The Riverside Rose | Gorgeous French Cafe In Mumbai | Italian & Mediterranean Feast | Food Review | Food Photography

What can one possibly say about a place that is not only picture-perfect but also service-perfect and taste-perfect? Just a simple 'Go Here ASAP' should suffice. What follows hereafter is a long ode to my latest infatuation in Mumbai in terms of having great food in a great ambiance -The Riverside Rose. Was here with my sister a couple of days ago and we are both still high with happiness :D 

Situated right beside Hotel Sea Princess in Juhu, the ambiance makes it stand out instantly. From hustle and bustle of Mumbai to serene, elegant French ooh la la interiors in a jiffy! Mirrors, Chandeliers, pretty pastel shades all around transform this small place into wonderland. Definitely one of the most instagram friendly places in Mumbai :) Chirpy and classic French music in the background adds to the charm. Even their washroom is gorgeous! Clearly, a lot of care has gone into the decor. 

Usually, when first impressions are so good, what follows is disappointment. But not here. The owners themselves serve the customers, take feedback, crack jokes, keep the ambiance lively and basically become friends over the course of a meal :) And coming to food, everything we tried was LEGEN-wait-for-it-DARY kind of good :D They serve Tuscan style home-cooked Italian food, with European twists (no Indianization) and everything is made fresh from the scratch in their kitchen using real flavorful ingredients, no artificial flavors, no preservatives. 

So yes, prices are on the higher side, but keeping in mind the quality of food, the ambiance, the locality it is situated in, it feels completely worth it :) Quantity is good and 1 main course dish suffices for 1 hungry person easily. Since we wanted to review maximum dishes possible, we asked them to give us smaller portions (that is why pictures of some dishes will show less quantity) but then we loved everything so much that in the end we called for full portions :D

Started off with a slew of beverages-

FRENCH CHOCOLATE - sweet hot chocolate served with sea-salt & almond chocolate piece. You MUST take a bite of chocolate and immediately take a sip of this heavenly beverage, the sea salt in chocolate explodes on the tongue. Trust me, this one should not be missed! 

ORANGE LEMONADE -Extremely refreshing and subtle, perfect for hot afternoons, 

PEACH ICED TEA - After a looooooong time, had iced tea as good as this. They do not use artificial flavored packets to make this, rather it had the real brewed tea flavor (and the jolly owner happily gave us the complete recipe for the same too!)

Up next, we tried the soups-

WILD MUSHROOM SOUP - Concoction of Cremini, Portobello, Porcini mushrooms with Garlic Pesto,

GRANDMA'S HANDMADE TOMATO BASIL SOUP- Organic Tomatoes, Garlic Gloves & Crisp Basil, 

Both the soups full of flavor, freshness and that warm feeling of being fed lovingly by grandmom :) We slurrped them in a matter of seconds and were actually regretting asking for small portions :P But then, we had so much more to taste!

GARLIC TOMATO BRUSCHETTA - Crispy, loaded with juicy tomatoes, distinct flavor of garlic as well as olive oil,extremely scrumptious, my sister does not like this usually and here she gobbled down 2 before I could say STOP!

ITALIAN BUTTONS - Portobello Mushrooms baked in Italian Butter, infused with Cheese and Garlic sprinkled with Herbs. Mushroom lovers will adore this one... juiciest chunks of little mushrooms with so much cheese inside...Just add a dash of chilli flakes and oregano to make it spicier like we did.

FRESH FARM HUMMUS SANDWICH - Cheesy Hummus, Sundried Tomatoes, Farm Fresh Veggies & Lettuce Sandwich. Another instance where my sister does not usually prefer hummus but munched on this happily! The mix of hummus and cheese might not sound very appetizing at first but this is lip-smacking as none of the flavors overpower each other. Every bite is filled with crunchiness of veggies + wholesomeness cooling of hummus + ofcourse gooeyness of cheese, memory enough to make us salivate again :P

Coming to their star main courses, all of these are MUST-HAVE-

LASAGNA PARMIGIANA- Olive Oil infused Vegetables, Garlic, Cheese, Fresh Greens on the side, this one is different from usual lasagna as it is not overflowing with cheese or tomato sauce like most other places. Sure, I love the Indianized version too but this one is great. The vegetables pack a mean punch :)

SPINACH AND RICOTTA CANNELLONI- Big, Bold & Beautiful Pasta with Ricotta, Spinach, chunks of Tomatoes & served with side of fresh Arugula leaves. WE RE-ORDERED THIS! It is one of those dishes that nobody wants to share :D Even this one is not overflowing with cheese but the delicate balance of ricotta, spinach, tomatoes is so beautifully done, it is impossible to resist reordering it.

RIVERSIDE SPECIAL SIGNATURE PINK SAUCE PENNE - Perfect Cheesy rendition of Pasta, one of the best and most satisfying in Mumbai for sure.

And after all this feasting (over 3 hours of relaxing and chit-chat), we ended with beautiful desserts-

HAZELNUT PRALINE WITH FRESH STRAWBERRIES - The hard nutty chocolate volcano shaped exterior hides a soft core and strawberries in the middle, the kind of dessert that made us wish we had 4 extra stomachs :P 

8 LAYERED BELGIAN CHOCOLATE CAKE- Think of all forms of chocolate - brownie, pastry, mousse, praline, nuts, chips, caramel...now imagine all of them in every spoonful. That. Is. This. Enough said.

Left to our own devices, we would have gone back and reordered everything again :D But our lovely hosts suggested a round of green tea for a healthy end and we agreed. GREEN TEA ROSE had a very subtle but gorgeous rose flavor and made us calm. Couldn't have asked for a better ending to this lovely afternoon. Another trip here is in the making while I am writing this :)