Mayur Misal Branch 1 — Restaurant in Maharashtra

Mayur Misal Branch 1 was on my radar for a very long time. She is actually located on the road of my earlier daily commute to my kids’ educational institute. All the while, I kept wondering when I would be able to visit and have my favourite food, Misal Pav.

I had visited their Branch 2 at Chinchwad Station long ago with my former colleagues, and it was not disappointing. Being Branch No. 1, I think this is where the journey must have begun. And being in the MIDC area, I believe they wanted to offer value for money and something filling for the industrial folks working in the vicinity.

Today, I finally found the occasion, a sudden holiday for my kid. And we celebrated in style.

We simply ordered Misal Pav without any paraphernalia, not even the curd version. Within minutes they served a reasonably large plate. Appearances can be deceiving, but not this one. The Misal was plated very well: layers of Shev, Chiwada, and Papadi. Thankfully, no farsan. I excavated the top mound with my spoon, hoping to find the next treasure, and there it was. A sparse layer of moth beans. Again, no poha and I didn’t notice potatoes either. The bottom of the plate was Misal “cut” or curry, which in Pune is called “sample.”

This is the perfect recipe for a good Misal. The plating helped retain the crispiness of the Shev and Chiwada, the body of the Misal, and preserved the warmth of the Misal cut, the soul.

They also served additional Misal cut in a tiny bucket, which has now become the norm, and even Tarri. Tarri is essentially an extremely hot concoction of chilli with a hint of pepper and an oily layer. Not for the faint palate. I would not advise adding it for those innocent souls whose guts don’t agree with spices. It would torment you.

My experience is that even without Tarri, a few eateries manage to strike the right balance of pungency with the spices and flavours they use. This is culinary art and science combined. It may look plain to see a bowl of Misal cut, but one rarely thinks of what exactly goes inside to make this magic potion for a Misal connoisseur like me. Family recipe, fresh ingredients, and standardization without compromising the process, that’s the key.

Back to Mayur Misal. I took the first spoonful, scooped the top layer along with the Misal cut in the bowl, and nibbled a pav. The Shev and Papadi were crisp, made of good-quality besan, which is very important. The Chiwada was a little sweetish. But everything came together with the Misal cut to give me the unmistakable burst of flavours of a good Misal. Like a first impression, the first bite of Misal determines its fate for a foodie like me.

Mayur passed with flying colours.

I took several more spoonfuls, which reaffirmed my first impression. Indeed, a good Misal. Halfway through, since the original curry had dried up, I added some more curry from the tiny bucket. Then I pulled in the layers of crispy Shev and Chiwada. This tiny dance and play of spoon and Misal ingredients is what I love to do. It’s not exactly the takt of an orchestra conductor, but for me it is nothing less than that, a symphony of flavours and aroma.

A little while later, I did add some Tarri. It literally hit my taste buds. Not that I am averse to hot and spicy food, but as I am not getting any younger, I relish my Misal with bare necessities, which includes only the two pavs served originally, not the whole lot of it. That department I happily left to my kids.

All in all, a very good Misal. You may take your family here. The crowd is not something that will excite teens, but there is a world beyond teens. A mature world, my kind of world.

For INR 100, it’s too good. I also took a couple of parcel Misals and bought half a kilo of Misal Farsan.

A day that began on a good note. I hope it gets better as the Misal cut carries me through the hours of the day.

Ah,...

Food is tasty, their speciality is misal pav with chai, had this today, taste is superb and really affordable. Place is not very clean to say but decent enough, service is very good. You can ask the person if any changes are needed to the meal.

Lots of table are accommodated in small place hence the place looks very congested. Better opt for a table in the corner so you can enjoy gappe with friends with chai and misal.

They do accept digital payment like gpay, paytm etc. But cash seems to be the preferred mode of transaction. Crowd usually consist of workers/ associates from nearby industrial area. So a decent crowd can be seen.

Usually the rush hours can be seen from morning 8:30 am to 10:30 am. Afternoon 1-2 pm during lunch and post office timings like 5-7 pm. And as the place is small if you actually want to spend good time avoid rush hours. Overall Good food Fast service Decent cleaning Decent crowd Road touch Easy to locate Parking on road no seperate parking available Accept cash and digital only Card payment...

Mayur misal is a dedicated shop for Misal lovers. But also offers a good variety of breakfast items. Their batata bhajji(potato chips) and Matki Bhel are also really good options.

Talking about the misal pav, it's served very nicely in different portions and plates. The taste of their misal is a 4/5, I would say. Also, the place is a small eatery shop but well maintained and always kept clean. So, cleanliness is also a 4/5. Hygiene can be seen around but it's a 3/5.

I like to have misal here pretty much twice a week. It's a good option. Better than Malhar misal next to it.

It's really crowded on weekends and seating in this small place offers you to wait for a while sometimes.

Overall - 4/5 for...