Nav Kayastha Pangat CKP Seafood Restaurant — Restaurant in Mumbai

Stepping into Nav Kayastha Pangat in Vile Parle East isn't just about dining; it's about experiencing history and heritage on a plate! As India's first CKP (Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu) cuisine restaurant, this place has been on my must-try list for ages, and it absolutely lived up to the hype. If you're a true food enthusiast looking to explore unique regional flavors, this is your spot!

Here's a rundown of my delightful culinary adventure:

Thecha Surmai: Kicking things off with a bang! The Thecha Surmai was an absolute revelation. The fresh Surmai, perfectly cooked, was generously coated in that fiery, rustic Maharashtrian 'thecha'. Each bite was a burst of spicy, tangy flavors that left a wonderful zing on the palate. A must-try for spice lovers!

Gharguti Chicken: This dish truly embodies its name – 'Gharguti' meaning home-style. It felt like my grandmother had cooked it with love. The chicken was tender, and the gravy had that comforting, authentic homemade taste, rich with traditional spices. Pure comfort food!

Mutton Kharda: Oh, the Mutton Kharda! This was the star of the show for me. Succulent pieces of mutton cooked to perfection in a thick, robust, and intensely flavorful 'kharda' masala. It was spicy, aromatic, and incredibly satisfying. Best paired with a hot bhakri!

Kolambi Hirwa Masala: For seafood lovers, the Kolambi Hirwa Masala is a gem. Fresh prawns (kolambi) swimming in a vibrant green masala that was fresh, herbaceous, and delicately spiced. It highlighted the natural sweetness of the prawns beautifully.

Vade / Bhakri / Amboli: These traditional accompaniments were perfect. The soft, fluffy Vade, the rustic Bhakri, and the spongy Amboli were all excellent for soaking up the delicious gravies. Each had its own unique texture and flavor, adding to the authentic experience.

Pomfret Thali: The Pomfret Thali was a complete meal in itself. It offered a fantastic array of flavors, showcasing the versatility of CKP cuisine. The star, of course, was the perfectly fried Pomfret, accompanied by gravy, rice, solkadhi and sukka jawla that made the thali wholesome and incredibly fulfilling.

Kharvas: For dessert, I started with the classic Kharvas. This traditional milk pudding, made from colostrum, was incredibly soft, melt-in-your-mouth, and delicately sweet. A perfect light end to a heavy meal.

Kesar Kulfi: And finally, the Kesar Kulfi! Creamy, rich, and infused with the luxurious flavor of saffron, it was the ideal refreshing and sweet finish to an unforgettable meal.

Overall Verdict: Nav Kayastha Pangat isn't just a restaurant; it's a culinary institution that celebrates the rich flavors of CKP cuisine. The quality of ingredients, the authenticity of the recipes, and the passion in every dish are evident. The staff was welcoming, and the service was prompt. If you're in Mumbai and want to explore a truly unique regional Indian cuisine, do yourself a favor and visit Nav Kayastha Pangat. You...

Nav Kayastha Pangat Review (Visited: 20th July 2025 - Sunday)

Visited on the Sunday just before Gatari (Shravan), so as expected, the crowd and wait time was over an hour. (P.S. It’s always crowded — no reservations allowed. You give your name and wait. If you're a couple or small group of 2–4, your turn comes sooner. Bigger groups take longer. We split into two smaller groups, got different seating, and switched later once the adjacent table was done so we could sit together.)

We reached at 1:30 PM and got seated around 3 PM. There are about 12–14 seatings only, and since the place is famous, people travel from far to eat here.

Service: The management is co-operative, patient, and quick. Despite the rush, they served efficiently and politely.

Food: Their thalis may seem pricey, but totally worth it. You get quantity, quality, and a great variety of fish — it’s not just a common curry with a side of fry. If you order prawns thali, you get prawns in the curry, saar, pulao, and fry — same goes for surmai and pomfret. You can choose from wade, chapati, jwari bhakri, or tandlachi bhakri.

