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A chic deli and gourmet café, Basilico is worth visiting at any time of day. Step in here for a quick cup of coffee and a fresh pastry or pudding. Or swing by at lunchtime for some thai curry or a Mediterranean boullabaise. Good for business lunches and light dinners, the modern and airy Basilico also features a solid Sunday brunch.
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The Parsis are Zaroastrian Iranians who fled a Muslim invasion of Iran and landed up in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Their cuisine is a curious cross between Persian and Gujarati, and can be found nowhere other than in this part of India. Daily specials are chalked up on a blackboard and the regular Parsi menu features dishes like chicken, mutton or vegetarian dhansak—a lentil stew thickened with pumpkin and served over rice fried in ghee (clarified butter), optionally topped off with a kebab. No alcohol is served and the place is not air-conditioned.
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Celini may be a home-style Italian restaurant, but don’t expect ‘home-style’ prices. Do expect magnificently light and airy pastas, an extensive wine list and pizzas that are to die for. If you’re not drinking, or even if you are, wash down your meal with the one-of-a-kind cold coffee milkshake. Celini doubles up as the Hyatt’s after-hours coffee shop, so the decor isn’t terribly bold or exciting, but the restaurant does feature a showkitchen and watching chef Franco at work is almost as delightful as the scrumptious tiramisu, but not quite as divine as the eggless panna cotta.
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This chain is famous for unpretentiously delicious malvani, Mumbai’s local coastal cuisine, and Maharashtrian seafood dishes like bombil fry (the tiny Bombay Duck whitefish in batter fried to a crisp), a stunning garlic crab and fried tiger prawns. Wash it all down with the hot and spicy kokum and coconut-flavoured sol kadhi drink. The Andheri restaurant always seems a cut above the rest, and the Phoenix Mill’s location is a little pricier than the other two.
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Indian restaurants [name]d Gaylord can be found as far afield as Hawaii and Hong Kong and the inspiration for them all is this restaurant in Churchgate. The Mughlai cuisine here stands out. Sample the usual kebabs and biryanis as well as specialities such as the murgh kali mirch (pepper chicken) and murgh achari (chicken in aachar, or pickle sauce). The Gaylord also has a fantastic ‘Indian continental’ menu featuring chicken a la Kiev, chicken chasseur and lamb bourguignon.
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Many big Asian cities have their own variants of Chinese cuisine and second generation restaurateur Henry Tham samples them all. Diners can choose from futuristic and alternative Chinese dishes with exotic titles. Try unique dishes like the ‘kiss of the empress’, king prawns drenched in wasabi mayonnaise, and the barnyard bonanza—chicken roasted with shallots. The restaurant’s beauty lies in Tham’s attention to detail, from exquisite place settings to a great wine list.
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Haute cuisine in Mumbai was traditionally the preserve of stuffy French restaurants tucked away in five-star hotels—until this restaurant came along and reinvented it. From a charming two-storey bungalow in leafy byway in Colaba, chef Rahul Akerkar masterminds a gastronomical revolution, deftly combining European standards with pan-Asian influences and Indian spices. Indigo is also a buzzing nightspot popular with all of Mumbai’s finest. Reservations are essential every night of the week. Consider dining alfresco on the terrace.
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Celebrity chef Ananda Solomon’s Konkan Café spotlights the regional delicacies of the lush Konkan coast that stretches from Mumbai in the north to Mangalore in the south. The thalis (set menus) are well priced and make a good introduction to this spicy and seafood-intensive cuisine. If you decide to order a la carte, be sure to have the Mangalorean fish curry with rice or the prawn gassi (red curry) with fresh neer dosas (rice pancakes). Round your meal off with fresh coconut ice cream topped with coconut shavings, or with the delicious sevai kheer (rice pudding).
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The dark interior, indoor moat and mournful Chinese music may get you down, but one bite of the signature steamed pomfret with mushrooms and chicken will transport you to a sunny place. The Chinese seafood at this familyrun restaurant is outstanding, and Baba Ling’s kitchen works daily miracles with crabs and prawns. The daily buffet also makes for a solid business lunch and is a great deal at £2 per head plus taxes.
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Meat lovers in Mumbai must visit M. Easily the best grill in the city, M’s chefs take special care to ensure that they have the freshest and highest quality meat—the grouper is flown in directly from Florida, the free-range chicken from Pune’s famous Hybro farm, and the kingfish and shellfish directly from Cochin. While you eat, marvel at the master chefs hard at work in a steel and glass open kitchen. Fancy a cocktail? M’s bar features a marvellous martini list that’s a mile long.
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Bengalis like fresh-water fish and turn up their noses at Mumbai’s seawater bombil, bangda and surmai. So Oh! Calcutta imports all its fish straight from the Hooghly river that flows through—you guessed it—Calcutta. The macher paturi is a fresh-water fish deboned and then coated with mustard, green chillies and spices, then steamed in a banana leaf. The Bengali vegetable dishes stand out too. Jhinge posto features squash, potatoes and chillies lightly stir-fried in mustard oil. Finish off with distinctive Bengali desserts like sandesh, a wedge of cottage cheese flavoured with delicately sweet rosewater.
