Jeevan Restaurant — Restaurant in Mumbai

At the end of another day's hard work.. including some fun shopping et al in the lanes of Vile Parle that evening.. I found myself free.. and ready for a light bite..!! Two options.. Ramakrishna and Jeevan Restaurant were right there staring at me in the face. As I have been to the former.. walked in to the latter. But not before asking the Proprietor (sitting at the cash counter).. what is best at theirs. He promptly replied.. Everything!

The open ground level.. right in front.. appeared clean and elegantly spruced up. Lots of white and etched glass partitions.. made the place look more spacious than it is. Did'nt go to the aircon section.. as the weather was quite cold outside and besides I only wanted to grab a quick bite before heading home for dinner. Ordered the usual safe snack.. a plate of Idli Vada. Asked whether it would be spicy and the waiter said it would be.. mildly spiced.

I was pleasantly surprised when he brought it instantly.. both soaked in Sambar. The Idli was moderately soft and good.. but the Vada had been refried.. so looked dark and tough to dig into (with a spoon). Both sambar and chutney were quite spicy.. for me. As the single Idli.. didnt do much to appease my hunger.. I ordered for a Masala Dosa.. asking for the Masala on the side and the Dosa crisp and well done. What arrived after a lengthy wait of 22 minutes.. to be precise.. was an icy cold Dosa.. with Masala on the side alright. Much irritated by the delay.. the cold to touch Dosa.. only ired me further. Another 10 minutes elapsed.. amidst the Manager attending to my complaint and then forwarding instruction to the waiter.. for getting a fresh one re made!

Frankly.. the long day at work and shopping had left me with no energy for a bout of sweet talk with the Proprietor about restaurant management skills.. or the patience to wait for another 22 minutes.. (or more..??) so I simply got up.. collected my shopping bags.. paid at the cash counter.. and walked out.. silently making up my mind.. Never to Walk into JEEVAN.. in my...

Food taste: almost consistent. Which is very important. Except for couple of times for Misal it disappointed me, but leaving that aside, it's awesome! Ambience: they have general non-AC section which is always crowded yet nice and pleasantly full. You get that morning/evening all fresh minds getting together for chattering as well as for delicious food. Apart from this non-AC, they have one AC family section down and one small AC section upstairs. There is a clean toilet too.. Talking about food, Interestingly, they serve combos of breakfast for just 100₹ as follows, Sheera, Poha, Batata Vada, & Elaichi Banana Upma, Medu Vada, Mini Uttapam & Elaichi Banana Have tried 2nd one more than once and it's nice on so many levels. It's a perfect combo to start your day with. Apart from that snacks like are as follows: Kothimbir Vadi (कोथिंबीर वडी) is niiice, Misal (मिसळ) with पाव (bread) or पुरी (poori) is again a fulfilling combination, Alu Wadi (अळु वडी) is crispy and tasty (they serve just 2 pieces and these vadis are deliciously awesome!!), Batata Vada Sambar is awesome and fulfilling (can be someone's meal too 😋), Corn Patties is also nice, Pineapple raita is basically chopped pineapples in sweet curd and I am not fan of.sweet but it was yummy Sabudana Kahichdi is so like the one we make at our homes (They don't serve dahi with Khichdi) Sabudana Vada is lovely and served with Dahi Dahi Vada is yummy Gulkand ice cream is gonna make you forget everything and is genuinely a must have Very decent and yummy lemon coriander Soup . Lunch has Gravy Sabji+Dry Sabji+Rice+Chapaati+Koshimbir(Cucumbar-curd salad)+Daal+Paapad+Gulab Jamun and it's superbly healthy as well as tasty and worth the money. Apart from this they have rice combo too. I am done. This is one of the very best consistent at food and cleanliness restaurants i had been to. They accept all card payments and...

Update: recently visited this place again and so glad they have Covid protocols still up! Well, taste and quality both unchanged, so happy to have visited again after real long break! My entire family loves this place. Good food, good people, good service, good hygiene, good quantity for moderate price. It isn't a very fancy place. But very humble warm n feel good one. Specially after their renovations. The menu card, has this interesting info, describing the entire journey n growth of Jeevan restaurant. Well, its a nice touch. Its scripted beautifully. It was heartfelt. We have had several dishes here. I recommend them all. Photos here are: Cream of mushroom soup: it was nice n creamy. Quantity is just enough for one person. Right amount of salt cream and garlic. Loved it. Masala poori: exactly how mom prepares at home. Freshly made. Not too blant not too spicy. Tea: we love tea here. Missal Pav: it was super yummy. Loved the plating as well We have been visiting this place from almost 20years now...no specific...