🥘 Prawns Thali: 5 medium rawa fry prawns, prawns saar, prawns curry, prawns pulao, solkadhi, kismoor (sukha jawla), and tandlachi bhakri. Scrumptious and wholesome — 4–5 prawns in curry & saar, 6–8 in pulao. My favourite thali!

🥘 Surmai Thali: Big piece of surmai fry, surmai saar, kismoor, steamed rice, and bhakri.

🥘 Pomfret Thali: Same as surmai thali, but with pomfret curry and a tawa-fried medium-sized full pomfret.

Starters: Prawns koliwada: crispy and tasty. Bombil fry: crisp outside, soft inside — well done!

The fish was fresh and of great quality. The wait was absolutely worth it. This was my third visit, and I’ve never been disappointed.

Looking forward to trying their CKP special menu next time! If you have recommendations for that, do let me know.

Edited: I had visited this place a year ago also review below:, hence the additional photos It's the best place to have authentic thalis. The flavours are just on point. Also the fish you order in thali, this is the only restaurant i have seen which uses that fish in all the dishes in the thali. Aur else some restaurants just give u fried fish and the saar consists of some other fish. So brownie points for that.

Stuffed Bombil was a ok dish with chutney stuffed in between bombils. Had only 2 peices could have been better.

Chicken Lolipop Kasundi (stir fried in mustard sauce), it tasted good. If you want to try out something different, this is a dish you can go for.

Had visited with family so tried almost all seafood thalis. Mus visit.

What we had Stuffed Bombil Chicken Lolipop Kasundi

Prawns Thali with Amboli Prawns Thali with Jowari Bhakri Mutton Thali with Wade Surmai Thali Pomfret Thali

If you are a seafood lover you must try their Thalis...

This was surely the worst non veg Maharashtrian food i have ever eaten anywhere in the world. So for this place to call itself the first CKP Fine Dining restaurant is a huge insult to patrons of this cuisine. The food is far from CKP standards and utterly tasteless. We wanted to eat a Chicken masala with Bhakris and Tisrya with Bhakris. However the head waiter strongly recommend the fish thali. So, we ordered a Surmai Thali (inclusive of Jowar Bhakris) and a portion of Tisrya Masala with 1 Jowar Bhakri and 1 Rice Bhakri. I wish I'd taken pictures of the Tisrya; they were humongous shells with no flesh and the gravy was tasteless, unseasoned and had an off smell. The gravy was a unusual light orange, obviously suggesting a very wrong mix of chilies and by taste one could tell that this dish was an absolute confusion between a CKP and Malwani cook's actual and wannabe recipes. I'm sure it will not taste the same everyday, because of the quality of the Tisrya, but honestly, zero marks to the gravy. Both the Bhakris served to me we brought out in under 10 seconds of ordering and were cold and hard.

We thought the Surmai Thali would be a respite, alas, we were very very wrong. The Surmai piece that was fried lacked salt and the masalas were far away from being on point. The slice of Surmai was stale and smelt fishy and the meat was tough like how boiled chicken gets a hard texture. Smelly and stale fish in a restaurant that made us change our order from Chicken to Fish is absolutely unacceptable. The fish curry served in the thali was one part curry mixed with one part hot water, tasteless, watery and runny and with zero taste. The small portion of sukha javla was delicious and so was the kokum sarbat in the begining. The thali was 1 out of 10 in marks. Very very disappointing. To add to it all, the manager was wiping spoons as part of his mis en place and throwing them in the drawers in the middle of the restaurant. Fine dining at its worst. He was removing all his anger on the cutlery and everyone seemed unperturbed. He insisted that he'll correct the remaining Tisrya in my plate and give it as a parcel. To my expectation, it is even more horrible than the original dish.

All in all please don't waste your money in this place. The chef needs to get a course in cookery from a...