Navroz is the name of the Iranian New Year, which is celebrated in the month of August by all Iranians. This Navroz, Soda Bottle Opener Wala, the very famous Iranian/Parsi Café came up with introducing the special Navroz Thali in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian versions.

This was my first time at trying out the Parsi cuisine and hence I was all excited to do so. I opted for the non-veg Navroz thali. I must say that the thali looked very very tempting, the way it was presented. The thali consisted of Jardaloo Chicken, Mutton Pulav, Masala Ni Dal, Rotli, Chicken Cutlet, Salad Shirazi, Kachumbar, and Brinjal Pickle.

I started with the mutton pulav and loved it instantly. A very tender and spiced mutton was sandwiched between two layers of rice and when you dig in from top to botton, you have a mouthful of balanced and perfect taste, the mildness of rice and a delectable spiced mutton.

I tried the Jardaloo Chicken with roti next, I cant say that I loved this chicken instantly, as the gravy tasted very different compared to what gravies we North Indians are used to, but a couple of bites more and it started to grow on me.

The Masala Ni Dal was the only thing in the thali that I didn’t like, may be because I still didn’t develop the full taste for Parsi Cuisine. I loved the Shirazi Salad and Kachumbar Salad as well, but the most suprising thing was the Brinjal Pickle, I simply loved it. I otherwise dislike Brinjal, but this pickle was an exception. There was a cutlet too, which had filed eggs and chicken stuffed in it, or at least it tasted like that to me. 🙂

I also tried Eggs Kejriwal, a signature dish from the menu and have to say that these eggs kejriwal were simply mind blowing. Eggs on a toast with cheese and ham inside, they were a mouth melting experience.

Next was the Chicken Cutlet Pav and like some dishes in the thali, this one also was very particular in taste. The cutlet was nowhere like the regular cutlets that we eat, it was nice but not something that I would jump for.

For drinks there was quite a variety to choose from, like Masala Pepsi, Mrs. Soda Bottle Openerwala Cold Coffee, Raspberry Soda, Shikanji Bin, Fresh Lime Soda and Iranian Tea & Coffee. I settled for Shikanji Bin and yet again it was very different as compared to the regular shikanji that we get. It was little fruity and pulp of fruit was coming in mouth with every sip. It was nice and refreshing.

For desserts there were Raspberry & White Chocolate Panacotta and Sev, both the dishes were nice, but I preferred the raspberry & white chocolate panacotta to sev. The panacotta had a slight sour punch over the top because of the raspberry sauce, but as you went down, the sweetness of chocolate could be felt.

The ambience of the place is very warm and friendly. It feels like as if you are sitting in your home, with some nice old Bollywood songs in the background like Manu Bhai Motor Chali Pom Pom Pom.. Or may be it feels as if you are enjoying some Mumbai cuisine sitting next to the Gateway of India as the whole place has a lot of Mumbai feel.

Overall had a great experience relishing the Parsi cuisine  with some foodie friends and I look forward to visiting the place again with my family. I am sure you too would drop in at Soda Bottle Openerwala and enjoy a nice Parsi meal with your family and friends.