Snack Up With Any Of Mumbai’s 12 Greatest Cheese Dishes Today [Vol. 2]

There are very few things in life more rewarding than delicious food smothered with cheese and we’re willing to bet it’s an ingredient that would feature on most people’s death meal wish. Maybe it’s the hero (as in a molten bubble bowl of mac n’ cheese) or maybe it’s on the sidelines (as in stuffed into a buttery, garlicky piece of naan) but let’s face it. Even on the sidelines, cheese always steals the show. And it’s just so goddam versatile too. Pair it with fruit, wine, breads, pastas, chocolates, whatever you like…it’s just impossible to imagine a world where cheese doesn’t make everything better.

Plus, it’s vegetarian. So you can’t accuse us of encouraging food biases anymore but it’s not our fault if some of the best pairings on this compilation happen to be with non-vegetarian accompaniments. We didn’t have to try too hard to put this together either. Don’t look further for the 12 best, gooey, delicious, unbearably good cheesy meals in the city right now.

I. Bombay Masala @ Pizza By The Bay

Where: Soona Mahal, 143 Marine Drive, Churchgate

When in Bombay... make sure you eat a really great version of an Indianised dish. This incredible pizza can be whipped up for your crunching pleasure in thin crust or the deep pan variety (although we’ve always nursed a soft spot for the former). Topped off with oodles of cheese, and sprinkled with Indian spices, this is culinary creativity at its finest and blends the goodness of a basic amul with a sweet/spicy/tangy spice mix that you never even knew was possible.

Cost: Queen’s necklace and all that jazz @ Rs. 695 for the 8” and Rs. 1030 for the 12”

II. Marinated Cherry Tomatoes & Burrata Cheese Sandwich @ Fenix

Where: The Oberoi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Rd, Nariman Point

Our love for cheese sandwiches never gets old. The big O does this one spectacularly well with the burrata cheese adding that extra-creamy fresh Italian mozzarella to make you swoon, along with some freshly marinated cherry tomatoes and avocados on a toasted six cereal bread.

Cost: Of course it comes with fries @ Rs.1,475

III. Brie and Caramelised Onion Sandwich @ Café Zoe

Where: Mathuradas Mills Compound, NM Joshi Marg, Lower Parel

Creamy, gooey brie and zippy arugula join forces with gloriously caramelized onions to amalgamate three simple ingredients into a flavor-filled tour de force. We have a particularly special place in our hearts for big, bold and complementary flavours so on that note alone, Zoe’s brie-onion delight is one of our absolute favourites across the board.

Cost: Maybe a bit over-priced but it’s never stopped us from getting it @ Rs. 550

IV. The Deli Chilli Cheese Toast @ Indigo Deli

Where: 5, Ground Floor, Pheroze Building, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharashi Marg, Apollo Bunder, Colaba

Chilli cheese toast is the sort of meal that’s always passable but trust the Deli to lift it up and refine it to the level of gourmet. Utterly flavourful the cheddar to bread proportions are just right, and the combination of chopped bell peppers, jalapeños and onions will ensure you expect more from the simple dish in the future.

Cost: More than you’d ever expected to pay for a chilli cheese toastie but worth it either way @ Rs. 625

V. Brie Tempura @ The Fatty Bao

Where: Summerville, Junction Of 14th & 33rd, Linking Road, Bandra West

One of the newest restaurant entrants (it literally opened last week) didn’t take long for its dishes to start featuring on these food guides.
This tempura’d cheese is exactly the way you want to start any meal too. The salty creaminess of the brie blends in beautifully with the hint of sweetness from the plum sauce that accompanies the crunchy cheese blobs, essentially whetting your appetite for whatever comes next. Hopefully, more cheese.

Cost: A tad steep for a plate full of cheese, but well worth it @ Rs. 325

VI. Butter Garlic Pizza Slice @ Under The Banyan Tree

Where: 34/A, Sophia College Lane, Peddar Road

Ever thought about what might happen if you take a hunk of cheese, bake it till it’s nice and warm and then douse it in some rich, buttery, garlicky sauce? No? Well, someone did and thank god for that or the world might have been worse off for it. UTBT’s one of those ultimate yuppie college hangouts that not everybody who doesn’t basically live within a 3-mile radius of it knows about but now that you do, ignore the average age of the crowd and go grab a slice of this pizza. It’s unlikely you’ll feel very good about going for seconds though.

