Bodacious Breakfast
The Downtown Pub & Bistro has now been renamed to The Downtown Cafe to adapt to the recent order from the Government. The management(who also owns Barcode Lounge & Grill) made sure that the incident wouldn't get them down and decided to give their menu and offerings a total makeover and man, did they pull out all the stops! The Downtown Cafe now serves all day Breakfast from 7 am-7 pm like English breakfast, waffles, pancakes, custom eggs with custom toppings and a wide range of other items like smoothies, shakes, organic juices, gyro wraps, bugers, gourmet fries, sandwiches and a lot more. The menu aims to capitalize on a lack of western breakfast outlets in Porvorim and satisfy people's cravings from as early as 7 in the morning! The menu was launched on a few days back on 13th May and all items are now available to the public.
I decided to start out with the traditional, English breakfast. The meal was very attractively deconstructed and presented and had all the components of an English breakfast. The dish included toasted bread, potato wedges, grilled tomato, fried bacon, baked beans, grilled mushrooms, two fried eggs and an orange juice with grenadine syrup for a bit of taste and color. The bacon can be swapped for 2 sausages, the juice can be changed to coffee or tea and the egg will be prepared as you desire (poached, scrambled, sunny side up or boiled). The English Breakfast is priced at Rs.250/-
Next up was the waffles but wait a minute, these aren't your traditional waffles smothered in maple syrup, nutella, cream and fruits. These are savoury waffles, yes you heard that right, savoury waffles. While Downtown also serves the traditional sweet waffles that we all love, they have also introduced savoury waffles which are basically the regular waffles but with toppings like grilled chicken, avocado, eggs, tuna, ham and a lot more!
These are Mexican waffles. Waffles topped with lettuce, sour cream, salsa and baked kidney beans. A lighter and different take on the traditionally sinful waffles we are used to. The mexican waffles taste really good and can be fully customized right from the toppings to the sauces and should cost you anywhere between Rs.120-200 depending on you customization.
The next thing I decided to feature was the customizable egg from the egg-squisite section. As you can see in the menu above, you can start by choosing how you want your 3 eggs prepared: poached, sunny side up, boiled, scrambled or omlette and you can then choose toppings for you eggs like tomato, onion, cheese, ham bacon and more. The meal would cost you between Rs.80-120 depending on the toppings you take.
I decided to take an omlette topped with cheese, ham and mushrooms. The quanitity and taste certainly did justice to the price!
Next up was a layered fruit smoothie that was made using fresh strawberry, mango and kiwi. Smoothies are a great and healthy way to gain necessary nutrients and vitamins as well as keep you cool in this stubborn Goan heat.
Finally, the best for last. I decided to try the Gyro wrap simply because I was suggested to as they had been long working on perfecting it and I love my greek food! A gyro is traditionally slow roasted meat like chicken, pork, beef or lamb rolled into a flatbread filled with tomato, onion and tzatziki dip. Don't worry though, Barcode got you all covered as they have a wide range of gyro wraps like beef, fish and even paneer for vegeterians. When the Gyro came to the table, I was already left in awe by the presentation and the how it looked so juicy and well seasoned. A big gyro chicken wrap cut in two halves with potato wedges and a tzatziki dip.
Now I don't usually say stuff like this, but this is easily one of the best wraps I've ever eaten in Goa, if not the best. I was totally blown away from the moment I took my first bite. The seasoning and the heavy flavours could really be tasted with each and every bite. The chicken was marinated in mix of herbs along with salt, pepper, oregano, paprika and chili flakes and together with the yoghurt sauce and the tomatoes and onions, felt like a dish straight from heaven. The Wrap along with the potato wedges and dip would cost you Rs.200 but it well worth it. If you eat it once, you'll be left with that flavour in your mouth forever. Again, definitely one of the most tastiest and heart wraps I've ever eaten in Goa and I highly recommend you try this whenever you get the chance to drop by.
So, that brings me to the end of this feature. I hope you guys enjoyed this short review and will be happy knowing that we now have a place in Porvorim serving up some good breakfast all day. Also remember that the place will be serving all their items from 8 am to 6 pm throughout the week as of now and will soon be open all day from 7 am to 7 am on weekends (Friday-Sunday). Downtown has a wide range of snacks, food and breakfast items to satisfy all your cravings, all day. Stay tuned to thehungrywolf for exciting news on a contest coming up soon. Thanks for all your support, Cheers!