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City Guide > Indian Subcontinent > India > Mumbai (Bombay) | |
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Restaurants The lure of Bombay’s wealth has always attracted migrants from other parts of India and, from the very beginning, the city has played host to a substantial numbers of foreigners: Imperial administrators or soldiers, merchants, traders and moneymen. The polyglot character of the city and its wealth are reflected in a dazzling array of restaurants; the modern visitor can enjoy a wide variety of styles of cooking; American burger bars rub shoulders with western Indian vegetarian and Malay restaurants. In the great Indian cities the best (or at least the most expensive) restaurants have traditionally been found in the big international hotels. This, to some extent, is still the case, although the quality and variety of restaurants outside the marbled halls of the ‘five stars’ is growing all the time. Indeed, it is now possible to eat very well in Bombay without going into one of the big hotels at all. India, having a strong tradition of vegetarianism, is a most rewarding place for those who do not eat meat; menus are said to be ‘veg’ or ‘non-veg’. Alcohol is a thorny subject in India, although the authorities here have a more relaxed attitude to it than in Delhi. Imported wine in India is expensive due to swingeing import duties; Indian wine is improving rapidly and offers a sensibly-priced alternative. Indian beer is delicious and invariably arrives at one’s table ice-cold; it is the ideal accompaniment to most types of subcontinental cuisine. We have selected 15 restaurants across five categories: Gastronomic, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal Recommendations, and have listed those in alphabetical order in each section. For each establishment, we have indicated the approximate cost of a meal for two with wine or beer (where sold), including taxes, by reference to the following scale: $ (up to Rs1,000) $$ (Rs1,000 to Rs3,000) $$$ (Rs3,000 to Rs8,000) $$$$ (over Rs8,000) Gastronomic Ankur Seafood is, for obvious reasons, a Bombay speciality and Ankur is one of the best places in town for fish and shellfish. Hidden away in the back streets of Fort, it is not easy to find but decidedly worth the effort. The dining room is modest and unobtrusive. The restaurant specializes in locally-caught fish served in a variety of spicy sauces. MP Shetty Marg, Fort Tel: (022) 2265 4194. Price: $$. Khyber Situated near the High Court in the heart of south Bombay, Khyber is an elegant, up-market restaurant serving exquisite Northern Indian, Mughal food, using the best, freshest ingredients and a charcoal grill. A grand entrance foreshadows a beautiful interior, stone-effect plastering embellished with delicately carved arches and screens in the Mughal style. Excellent value. 145 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Fort Tel: (022) 2267 3227/8/9. Price: $$$. Wasabi Newly arrived on the scene, Wasabi, in the Taj Hotel, is the only authentic Japanese restaurant in Bombay. Chef Masaharu Morimoto, late of New York’s celebrated Nobu restaurant, presides over a kitchen that offers the very best in Japanese food. The dining room, with a separate sushi bar, is spare and elegant. This is probably the most expensive restaurant in town. Taj Mahal Hotel, Apollo Bunder Tel: (022) 5665 3366. Website: www.tajhotels.com Price: $$$$. Business Masala Kraft A modern Indian restaurant in the Taj Hotel, Masala Kraft offers an eclectic mix of dishes from all the principal traditions of Indian cuisine; veg., non-veg. and seafood are all available. The cool, spacious dining room is a modern interpretation of a traditional Indian style: a heavily coffered roof is supported on massive wooden columns. The food is succulent; the service efficient and friendly. Taj Mahal Hotel, Apollo Bunder Tel: (022) 5665 3366. Website: www.tajhotels.com Price: $$$. RG's Kitchen Located in the swish, new Hotel InterContinental on Marine Drive RG’s Kitchen offers a varied menu of Indian, Asian and Western dishes. It is one of the new generation of ‘interactive’ restaurants (meaning that one can watch the chefs at work in glass-sided kitchens) that are all the rage in India at the moment. The dining room commands a good view over Back Bay. Hotel