Clamorous and captivating, India’s biggest city bursts with an energy that can be felt across its ever-evolving spectrum of restaurants and bars.
1. Masque
Tucked away in the unassuming Laxmi Woolen Mills compound in Lower Parel, Masque takes its guests on an eight- or 12-course culinary journey from the Ladakhi highlands to the backwaters of South India. With a focus on farm-to-fork fine dining using seasonal ingredients sourced from farmers and artisanal producers around the country, diners are bound to encounter unfamiliar ingredients and unexpected combinations. The journey starts—literally—in the kitchen, where all guests are invited for their first course and a personal introduction by chef Prateek Sadhu. Dishes on Masque’s regularly changing tasting menu are refreshingly devoid of spheres, foams, and other gimmicks; instead, they let the qualities of each ingredient speak for themselves.
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O Pedro’s Goan favorites include chorizo-and-bacon pulao, chili pakoras, and red snapper “poke.”
2. O Pedro
Launched by the team behind the foodie-favorite Bombay Canteen, O Pedro brings a welcome whiff of Goan hospitality to the otherwise sterile office environment of the Western Suburbs’ Bandra Kurla Complex. With a menu heavy on old family recipes and Portuguese heritage dishes, the restaurant proves that Goan cuisine can be so much more than vindaloo and palm toddy. Must-tries here are the chorizo-and-bacon pulao, the seafood cataplana, and some of the fun rum-based cocktails. Whatever you pick, be sure to add a basket of sourdough poee (pita-like Goan bread) to your order. Accompanied by flavored butters, they’re utterly delectable.
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The bar at Toast & Tonic.
3. Toast & Tonic
After conquering the casual dining scene in Bangalore, Toast & Tonic recently opened a second outpost in Mumbai, in the same building as O Pedro. Taking inspiration from the cultural melting pot of Manhattan’s East Village, the menu comprises a globetrotting lineup of dishes, all with a focus on local and seasonal ingredients. Whether you order the gumbo or the gnocchi, the duck tacos or the kibbeh, you’ll be assured of bold avors, pretty plating, and a great attention to detail. As for cocktails, the restaurant’s name already gives it away: Toast and Tonic does a mean G&T. Try the signature Herbalist, a mix of gin, basil, and house-infused orange tonic water served with a large cube of coriander-orange ice.
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4. JLWA
Bandra’s newest fine-dining darling, JLWA (pronounced jal-wah) occupies a shimmering space below the ever-popular Escobar. The food, billed as “Euro-Indie,” is nouvelle regional fare inspired by chef Roshan Seth’s childhood memories and travels around India. A Sindhi kadhi comes in the guise of a seafood soup; roast Keralan duck is accompanied by purple- yam risotto and asafetida-scented camembert; and bean-curd shashlik is spiked with hemp seeds and presented alongside olive pâté and a maple-carrot coulis. JLWA doesn’t shy away from a bit of theater at the table, so expect over-the-top cocktail presentations, edible sands, and smoke-filled domes.
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This article originally appeared in the February/March 2018 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Mumbai to the Max”).
