Sheesha (Bandra West)

Class on the...floor

It starts with a transparent-wall elevator that opens up more and more of Bandra and adjoining areas to your eye as you go up 9 stories to the iconic rooftop restaurant. The experience is ironically elevated when you bring yourself to the floor, and sprawl on the carpet next to your common  table, where the hookah is being passed around. And do not hesitate to take a whiff of the rather moderate and absolutely harmless smoke, unless you are too much of the food sort not to order a few mocktails and appetisers instead. Among the mocktails, the House Special Sheesha Thunder is easily the best pick, with its soda-induced fizz complemented by vanilla ice-cream leaving you in a pleasant dilemma between getting the best of the fizz in a hurry, and waiting for the ice-cream to melt into the drink. The virgin mojito is another good option on the lighter side, as the soda helps you get into the mood for food. The best appetisers at Sheesha are easily the ones influenced by middle-eastern cuisine. The Murgh Lebnani Tikka is a wonderful adaptation of Lebanese seasoning to suit the Indian palate, with a good smattering of yoghurt that takes away the dryness of quintessential Lebanese cuisine. The Murgh Tarki Kabab also keeps the diner interested with its soft and succulent interior delightfully camouflaged in the brown sauce. The Vegetarian Kabab Platter, however, fails to impress with only the potatoes being noteworthy by virtue of perfect boiling. If you are a non-vegetarian,  therefore, just get more starters, maybe with rotis, and have a full meal. If, however, you cannot not have a main course, the iconic Murgh Tikka Masala is a good bet with the right combination of spices, although it appears much below the two appetisers mentioned earlier in terms of taste. Not to be forgotten either is the Roomali Roti which is not just bigger than at any other restaurant in the country but is also extremely tasty  by itself and forms a perfect accompaniment to both gravy dishes and kababs. Everything here - the food, the drink, the seating and even the laid back stewards - are indicative of the fact that Sheesha is where you come in a group of 5 to 8, spend the evening eating, drinking and making merry, and get refreshed for another hectic day at work. If Sheesha was indeed a dance bar earlier, as the story goes, the euphoria hasn't really diminished since those days.

Ambience                ★★★★★ 
Service                    ★★★★
Presentation            ★★★★
Taste                      ★★★★


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