Restaurant Review: Pebbles Seafood Restuarant
Pebbles, Juhu Residency
cooking with Chef Saby Fernandes
On Saturday evening Mumbaikar.com (whom I’ve been blogging for for some time) sent me on a mission to review Pebbles, the seafood specialty restaurant at the Juhu Residency Hotel (formerly J49!) and OMG I was totally not expecting to find one of the best seafood meals I’ve ever had in Mumbai to be hiding out in this cozy little, romantically lit restaurant on the 4th floor. The PR lady, Sonia Chowdhury took us on a little tour and then we spent the evening chatting with their consultant Chef Saby Fernandes who, apart from being a legitimate foodie was just superbly passionate about making sure he only ever serves what he himself would eat (good policy in the restaurant biz I feel!) I think the only thing which remains to be done now is for you to head over there asap and try it out. I can’t understand why the dominating crowd seems to be full on families when its totally the kind of place you and I would go with our friends, drink LOTS of wine, eat crab on the shell and remember as one hell of a night!
Oooh and guess what? Saby has agreed to give one lucky blog reader a chance to cook up an epic meal for someone special along with him at Pebbles one evening. All YOU have to do to win is post a comment telling me who your special someone is; mom, dad, girlfriend, brother, fiancee whoever and why you want to do this for them :)
Saby Fernandes, Neil Manapallil, MissMalini and Nowshad Rizwanullah
the bar at Pebbles
Admittedly, I’m not that much of a foodie, which is why I took friends who are, to review the menu. So its over to the boyfriend now for his expert opinion!
Pebbles, Food Guide by Nowshad Rizwanullah
Nowshad Rizwanullah
I admit it – I’m a sucker for a good surprise and maybe that’s why I was so taken by the food at Pebbles restaurant at the Juhu Residency Hotel. In a city where a handful of establishments have laid an iron-fisted claim to the title of best seafood restaurant (you know which ones I’m talking about) and where the monsoon season scares away even the most avid seafood fans, I wasn’t sure what to expect a our meal this Saturday night. The moment we started chatting with Chef Saby Fernandes, however, it became clear we were in the hands of a man who knew what he was doing.
Saby Fernandes
Fernandes not only spoke passionately about his craft, but displayed a deep understanding of the ingredients he used and the best ways to prepare them – and his food more than spoke for itself. Not only was everything remarkably fresh (he sources daily from the Bay of Bengal during the rainy season to get around the local monsoon concerns and freezes nothing overnight) but it was also cooked to perfection – no rubbery or tough calamari here.
live grill
calamari
By far our group favorite was the Shredded Crab Thai Garlic appetizer – a delicate but flavorful dish that kept the sweet crab meat center stage while adding flecks of chilli and garlic to liven things up. The Squid Saffron Masala was grilled just right, allowing it to retain some bite without getting chewy, and flavored with a generous but not overwhelming dusting of savory spices.
Singapore style pomfret
sukha clams
Moheli tiger prawns
Our third appetizer, the Singapore Style Pomfret, was also quite tasty, but I have to say the least original of the three – basically a well cooked but standard “Indian-Chinese” style fish in a thick red gravy (kind of reminded me of a Manchurian sauce). Our main courses did not disappoint – Sukha Clams cooked in a bold, dry mix of Mangalorean spices and coconut (a little hard to eat but that’s generally the case with clams), a flaky, tangy, spicy Tandoori Rawas, and the standout Moheli Tiger Prawns – a coconut milk stew perfectly tempered with curry leaves and mustard seeds – an absolute must try that will have you clamoring for extra appams to soak up every last drop (they are cooked fresh at a live station so why not?).
chocolate mousse
Our meal left us satisfyingly stuffed and wondering what other gems were hidden in the extensive menu, cleverly organized by cooking style (grilled, fried, etc…) – although we did manage to find space for a perfectly decent, if not slightly heavy, chocolate mousse dessert.
imported wines
With a generous selection of wines (both domestic and foreign) and an attentive wait staff, Pebbles is a worthy addition to the list of beloved seafood restaurants in the city, and one well worth checking out the next time you have a craving for some delicious fruits of the sea.
