Pritam Da Dhaba

Located at a stone’s throw from Dadar station, on the east, is the Pritam Hotel and Pritam da Dhaba. What began as a small eatery 58 years ago, is today a 90 seater restaurant, with additional seating for 52 in the bar and 200 in the Dhaba and two conference halls with the capacity to hold atleast 75 people each.

Dhabas are traditionally roadside, no nonsense eateries, and often an important feature on the network of National and State highways, associated with hungry and weary truckers. Pritam da Dhaba, located right at the heart of the city, has been done up along the lines of a roadside dhaba, one would find at the heart of Punjab, right down to charpoys for sitting and lassi being served in a brass lota. People from all walks of life come here. The menus are printed on small framed blackboard, symbolic of the traditional dhaba menu which is written by chalk on a blackboard.

The Dhaba is an extension of Pritam Hotel and one has to walk through the restaurant to reach the open air dhaba. Set under the stars, the dhaba is complete with directional signs showing various cities and their distances. The feel is completely rustic, the quality of food is good and service is discreet and unobtrusive. The menu has an introduction to Punjab, where dhabas are said to have originated and Punjabi fare on one side and the list of fare on the other side. The dishes are imaginatively categorized as Balle Balle Shuruat (starters), Ki Khat Liyaanda (quickfood), Asli Khuraq (solid/good food) and Chuck de Patte (tukde or pieces).

Though the menu is brief, the food is not. We met Mr. Kirti Bhusan (He is 73 years old, but does not look a day over 50), the friendly manager, who has been at the Pritam Hotel for the last four decades and in charge of Pritam da Dhaba for the last 18-20 years i.e. since its inception. He recommended the Sarson ki saag (Rs.90/-) and Makai ki Roti (Rs.25/-) along with Kadhi Pakodi and Jeerawala Chawal. He also recommended the Chicken Afghani, the Murg Peshawari and Murg Patiala with Missie Roti, Choora (meaning crisp & Crusty) Paratha or Roomali Roti, which is prepared in front of the guest.

After much deliberation (keeping my daughter in mind, who doesn’t like anything green), we decided to have Murgh Shorba (Rs. 55/-), a mildly flavoured chicken soup which is nice when it is hot, Murgh Badami, which was really good (and white) where the chicken is served in an almond flavoured gravy and garnished with almonds and Bhuna Gosht, which was recommended by the maitre d’ and Tandoori Roti (the other rotis are generously buttered and extremely rich). Large portion sizes and the richness of the food found us struggling to finish the food but wasn’t a major deterrent in ordering dessert. The Mango Melba (Rs.75/-) was recommended but was not up to the mark. Though the Rabdi and Kulfi more than made up for it. The Rabdi was rich and creamy and the Kulfi was delicious (both are made inhouse).

Most of the dishes are priced in the range of Rs.75-130/-, and are good value for money. The most expensive dishes are the Lobster Masala at Rs. 385/- and Crab at Rs.375/-. The starters are a little overpriced (some of them are priced higher than the main meal) but are quite filling in themselves.

One can have the food served in the restaurant (11.00 a.m. and 4 p.m.& 7 p.m. to 11.00 p.m.) or in the Dhaba (after 7 p.m.). The restaurant also has a Chinese and Continental cuisine, in addition to the Moghlai and Punjabi dishes listed on the dhaba menu.

The restaurant has a number of city celebrities as its patrons. Film personalities like Dharmendra, B R Chopra, Mahesh Bhatt, Dilip Kumar, industrialists like Anil Ambani and table maestro Zakir Hussain are some of the well known faces who have been regulars at the restaurant and left their appreciative comments and feedback.

The restaurant is ideally located for people to get together, specially people coming together from different parts of the city and along with endorsements from the varied celebrities. But what amazed me was the fact that it won the approval of my daughter who normally refuses to have anything to do with food !!!

By: Supriya Rathod