Eating at a roadside dhaba is always fun, the food tastes more homely and its affordable too. One of the oldest eating joint (dhaba) here is the Karjat Dhaba, which came up way before Karjat got commercialised and small joints sprung up at every nook and corner. This roadside joint is situated after the Neral-Karjat junction on the stretch leading to Karjat Chowk.
Few years ago the place was like a proper dhaba, it just had a roof with few tables laid, and it much more open and airy. Now with more restaurants coming up in the surrounding area, it has transformed into a proper place with a permit room.
Karjat Dhaba use to serve beer earlier too, except that now steel glasses have been replaced by beer mugs, and its served more openly. You will get Indian and Chinese cuisine here, although we wouldn't recommend Chinese food. Many restaurants have Chinese on their menu, it isn't really the place to eat Chinese. Better to have the local delicacy, vada-pav, instead.
While the Indian fare was delicious, almost all the vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes are available. We had beer first then followed it up with Paneer Masala and Aloo Mutter along with hot chapatis, and were quite happy with the food. So we ordered for rice and dal fry, to have a complete, delectable meal.
The place wasn't crowded, so the service was quite prompt. The bill came up to Rs 240, good enough for two people. Next time you visit Karjat, drop by the dhaba for some good food.