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August 16th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Wow..the food looks so yummy.. One doubt – did you eat all of that by yourself? :O You look so skinny…how do you manage to get that fab figure while enjoying all these yummies and drinkies.. ;)
I would have volunteered to come for this special bonanza cooking thing for my boyfriend, had I been in Mumbai.. :( Please do come to Bangalore for some other reviews too!! :)
August 16th, 2010 at 2:32 pm
My special someone who I would love to take out for a nice dinner is my mom. Having got married at a very young age and then becoming a mother soon, I have seen her give up a lot in her life for us….most importantly her youth. I’ve always wanted to take her for a night out and experience the freedom and fun that she’s let me experience and I want her to get the same, even for one evening.
August 16th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
My special someone is my Fiancee, who is my pillar of strength, my calm in the storm and someone who holds me down when i go over the top. She’s the one, because i can be myself around her and she knows when i am getting pretentious and quietly asks me to cut the crap. I have no answer for How she manages to cheer me up whenever i am down in the dumps.
August 16th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
the place looks cool and the food absolutely Scrumptious… would love to spend an evening there when in bby !!
Too bad you don’t do such stuff for Delhi :(
August 18th, 2010 at 12:10 am
My special someone is my wife. She is a bong and I’m a keralite and we are both huge seafood freaks. We lived in chennai for last two years where it was almost impossible to get anything other than seer fish. I would like to surprise her with an excellent seafood spread and it seems like this would be the perfect place
August 19th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
My special someone is undoubtedly my wife who has always cooked great food for me. Looks like an opportunity to me wherin I can fulfil her desire to cook just once for her..till now I was hesitant just coz I am not a good cook, but once paired up with Saby chamatkar is not so far.
Thanks in advance..even if I dont make through I’ll cook for HER someday ;)
August 19th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Such sweet stories! Keep em coming!
@calicoaster haha no way, which is why I took two strapping boys with me to eat/review!
shalini Delhi soon soon, I just need to clone myself :)
August 19th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
MALINI always doing smthng dirrfetnt frm other owsumm dude……………
August 19th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
My special someone is my boyfriend, who in addition to being my rock, is an extremely dedicated Teach for India fellow. He teaches second grade in a government school in Matunga Labor Camp. It’s hard and heartbreaking work. He has children in his class who aren’t even able to write their own names at the age of 8. His school isn’t in session today, but instead of taking the day off to relax and rejuvenate, he is going to the homes of his students to talk to the parents. He’s Bengali and absolutely loves seafood! I would love to be able to take him out for a nice dinner where he can relax—even if it’s forced.
August 19th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
The food is really looking yummy.I will surely want to try it.Mouth watering.I am feeling hungry now. ;-)
August 19th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
Alright Abby, that almost made me cry. You win. Please mail me your contact details on missmalini@gmail.com, lets give your Bengali boy wonder a treat :) xoxo
August 19th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
GIRLS WILL ALWAYS BE GIRLS ;)
EMOTIONAL
August 19th, 2010 at 11:38 pm
hey dis place is rlly insane. . .♥ the king size crabs here, just too awesome for seafood loverz. . .love the lighting, atmosphere and freshness of the food served here, its must visit place, so do visit to try something rlly special!
August 24th, 2010 at 12:01 am
[...] that I pay attention to Twitter during every waking hour, so when I saw a local blogger mentioned a contest closing that day, I went to her blog to check it out. She was asked to review a seafood restaurant, [...]
August 25th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
I love pebbles and the food there and after seeing the review i totally agree with malini
August 30th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Its An Amzng plce aftr watchng the recent video on You tube…wanna definately get my Boyfrnd here in Mid-Oct he will luv this place…i luv him so much coz he was away frm me for almost 11mths ..he shud be back by den…definately wud lik to hav him back wid scentilating wine, mesmerising sea food & offcourse some yummy desert to go wid it,wat say ..??
Kind regds,
Diago A
September 1st, 2010 at 4:13 pm
[...] And now, since we all know who the foodie in this relationship is, its over to the boyfriend again for dope on the [...]
September 6th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
[...] Week (prep for Page 3) on my blog for Vogue 3. Restaurant review of The Courtyard, Marriot with foodie Nowshad Rizwanullah 4. Henry Tham’s Trilogy Launch party at The Sea Princess hotel on Wednesday 5. Aki Narula [...]
October 19th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
[...] I have SOOOoooo many to edit and upload, check this out: 1. Red Zen at the Courtyard Marriot 2. Cooking with Chef Saby at Pebbles (birthday surprise for the boyfriend yaay!) 3. Mandira Bedi, Deepika Padukone, Arbaaz Khan & [...]
August 31st, 2011 at 10:10 pm
Thats a VERY good topic.