with a slight lemony flavour. But the mousse was the real winner. Dark chocolate, bits of nut, a biscuity crunch, candied apricot — it just popped with pleasure with every bite.
Breakfast is soon to be added to lunch and dinner and the menu also has sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs and so on. Quite go-backable-to.
Rating: ***
Meal for two, with alcohol: Rs3,000
To watch out for: 5% service charge.
Meal for two, with alcohol: Rs3,000
To watch out for: 5% service charge
Yellow Tree Café
Clove, 33rd and Ambedkar Road junction,
Bandra West, Mumbai - 400050.
Tel: 65287800
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