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Bollywood plays Hollywood at AD Singh’s Mediterranean-themed hangout where film stars can be seen dining with their directors. At the bar, they can be seen flirting with models. If cameras were allowed, the outside patio on Sunday brunch would likely make the cover of most gossip magazines. The food, which plays second fiddle to the celebrities, is good but nothing to write home about. A cross between Californian and Italian cuisines, Olive’s menu offers middleof- the-road dishes like fresh but boring Caesar’s salad and a light but filling penne robusta. The desserts do stand out—be sure to try the fabulous shocolade. And if the overdose of glitz gets to you, grab a drink and cool off in the ice room, where the daily replenished walls are sheets of solid ice.
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Peshawari is an elegant restaurant in a great suburban landmark hotel which dishes up kebabs and tandoori fare from the north-western provinces. Enjoy the finest frontier food in the city, low on oil and slow-cooked to perfection, in a beautifully understated setting with great service. Start your meal with a refreshing jal jeera, a spicy, salty lemonade. Then dive into dishes like the deliciously soft kasturi kebab, tender pieces of boneless chicken marinated in a sour yoghurt and fenugreek sauce and cooked on a lavastone grill.
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The Royal China here is reminiscent of its counterparts in London. You should be here at lunchtime for the dim sum, which is always fabulous. If you do venture out into the rest of the Cantonese menu, you’ll find most of the dishes refreshingly light and authentic. Try the wonderful roast duck with plum sauce.
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Marriages may be made in heaven, but they are arranged at the Sea Lounge. Believe it or not, it’s accepted social practice for a prospective groom and bride to meet at this classic coffee shop, in the presence of family members pretending to do their own thing. Enjoy a cup of Darjeeling tea and bhel puri or sev puri (Indian teatime snacks consisting of over 10 ingredients) or a chilli cheese toast. By the time you hit the creamy espressoflavoured Viennoise ice cream, the couple has probably fixed the wedding date.
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Status is a leading exponent of the vegetarian cuisines of the province of Gujarat and South India at amazingly low prices. Rather than navigate the menu for yourself, go for the popular Gujarati thali, an all-you-can-eat buffet served in a number of bowls. The thali changes daily, but is primarily based on lentils, peas, beans, seasonal vegetables and yoghurt. Eat them with thin slices of roti bread. Dessert, which is in the furthest cup to the right, is served with the meal. It’s usually srikhand, a tangy but sweet custard, or gulab jamun, hot balls of curd immersed in sugar syrup
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Asha Jhaveri of Swati Snacks does a different kind of fusion food, blending the regional cuisines of Maharashtra and Gujarat with Mumbai’s street food to offer the most refreshing vegetarian experience in the city. Go from the stock pani puri, bhel puri and sev puri to delights such as the exotic Jain panki—lacy crepes made by steaming rice flour in banana leaves, eaten with green chutney and stuffed fried chillies.
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Chef Ananda Solomon’s Thai Pavillion is Mumbai’s first and consistently best Thai restaurant. It excels at Thai staples—try the fabulous pad thai or the crisp papaya salad, a fiery red or green curry, and the various satay meats. There is also a vast choice for vegetarians. The surroundings are restrained and elegant, burnished with impeccable service, making it perfect for entertaining a business client.
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The Great Wall has authenticity in spades. The head chef is from Beijing and the restaurant offers special Chinese wine made from dragon-eye grapes. Every month or so, the restaurant has a festival showcasing a deliciously different aspect of Chinese or another Asian cuisine. Past themes include the Crab Festival, the Lantern Festival and the pan-Asian Viet[name]se Festival.
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The Oberoi has just opened this Zen-like restaurant, poised to become a landmark on the city’s culinary scene. The different seating areas allow guests to choose their own comfort zone—great for relaxed business entertaining. Executive sous chef Joy Bhattacharya and sushi chef Francesco Balanquit offer an array of Indian favourites with an unconventional flourish—like Norwegian salmon on roomali roti, rocket or lobster salad with mildly spiced oriental dressing and, of course, some dazzlingly innovative sushi and sashimi.
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Fame has brought to Trishna a dark and dingy ‘marine’ themed decor and higher prices. Fortunately the crabs are still spectacular. Try them cooked in garlic butter with black pepper in a clay tandoor oven. Other seafood dishes are excellent too, like the pomfret tikka hyderabadi, a spicy prawn kebab, and the prawn koliwada, small prawns marinated in Indian spices and then deep fried. Don’t try the ‘Chinese’ offerings.
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Mumbai residents, who live and die for their seafood, are afraid of sushi. But celebrity ex-Nobu chef Masaharu Morimoto abates such fears by importing all the fish directly from Tokyo’s Tjuku market. Well, all fears except that of the cheque! This spectacular place was the only Indian restaurant to make Conde Nast Travellers’ Hot List 2005. Business heavyweights and the occasional Bollywood babe can be seen here, washing down either the oyster foie gras or the blackened Chilean sea bass with some warm sake.
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Who ever said globalisation was a bad thing? The Dutch owners of Zenzi offer a French-tinged pan-Asian cuisine that incorporates Viet[name]se, Cambodian, Indonesian and Japanese influences in an ultra-cool wood, glass and stone setting. Wash your meal down with a South African wine or a Dutch or Indian beer.
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