Mumbai’s newest restaurants have a few things in common—contemporary Mediterranean or Asian dishes, ingenious cocktails and all-day dining menus. The shopping hub of Lower Parel welcomed chef Ritu Dalmia’s first restaurant to the city, while the corporate epicentre BKC is now dotted with several new dining spaces. Here are three launches that have sparked conversations about the pleasures of a good meal:
The Tasting Room by DIVA
Restaurateur and chef Ritu Dalmia opened her first dining space in Mumbai this month. The Tasting Room by DIVA. at Good Earth in Raghuvanshi Mills, features a seasonally changing and ingredient-focussed menu that reflects the current collection at the store shaped by influences from the Mediterranean. The Tasting Room had shuttered in 2019 much to the dismay of the city’s diners, but its refreshed avatar is filled with promise. Dalmia is gearing up to launch a pizza hotspot Motodo at BKC’s Jio World Drive in December.
Kyma
This all-day casual dining and bar, located at ONE BKC, brings together modern Mediterranean and Asian cuisine. The Asian section of the menu has crowd-pleasers like fiery Asian Nacho, Cantonese style Chili Chicken accompanied by the Mantao steam bun. The Mediterranean segment has a selection of addictive Kunafa-wrapped prawns, cherry wood smoke cream cheese hummus and the four cheese with zatar pide (bread). If contemporary Japanese—think salmon truffle cream cheese and jalapeno sushi—is your thing, then head over to the sushi counter. To complement the food, there are cocktails with ingredients and spirits, like Japanese gin. There’s also a private dining area with a balcony for intimate events.
NHO Saigon
A few blocks away from Kyma is the Vietnamse restaurant NHO Saigon which has got diners curious with the city’s first taproom. They offer five varieties of mead and Vietnamese-styled rice beer. The menu celebrates street foods of Saigon with items like Vietnamese pizza, stuffed rice pancake and Tempura fried fish goujons.
