Fish Curry Rice - The Seafood Saga!

Fish Curry Rice - The Seafood Saga! 

Never have I ever heard so many good reviews about a restaurant. Be it in newspapers or food forums, everyone always has wonderful things to say about this eatery. I always wondered if the reviews were hyped. This restaurant is at the other end of town hence it had been on my ‘to visit’ list for a long, long time. Finally, on Tuesday night, I and my bestie trudged all the way to Law College Road to savor the food that we had heard so much about.

As we had traveled a long way we requested for a cold drink. We were told cold drinks were not a part of their menu. They only serve Mineral water. The server offered to bring us cold drinks from a shop next door but we turned down the offer as we did not want them to go out of their way. I must say, though, it was an extremely kind gesture. I really do wish they give the inclusion of cold drinks on their menu a thought. They did serve us a delicious kokum based welcome drink. Very refreshing!

We decided to order two different thalis and share them so we’d get a variety of fish and curries to taste. We ordered for the Crab Thali (Rs 500) and the Special Fish Thali (Rs 600).

Each thali consisted of two curries and one dry preparation. One thali had Surmai (King fish) curry and Bangda curry, while the other had Prawn Curry and Crab Curry/Masala. For the dry preparation one thali was served with crisp fried (boneless) fresh Bombay Ducks, while the other thali had fried Pomfret in it. As we were sharing everything and also because we gluttons were too busy hogging on the delicious food, I do not remember which thali served what curries. We love prawns so in spite of each thali being quite enough for one person, we order for a portion of Prawns Green Fry (Rs 350). They also served us three chapattis and a bowlful of fluffy steamed rice, with each thali, to go with the curries.

Okay, now for the positives and the negatives: I plan to state the negatives first because that is not what I want the readers to remember. The negatives have been penned by me only to bring the points to the notice of the management so that they may improve on the negatives pointed out.

Please note: The few small negatives that I am listing have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the AWESOME food they serve. FCR should have a small list of cold drinks on their menu. They should not charge the customer (Rs 20) for the Mineral water bottle kept at the table if it is unopened and unused. The servers need to be trained better. They should not lean over me (customers) to pick up cutlery from the table. They may request the customer to pass it to them or bring in cutlery from the kitchen to cut the Pomfret/fish at the table. They should also be taught not to take cutlery from one (my) table and use it at the neighboring table. (That one had me and my bestie stunned! :-O ). But, having said that, I clumsily tipped over a bowlful of Sol kadi, and two servers rushed forward to help me soak it up with tissue papers. The servers are EXTREME POLITE & HELPFUL! They just need to be trained better and need a bit of finesse in regard to table manners. I speak Marathi but my vyakarn (grammar) sucks big time and I end up making big boo-boos. :( Not a good thing at all, hence it would be nice if the servers spoke a bit of Hindi and English. They also need to make some arrangement for a washroom. People may need to use a clean washroom if they have traveled a distance to visit FCR. I ventured towards the washroom and immediately made a 180 degree turn when I saw where/how it was located.

Now for the positives: EXCELLENT - FRESH seafood. There were a total of four curries and each curry was different in taste and truly mind blowing. They were delicious and very flavorful. Not many restaurants can manage that with so many curries. Kudos FCR, you did! (y) They served two types of coconut chutneys (green and orange). Both were so darn good that I requested the server to bring me some more. The Bombay ducks were crisp, just as they should be. The Pomfret was flaky and fried to perfection! That extra order of Prawns Green Fry was brought to the table piping hot and the prawns were perfectly cooked/fried. Not at all rubbery and over cooked. A 10/10 dish! For all the food I ate, truly as an avid foodie, I give FCR a big A+. There was not a single food item that I could find fault with. Not a single item! I mean it! And let me add, the great reviews they get for their food are reviews they well and truly deserve.

As mentioned, there were a few small boo-boos in regard to the service so will I visit the restaurant again? You bet your sweet patootie I WILL!

Do not go to FCR for a ‘fine dining’ experience, if you do, you will come away disappointed. BUT, if it’s a ‘no frills’ FANTASTIC SEAFOOD experience you are looking for then, truly, look no further than FCR. I promise, you will not come away disappointed.

Ambiance: 2/5 (simplistic décor is perfectly okay but the washroom issue is a big NO)

Food: 5/5

Service: 2.5/5 (if the servers stop leaning over me at my table and if they stop using cutlery from my table at the next table, then next time I will give them a 4/5. In return, I promise I will do my best to talk to them in Marathi and hopefully they will understand the gibberish I mouth. :D )

Address: Law College Road, Intersection of Canal Road and Law College Road, Pune

Tel no: 9021101234