On its freshest day, Nitya Sagar, Colaba’s new seafood specialty restaurant, is a watered down version of Jai Hind Lunch Home.  Sure, the catch at this “family restaurant” is cheap, but the reasonable price tags come with average taste and substandard service. Did someone call a knife guard?

Be Still My Beating Stomach

bpb visited Nitya Sagar on Tuesday afternoon with some trepidation, unsure if we could trust the quality of the seafood. We’re happy to report that our stomachs have survived, so go right ahead and plan that quick prawn curry-rice office lunch.

Seated in the upstairs air-conditioned section, we scanned the menu, which in addition to its advertised underwater specialties, also serves pasta, udon noodles and Sabzi Shyam Sabera. The multi-cuisine monster strikes again! We stuck to fruits de mer, starting with butter-garlic crabs (recommended by the manager, not on the menu) and fish tikka. The crab arrived, salty and shredded in a pasty white gravy. Not a sight for sore eyes, but the appetiser actually tasted pretty good. But then again, doesn’t anything cooked in loads of butter and garlic? The fish, which we were told would be done in a “different” turmeric marinade, looked and tasted just like a plate of generic tandoori fish. The silver lining is that the surmai was fresh.

Gassi Van Sant

For mains we ordered prawn gassi, which came in a thick, aromatic semi-dry gravy with notes of coconut.  Quite yum! That the prawns were a little rubbery was made up by the fact that the accompanying reshmi parathas were soft, flaky and the highlight of our meal. We gave the desi dessert options a miss and went straight for the bill, which turned out to be pretty sweet – Rs 1,000 for two (including crab).

Nitya Sagar is definitely not the kind of place we would go out of our way to recommend. But if you’re in Colaba and feeling crabby, this is one of the places you and your wallet could consider.

Getting there: Nitya  Sagar, Indian Mercantile Mansion Building, ground floor, shop no 5, Madam Cama Road, opposite Regal Cinema, Colaba, call 22815429, free home delivery from Cuffe Parade to Colaba, Rs 1,000 for a meal for two.

bpb reviews anonymously and pays for its own meals.