We were last here before Christmas and wouldn’t usually leave it so long between visits but we’d been away, eating out every night of the three weeks and, frankly, were just a bit bored with restaurant food. So, we’d left it till there was one of the Sunday evening special menus – a seven course feast featuring dishes from India’s different regions and cultures. This was for Novruz – New Year for the Parsi community, many of whom live in Mumbai.
Osh-e-Meer is a lentil soup traditionally served at Novruz. It’s deliciously enhanced with herbs and noodles. Then Akuri – scrambled eggs, lightly spiced, served on toast as a breakfast dish. The eggs come much more well cooked than a western version. It’s OK, but was my least favourite dish of the evening. My companion in life has an aversion to eggs so was offered a vegetable alternative – I think it was the veg mix that usually goes with vada pav (the Mumbai veggie “burger”). Next, Marghi na Farcha – the Parsi answer to KFC, if you will. Moist chicken, crisp coating, yoghurt sauce. What’s not to like
I love lamb keema, particularly when there’s peas to soften the chilli heat. This is a star dish, served with a little bread. And, for the last of the starters, Patra Ni Machchi – sea bass, marinated in coriander and coconut past, then wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed. It’s light yet very flavoursome, a contrast to some of the earlier dishes.
Then it’s on to the “main event”. As always, on these tasting menu evenings, you’re served a thali – a metal platter, divided so a range of dishes can be served. There’s Dahi Ma Bheeda, a yoghurt okra curry which divided us – I thought it nice, not so nice was the opinion on the other side of the table (but then they are rarely keen on dairy based dishes). Salli Boti is a celebratory lamb dish, often served at Parsi wedding. There’s tender lamb, a well rounded sauce with a good hit from chilli and a sprinkle of potato straws (the “salli”). The final dish was chicken dhansak. I first had a proper dhansak in a Parsi owned restaurant in London, where the owner told that it’s as important a family dish as a Sunday roast would be to Britons. And you can see why. The sauce is fantastic – cooked with different lentils and a vegetable puree. We could have happily eaten this without the chicken. For carbs, there’s a roti and rice enhanced with sharp citrusy barberries
And for dessert there’s a falooda. It’s sweet and calming after all the spice. It’s mainly rose flavoured milk, with dried fruits, basil seeds, noodles and a dollop of kulfi ice cream
As always, we had a nice evening, Sandeep and Donya were the essence of hospitality. The Parsi menu is being offered on a couple more Sundays this month.The success of the restaurant has meant they’ve again been included in the 2025 Good Food Guide and are in the running for the Guide’s “best local restaurant” award.
