One of the best dishes to indulge in is a salad. It tends to be so underrated, as most people think of salads as a means to diet or eat healthy. While they are excellent lifestyle choices, salads are so much more than just that. Chefs and restaurants both have come a long way from the typical Waldorf or Greek salad. There are a lot of innovative salads with fun ingredients and different combinations that make for a wonderful change. Then again, there are some tried and tested classics that a few restaurants execute perfectly, making it hard for diners to not order them. We tasted our way through many menus and were quite impressed, but these are a few of our favourites.
The Goan at Bombay Salad Co. – This little café is known for their incredible salad selection, so it gets hard to pick a single favourite. While there are many worthy contenders, our vote goes to The Goan. This is a delicious salad full of greens, fava beans, Goan chorizo pork, grilled zucchini and bocconcini in a rosemary vinaigrette dressing. It is not often you find chorizo in a salad and once you eat this, you realise that that is a pity because it works wonderfully!
Pearl Barley Pear Salad at The Sassy Spoon – Unlike the more traditional salads, there is not a single lettuce leaf in this salad. Instead, there are beautiful pearls of barley along with toasted almonds, apples, pomegranate and scamorza. It is a rather unusual combination, but this is exactly what makes it so special and, before you know, you will be ordering a second round!
Thai Papaya Salad at O:h Cha – Every salad does not need to be tossed in olive oil or have vegetables in them. Some of the tastiest ones are more often Asian salads and the perfect example is a som tam or the famous Thai papaya salad. It is made with shredded green papaya, chillies and cherry tomatoes. While it is a vegetarian salad, you can add any meat to it. It is available at almost every Asian restaurant, but O:h Cha does a delicious version of it and you can ask for it to be made as spicy as you like.
The KGC Chef’s Salad at Kala Ghoda Café - The Kala Ghoda Café is a small hole-in-the-wall eatery that has become a hipster’s paradise. The café is charming with its simple and somewhat rustic menu. They have many salads, but the universal favourite is the KGC Chef’s Salad, which is their own mixture of mixed lettuce, broccoli, grated carrot, crushed almonds, other seasonal vegetables, a choice of feta or goat’s cheese, and a slice of wholegrain toast. It comes in two sizes and both bowls will fill you up.
Watermelon and Feta Salad at The Tasting Room – This salad was originally introduced to diners at The Tasting Room, but since then, this watermelon and feta combination has begun to emerge on possibly every single café’s menu. Who can blame them? It is delicious and deserves to be shared! The Tasting Room version is perfect and served with arugula and toasted pine nuts as well.
Caesar’s Salad at Indigo Deli – This is an iconic salad made perfectly at an iconic restaurant in the city. One of the most popular salads across the world is a Caesar’s salad. You will find many variations in plenty of menus across the city. Some good and some abysmal, but no one dishes out a Caesar’s salad quite like Indigo Deli. Crisp lettuce leaves, parmesan shavings, the anchovy dressing and the poached egg on top all come together and make for the perfect Caesar’s salad.
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Better known as the Tiny Taster, Roxanne is an internationally respected blogger and expert on the Mumbai food scene. She has hosted many events, including the Upper Crust Food & Wine Show and travels the world, sharing her knowledge and gaining more experience.
