THE CPK Experience

Restaurant: California Pizza Kitchen
Location: Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel, Mumbai

Shopping can leave you with an appetite and there’s nothing better than pizza to satiate your cravings. Located in the bustling Phoenix Mills courtyard, right next to seafood paradise, Gajalee, is 'California Pizza Kitchen' (CPK). Relatively new compared to the well-established players like Pizza Hut and Dominos, the place provides a decent fine dining experience with a warm ambience; the wooden furniture contrasts with the bright lighting and is therefore easier on the eyes. We decided to try the place on a lazy Sunday evening.

A point to note is that while its contemporaries such as Domino’s and Pizza Hut attract mainly families, college goers and couples, CPK seems to attract mainly bar food-lovers. Since we walked in at 6 pm, the place was relatively empty and our captain guided us to our booth. The restaurant was relatively empty when we walked in. We started off with some Lemonade and Fresh Lime Soda (Rs. 95 each). The restaurant also has a bar with a separate seating area for the same.

Since we were starving, we ordered the Spicy Chicken Supreme (Rs. 245) with ranch dressing and coleslaw and a 9 inch Chicken Asada (Rs 495). Service was quick. The Spicy Chicken Supreme was heavenly. The chicken pieces were succulent and tasted heavenly with the minty ranch dressing. The Chicken Asada pizza though a little bland, tasted fresh - grilled chicken with cilantros, coriander and parmesan cheese. The side of roasted tomato salsa though left a lot more to be desired.

The pizzas, considering that the place caters to an Indian palate, leave a lot more to be desired. Though the thin crust is excellent and the ingredients fresh, the slight blandness of the pizza does not go well with a palate that is used to fiery pizzas. To be fair, CPK is an international chain and unlike its aforementioned established contemporaries, does not cater to the same markets. This is probably the reason why it does not have Indianised versions of pizza available on its menu. You may not feel it is worth the money if you’re going there looking for the usual Indianised pizzas and pastas.

The staff was very warm and polite. Compared to the prices, the portions served are pretty standard and given that there was nothing new that promised to tickle our taste buds aside from the regular sizzling brownies or cakes on the desserts menu, we decided to call for the bill.

By the time we called for the bill, the place had started getting crowded and so we waited a while for it. With an almost 10% service charge, the bill came to Rs. 1200 inclusive of taxes but minus any desserts. With a little fine tuning on the pricing, the place can cater to the masses too, considering the location. However, if you’re looking for a place to relax, have a couple of starters and chilled beer and watch a football match, this is your kind of place. All in all, it is worth a try.