Cost: Very nice for one slice @ Rs. 100

VII. Grilled Vegetable & Cheese Sandwich @ Right Place

Where: Warden Road, opposite Breach Candy Hospital

Grilled cheese is pretty much always on our minds and at this Warden Road eatery, bread, cheese (yes, we’re talking good old Amul), chopped up vegetables and chilli chutney with some green coriander come together and present themselves, slathered in butter, in scrumptious bite-sized pieces. Take one crunchy bite and you’re guaranteed to feel like everything’s falling into its right place. Cue that Radiohead.

Cost: Street Side ain’t always cheap, but it sure hits the spot @ Rs. 130

VIII. Jalapeno Mac & Cheese with Parmesan Crust @ Social

Where: 242, Mathuradas Mill Compound, Near Viva Centre, Todi Mills, Lower Parel

There are a few too many choices in this illustrious mill compound these days, a few of which have already been mentioned on this list. But we haven’t done a great Mac n’ Cheese yet and let’s be honest. No ‘Death By Cheese’ list is complete without the grandmama of all cheese dishes, this American fatty classic. Of course, Anti Social knows the Indian palate and quickly identified just a plain ol’ Mac n’ Cheese might be too bland for us so they’ve diced generous proportions of jalapenos in there wonderfully cheesy mix, cooked that macaroni just right, and added a crunchy parmesan crust on top for texture and good measure. You’d be crazy not to order this one.

Cost: One hearty meal @ Rs. 290

IX. 4-Cheese Omelette @ Salt Water Cafe

Where: 87 Chapel Road, Rose Minar Annel Church, Reclamation, Bandra West, Mumbaixe, Next to Mount Carmel Church

Ideally, breakfast is the right time to get seriously indulgent with your cheese preferences and if you’re planning to do just that, nothing beats Salt Water Cafe’s scrumptious 4-cheese omelette. The eggs are light and fluffy, while the cheese blend contains scamorza, cheddar, grana and fresh mozzarella, making it every cheese enthusiast’s wet dream. You don’t need toast, you don’t need the hash browns or the grilled tomatoes either...you’ll be too focussed on the good stuff.

Cost: We’d pay double for eggs this good @ Rs. 350

X. Warm Cheesecake @ The Tasting Room

Where: 1st Floor, Good Earth, Raghuvanshi Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel

And now, to wrap it all up, we obviously need a dessert to seal the deal. We’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time both obsessing over and hunting the city’s culinary destinations for the best, or even a good cheesecake and we finally met our match at The Tasting Room. Their warm cheesecake with a raspberry sorbet has everything you’d ever want from a dessert. It’s comforting, has hints of freshness from the sorbet, has fantastic consistency, and that biscuit crumb that makes up its foundation has both the texture and the saltiness you need to balance it all out. Welcome to cheesecake heaven.

Cost: Make that 2 please @ Rs. 280

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

XI. Nachos & Cheese @ New Yorker

Where: 25, Fulchand Niwas, Chowpatty Seaface, Chowpatty

Okay we lied, we’re not done yet. You’re either going to hate us or love us for this, but there’s no denying it a place on this list even if we tried. Too many childhood meals were comprised of these disgusting yet delicious nachos and cheese that truly have a flavour all unto its own. Hell, it got so popular in the ‘90s, they even started selling the cheese sauce in containers to (mostly) Gujaratis who couldn’t get enough. And those random bits of green capsicum that we all used to pull out? IT ADDED TO THE FUN OKAY. Now don’t hate on it, and go eat a plate for nostalgia’s sake.

Cost: You can’t put a price on childhood memories, yo @ Rs. 340

XII. American Corn Cheese Balls @ Cream Centre

Where: 25, Fulchand Niwas, Chowpatty Seaface, Chowpatty

And finally (no really, this time we’re actually done) there’s no leaving this baby off of this list if Nachos from New Yorker’s made the cut. Cream Centre’s American Corn Cheese Balls are the stuff legends are made of, and we’re fairly certain there would be riots all through Chowpatty if they ever decided to take it off their menu. Not much to explain here really though. Crumb fried batter, that signature oozing cheese sauce, little bits of corn cutting through for that sweetness. Don’t kid yourself, you’ll never stop at just one.

Cost: Gotta double up on orders like these @ Rs. 320

Representational Feature Image Credit—Food52