Some cafes and restaurants stay in the game only until the social media hype exists. What matters in a new restaurant or cafe is the fact that how it survives post the viral way. We at unstumbled with our Dine & Dish series visited the newly opened STAQX to know if it really serves that great food or is just overhyped because of viral reels on social media.
As you know, in the Dine and Dish series, we explore various restaurants and provide honest recommendations on whether you should dine there.
Here’s our unfiltered and honest review of STAQX
About STAQX
STAQX is a highly buzzed-about retro 1980s-inspired American diner that is located in Bandra. The place is known to bring a punch of nostalgia with massive comfort food and neon aesthetics.
It is a deliberately intimate place with only 14 seats, which looks straight out of a classic late-80s movie scene. The interiors feature neon signs, glossy tiled walls, retro black and white penny floor tiling, bold red ceilings, and chrome accents. It also has a gumball machine, which takes you back in time to an old-school American diner.
The playlist also plays a part in the experience, transitioning from easygoing tracks to upbeat retro disco.
One of its highlights is its Secret Disco Bathroom. There is a button inside the washroom labelled “Back to the Future”. Pressing this button triggers full disco lights and classic retro jams.
STAQX Food Review
Too Hot To Handle Burger
Too Hot To Handle is a fried chicken burger. This burger was pretty old school, as it has coleslaw in it. The flavors of this burger are great, but the chicken feels so fried that I can barely taste the chicken meat as it should have come across. All in all, this burger actually had great potential, but somehow it was missed. The actual meat layer was so thin, and the fried part was so thick that it was not enjoyable at all.
Cost: INR 675
Rating: 6/10
Mac Attack Burger
Mac Attack Burger is one of the most talked about dish on their experimental menu, and so we had to try it. So in this burger, the standard meat or vegetable patty is cleverly replaced with a truffle Mac & Cheese patty sandwiched between their signature fresh-baked brioche burger buns. In theory, it really sounds good, but in taste, it felt like we were eating just dough and lots of carbs.
Cost: INR 575
Rating: 1/10
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Drop Out Fellow
Drop Out Fellow is a decadent and heavy take on the famous Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich. This dish features a densely packed baguette crust that is loaded with juicy beef and condiments, and served with a savoury sauce. The bread was too much and very well toasted. The meat slices were very thin and did not have any flavor at all. Although the sauce was really great. It is not bad but also not good!
Cost: INR 685
Rating: 6/10
Texas Tommy Hot Dog
Texas Tommy Hot Dog is STAQX’s chef-driven take on a classic American gourmet hot dog. It features a juicy pork sausage wrapped with bacon or cheese and drizzled with some in-house sauces. When we tried it, we honestly thought that this dish needed a bit more sauce, but the bacon bits were really good. This was honestly not bad at all, but it wasn’t anything WOW either.
Cost: INR 595
Rating: 7/10
Special Mention: Fries
STAQX serves a variety of crispy, golden brown fries, and we wanted to try them. The fries were absolutely perfect and top-tier. They were one of the best fries we had ever had. The sauce served with it reminded us of those old times when McDonald’s used to serve this pumpy red tomato sauce.
Also Read: Dine & Dish: Is 66 Chuim Worth The Hype? Here’s A Review
Final Thoughts: Dine Or Dish
Did STAQX pass our taste test? Well, we paid INR 2772 for this meal. Being honest, we would call this a sufficiently disappointing meal. The ambience is surely amazing, but the food could have been better. We think the place and the menu have a lot of potential but are not explored well. Would we recommend it? Not really.
You can also check our other reviews on famous food spots in Mumbai like Bang Bang! Noodle and BNDRA : W.
More Information
Address: Building-1, Ankaleshwar, ONGC Quarters, Shop No. 4, near Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre, next to Uppu Restaurant, Reclamation, Bandra West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400050
Timings: 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Cost For Two: INR 1,100
