Poie & Pao - Matunga West — Restaurant in Mumbai

Poie and Pao was a fantastic exploration of Goan flavors! Located in Mahim (not Matunga), this spot offers a unique menu centered around Poie (pockets made from bread dough) and Pao (bread). I dove into a variety of dishes and here's my breakdown.

The Poies: Chicken Vindaloo Poie: This fiery option was a true crowd-pleaser. The vindaloo filling was bursting with flavor, perfectly balanced by the soft poie.(Highly Recommend!)

Chicken Cafreal Poie: A milder option compared to the vindaloo, the cafreal filling offered a distinct citrusy aroma and a delightful creaminess.

Other Delights: Stuffed Ros Omelette: This was a pleasant surprise! The fluffy omelette was generously filled with a delicious vegetable or chicken (your choice) masala.

Drinks: Kokum Mint Cooler: A refreshing and tangy beverage, perfect for the Mumbai heat. The kokum added a unique twist to the classic mint cooler.

Raw Mango Cooler: Another great choice to beat the heat. This cooler had a nice balance of sweet and tart, perfect for those who prefer a milder drink.

Dessert: Serradura: I ended the meal on a sweet note with the Serradura. This traditional Goan dessert was absolutely divine!

Overall: Poie and Pao is a great spot for a quick and flavorful Goan meal. The highlight for me were definitely the poies, with both the vindaloo and cafreal fillings leaving a lasting impression. The coolers were refreshing accompaniments, and the Serradura was the perfect way to finish the meal. The food is definitely worth a visit!

Would I recommend...

A new gem near City light Mahim. Authentic Goan taste. Absolutely gorgeous poie. They have a combo option when u can add a dessert and a drink at just Rs 125 if u want to. Tried 🐔 Vindaloo poie- 8/10 🐔 Xacuti poie- 9/10 🐖 chorizo poie- 10/10 Dodol- 10/10 ( dessert) Serradura- 20/10 ( dessert) Kokum mint cooler- 5/10 Lemon tea- it's just a Lipton tea so not gonna rate it. I must mention about their poie they are to die for.

Ambience is 10/10, it's an extremely cute and apt place to give you a Goan bakery vibe.

Service - it's a self service here which I really appreciate. But their background staff are pretty fast. So a solid 9/10.

The only thing which is clouding my mind for the tiniest part is their gravies tasted very similar. Now it's not an issue if you just go there once and try just one dish, but if a restaurant wants to have repeated customers that too with a limited theme based menu then their taste profile has to be distinct and top notch. This is the only thing that I feel the management should stress upon. Overall it's a great, sweet place. If you are nearby you must must give it a try. My recommendation would be- try any Goan curry based 🐔 or veg as per your preference and the desserts that...

We've been dying to go to this place ever since we had chorizo poee at Anjuna, Goa. My first impression of the place is that it is a more evolved Vada pav place. Having said that, the place was clean and well maintained and I realised that the impression of a Vada pav stand comes from the numerous bar stools and a long counter against the wall. This place is clearly prepared for the dinner rush.

Stuffed poee is basically a quick snack and Poie and Pao have done a great job with it. We ordered a chorize pav and chorize poe right off. The pav and poee were stuffed with chorize and a bib is recommended. We then went for the chicken cafreal and a prawn polao. That's when I realised that I've been eating cafreal all my life without knowing it. To date we call this dish brown chicken. What can I say, "Ghar ki murgi...". About Poie and Pav though I have more to say. They've done a great job of keeping the goan dishes authentic and bringing this slightly snacky twist to something that I've always eaten only as a special dish...