The big daddies and the small guys are ready to show off their culinary chops in 2024, with diverse cuisines and innovative menus
A prelude to the fare at Cosy Box
Compiled by Nasrin Modak Siddiqi, Shriram Iyengar, Tanishka D’Lyma and Devashish Kamble
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Sichuan in the city
Opens: January
Chef-restaurateur Seefah Ketchaiyo is kicking off the new year with an Oriental touch. After wowing Mumbai with a taste of quintessential Thai food at her Hill Road joint, Seefah, she has set her eyes on a new culinary style. The chef will bring her venture Kembara to BKC this month. “I trained in Chengdu, China for three and half years, and have always wanted to showcase the cuisine in Mumbai. It is different from the Sichuan that is served in India,” she added. While the Hyderabad venture, a partnership with restaurateur Shipla Datla, focused on Asian cuisine, Ketchaiyo emphasised that the Mumbai outlet will have influences from her time as a young chef in Canton. “It will have flavours from original Cantonese cuisine and the mainland China, and will be different from anything else I have created,” she added. As for the mood, be ready to experience a calm Asian vibe.
Massive masterstroke
Opens: January
Restaurateur Zorawar Kalra brings a world cuisine restaurant inspired by various ingredients and cooking techniques with La Mar at NSCI, Worli. It will be a modern play on traditional dishes with a look at substitutes for some ingredients that are typically imported including in-house cold cuts, sausages, flatbreads, and caviar service. “It is our magnum opus, designed to create a space that will be the best juxtaposition of dining and nightlife yet seen in the city. We have an ensemble cast of the brightest chefs collaborating on a new-age menu that avoids drama and focuses on ingredients and technique. Our bar team will create a fabulous cocktail spectacle while the wine list will be top-tier.” A carefully programmed first floor will separate the dining experience but allow diners to have a gourmet dinner, and then head upstairs to let their hair down and unleash the beast within.”
Roll out the red carpet
Opens: January
Imagine this: Being able to savour the culinary fare dished out to celebrities at Cannes. After a Delhi launch, restaurateur Ashish Begwani and Raj Veer Dhody bring Cosy Box, the official food partner of the famous film festival, to a 10,000-square-foot space at One Lodha Place in Lower Parel. “The core focus of this global affair will be on Mediterranean, European, Oriental, and modern Indian cuisines by chefs and mixologists from Turkey,” reveals Begwani.
Go Nikkei
Opens: January
Bandra is set to greet a celebration of Japanese and Peruvian culinary traditions with Megumi. This Nikkei restaurant serves great kappamaki, edamame enoki roll, zucchini carpaccio and salt cod croquettes. Restaurateurs Rajit V Shetty and Amit Pal have brought this eatery to the tony suburb. “It will be an immersive experience where guests can enjoy the best of both worlds — the delicate artistry of Japanese cuisine and the bold, vibrant tastes of Peruvian dishes,” says Shetty.
Bhonu in Bandra
Opens: Mid-January
After launching cloud kitchen Bhonu Appetite in 2012, singer and entrepreneur Shahriyar Atai will build his culinary dreams in brick and mortar with the venture’s first dine-in outlet at Perry Cross Road in Bandra. “The days of pop-ups and carts are over; we’re here to stay with a 20-seater space where you can dine comfortably like a king. We have the essentials like lagan nu stew with rotli, dhansak, chicken farcha and classic desserts. We also have vegetarian options incorporating Parsi flavours — a balance of kathu (bitter), meethu (sweet) and tikku (spicy) profiles for an authentic dish,” the bawa chef signs off.
Meet us mid-way
Opens: mid-January
Mag St. heads to Bandra with a 65-cover restaurant on Linking Road. Patrons can expect their favourites from the South Mumbai outlet along with a specially curated cocktail and spirit menu. “We’ve always wanted to open a restaurant in Bandra ever since we launched in Colaba in 2011. For some reason, it took us 13 years to get there! We are thrilled about the new space, open from breakfast until dinner, and with a full bar,” shared founder Gauri Devidayal.
Meat, your match
Opens: January
Interiors of the new vegan café in Bandra
As meat eaters and vegetarians remain divided about the nomenclature of the infamous ‘vegetarian biryani’, a café from one of the birthplaces of the delicacy is heading to Mumbai to settle it for good. Their answer? Vegan biryani. Terassen Café, a plant-based eatery from Hyderabad will open its doors to folks who seek some green on their plates with offerings such as vegan haleem, vegan kheema and vegan biryani. Walk into the rustic café in Bandra for quiet evenings with a side of culinary debates.
Veggie way in
Opens: January
When we met restaurateur Suren Joshi last month, he was excited about the launch of his new projects, two of which launched in December, and a third one, Charlee, will open soon. Serving vegetarian world cuisine, the menu of this resto-bar on Khar’s Linking Road boasts of some of the best avocado and tender coconut ceviche, nori nachos, BBQ grilled corn, kimchi mushroom sliders and tempura eggplant toffee. Joshi reveals further, “With this is a speakeasy bar with vegetarian food, a unique proposition for the Khar and Bandra neighbourhoods; we are always trying to introduce different products to cater to these audiences.”
Therapy for the soul
Opens: January
This upcoming retro cocktail bar in Bandra will have over a hundred curated signature cocktails. Restaurateur Rishab Verma of Therapy Cocktail Bar believes, “Cocktails works like therapy, and hence the name. Our list is specially curated with spirits to suit different palates and moods. The vibe is that of a neighbourhood cocktail bar — a place you can feel instantly comfortable at.”
Brazil to Bandra
Opens: January
The city’s exclusive Brazilian-inspired space, Tropicool Cafe in Bandra by restaurateur Randall Fernandes, will include an impressive menu curated from different regions of the South American nation. Expect to savour authentic superfruit acai berries straight from the Amazon, served in smoothies, signature bowls, drinks, and savoury foods. “This one-of-a-kind café will immerse you into the Amazonian experience — the walls, food, music and even the fragrance from the region, via our coffee experiences — the city is going to love it,” assures Fernandes.
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