InterContinental, Marine Drive Tel: (022) 5639 9999. Website: www.mumbai.intercontinental.com Price: $$$. Trishna's On a back street in Fort, Trishna’s is perhaps the best-known seafood restaurant in Bombay. Fish, lobster, crab, prawns and squid are all served in a variety of styles, Indian and Chinese. Although the dining room is unpretentiously simple and functional, the quality of the food frequently attracts the glitterati of Bollywood. Sai Baba Marg, Fort Tel: (022) 2261 4991. Price: $$$. Trendy Cafe Sesso Located in the achingly chic Courtyard, Cafe Sesso attempts to reproduce an Italian cafe-eaterie in the heat of Bombay. The design is crisp, modern and ‘interactive’; the food, which draws on Mediterranean influences, is good and interestingly varied. On Wednesdays, Sesso puts on an al fresco ‘club night’ under the stars. 17 The Courtyard, 41/44 Minoo Desai Road, Colaba Tel: (022) 5638 5490. Price: $$$. Indigo The most fashionable restaurant in south Bombay, Indigo is the headquarters of the smart set. It serves mostly European food (sandwiches, salads, steaks, etc) although the odd dish hints at an Indian provenance. The dining rooms are in a minimally stark modern style; there is a terrace where one can eat during the cooler months of the year. The bar attracts a lively crowd in the evenings. 4 Mandlik Road, Colaba Tel: (022) 5636 8999. Price: $$$. Olive The lodestar for the socially aspirant, Olive is the restaurant-cum-bar in north Bombay, the haunt of Bollywood types, socialites and the well-heeled. It serves Mediterranean food, but this is really purely incidental to the main point of Olive, which is to see and be seen. There is a ‘club night’ on Thursdays, when, it seems, every aspiring actress in Bollywood descends on the place. 14 Union Park, Khar Tel: (022) 2605 8228. Website: www.olivebarandkitchen.com Price: $$$. Budget Jimmy Boy A Parsee restaurant on a bustling street in Fort, Jimmy Boy is a good place to sample the delicacies of one of India’s less well-known culinary traditions. The restaurant makes no concessions to modern design or styling but provides good food at the most affordable prices right in the middle of the city. 11 Bank Street, Fort Tel: (022) 2270 0880. Price: $ Kandeel A long-established, old-fashioned, staid restaurant Kaleel is to be found opposite the University’s famous clock tower. All the staples of Indian cooking, vegetarian and non-vegetarian, are on the menu here, served in a dark, cool dining room. 95 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Fort Tel: (022) 2267 3875. Price: $$ Sabar Near the Victorian splendour of CST, Sabar has been serving Gujarati vegetarian food for more than a century. The table d’hote offers dal, pulses, rice and chapatis cooked in various ways; dhosas, idlis, uttappams and other staples of southern Indian cookery are also available. The restaurant is basic but the food simple, delicious and nourishing. It’s very cheap. Unlicensed. 177 DN Road, Fort Tel: (022) 2261 2604/05/06. Price: $ Personal Recommendations Bayview Located in the Hotel Marine Plaza, Bayview enjoys, as its name suggests, a sweeping panorama of Back Bay and Malabar Hill. The mildly Art Deco dining room serves an excellent buffet, at both lunch and dinner. It includes a constantly varying range of Indian dishes, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian; the puddings are particularly recommended. Hotel Marine Plaza, 29 Marine Drive Tel: (022) 2285 1212. Website: www.hotelmarineplaza.com Price: $$. Koyla Koyla occupies a rooftop overlooking the harbour; protected from the heavens by a canopy, it nevertheless affords sweeping views over south Bombay. Koyla serves North-West Frontier specialities, cooked over charcoal and seasoned with cinnamon, cloves, saffron and garlic. In the bar, there are hookahs for smoking scented Egyptian tobacco. Unlicensed. Gulf Hotel, N.A. Azmi Street, Colaba Tel: (022) 5636 9999. Website: www.koylaethniccuisine.com Price: $$ Soho This newly-opened cafe belongs to Chateau Indage, India’s leading vineyard owners; as a result, Soho is an excellent place to sample Indian wine. There is a complete selection of Indage’s wines, available both by the bottle and, most helpfully, by the glass. The food is Italian (pizza, pasta) with the odd oriental dish thrown in. 75 Warden Road, Breach Candy Tel: (022) 2369 2705. Price: $$ |