Uttam da Dhaba, Marol, Andheri East

Uttam da Dhaba on Marol Maroshi Road in not in a great location. The decor is not great. The atmosphere is not great. So why should you go there? Well I am not saying that the place deserves a mention in the Top 20 restaurants in Mumbai but it offers quality food at a great price. Go there with office colleagues, preferably in a large group and relive in a small way - the enjoyment of eating in a roadside dhaba. Sit on the khatiyas, gossip about office and enjoy well made, tasty and very affordable priced food.
The hotel is very unassuming and difficult to locate. The outside is a red brick wall on which there is a signage in Hindi and a larger one in English which was unfortunately for us hidden by plastic. The get up is the highlight of the place and is done up in a quaint if slightly funny manner. There are a number of khatiyas laid out around tables and each table is labeled after a city from the land of five rivers i.e. Jalandhar, Patiala etc. I think we were sitting in Jalandhar. There is no AC which is a real downer (maybe it adds to the rustic experience ;p), although that is made up somewhat by large standing fans. The food is actually very good even if you do not consider the price. We ordered saag chicken, chicken bharta and kadai paneer. The chicken preparations were decently good but what was really nice was the kadai paneer, really large pieces of paneer cut into squares and a rich onion laden gravy. The same was far better than the multi vegetable laden kadai one gets at most shops. The chicken bharta was a dish I was having after years and brought back memories of Ballygunj Phari Dhaba - but do not get your hopes up as it was not as good. Sigh!
Another downer was the service which was really slow, but we really were not in a hurry. Although the negative points on this post outweigh the positives. I would still recommend a visit as it is a decently adventurous outing with office colleagues, very different from the regular fare that one is usually served up.
A meal for two at Uttam da Dhaba without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 250/-

How to get there: It is difficult to locate and is on Marol Maroshi road. If you are coming from Powai, get into the SEEPZ exit towards Andheri. At the turning for ICICI Bank on the right. Go left, the opposite way from ICICI Bank. You need to go straight down, past the HDFC Bank on your right. Continue over the flyover and turn right at the signal. You need to go straight after that, no turns to be made. The restaurant falls on your right after a decently busy signal. This might sound confusing but it is. You might need to ask around a bit.