8 SOBO (south Mumbai) posh restaurants that you should check out

K and I love luxury hotel staycations, especially in South Mumbai, or SOBO, as it is called. We love the fact that one can get sea-view rooms. One can also check out the restaurants in ‘town’, as South Mumbai is referred to. It feels like a complete vacation without stepping out of the city. The opening of the Coastal Road has made travel from Bandra to SOBO faster.

K had spent her college days and early working days in SOBO. I came to Mumbai in ’97. My office was in Dadar, but my friends and I would hang out in SOBO. K and I met in an office in SOBO and spent our dating days there. SOBO is special for us. By ‘SOBO,” I refer to Colaba, Fort, Churchgate, Nariman Point (up to Charni Road) and the VT area. Not Worli, Dadar, Parel (there was no Lower Pare then), etc., which are happening now and are part of Central Mumbai.

We checked into the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, Tower Wing during K’s birthday this August. It is one of our favourite hotels in Mumbai, if not THE most favourite. We recently took a Taj Epicurean membership, which helped us get some good deals.

We had some excellent food during this trip. I will tell you about them here and a few others we visited recently. These are all ‘posh’ places. All serve international cuisines. They are casual dining places and not stuffy. Smart casuals are fine. Taj Palace Sea Lounge is an old-school tea house in a 5-star hotel. That’s where you will see the most number of ‘suits’ among the places we mentioned

The recommendations are based on where we ate in July and August 2024. We eat meat and fish; there are hardly any vegetarian dishes in the records. Nor are there any alcohol comments as we do not drink. We did not go to any Indian or Chinese and Asian restaurants,. 

1. Otra

We went to Otra in July’24. The other places mentioned were in mid-August.

I never thought the first thing I’d tell you about our recent visit to Chef Alex Sanchez’s Otra would be its Caesar Salad. We had some lovely ox tongue, pork belly, prawns, and hamachi, too, so why talk about a salad?
That’s because all its elements—crisp romaine greens, seductive crunchy bread crumbs, tantalising chipotle and anchovy dressing, sharp Parmesan… made the term ‘bursting with flavours’ too tame a description for this glorious dish.
We wouldn’t have ordered the Caesar salad had Aryan from the restaurant not recommended it so strongly. Otra features Puerto Rican food, a homage to Chef Alex Sanchez’s roots. Given that I know as little about Puerto Rican food as I do about the Pythagoras theorem (which is nothing), it helped to have Aryan explain the menu.

The dish of the night was the buff tongue taco, which we ordered at the last moment when we heard a waiter mention it to the folks next to us. It’s called lengua. You can’t go wrong with juicy cubes of the tongue with a sharp salsa to cut its fattiness. The roast pork in the pork belly pernil barely had any fat. It was succulent, the spicing was intricate, and it was served in a refreshing green sauce called garlic mojito. I guess more fat would have overshadowed these elements. The hamachi tostada featured sashimi-styled, slightly tart, delectably fatty hamachi served on a crisp tostada, & made for a rather poetic dish. They use masa (maise dough) for their tacos (soft) and tostado (crisp), which adds a distinctive flavour to the dishes. The shrimp tacos were lovely, too. Expertly cooked shrimp, sharp dressing, snug in a soft taco.

There was one blooper. The dessert, Bunuelos. The roseate waffles were too flimsy and sugary to counterbalance the sweet, thick hazelnut hot chocolate, and they were avoidable.

The overarching philosophy of Sanchez’s creations could be described as ‘food forward,’ and I loved that. The focus was on using great produce to extract memorable flavours. The presentation was minimalistic (I mean that in a good way). Nothing was served on raw rajma! Or on plates that looked like they had not been rinsed after being soaped. We had some exceptional food in London recently & Otra compares creditably with it.

2. Rue Du Liban

Why aren’t people talking about Rue Du Liban? We have been going there for three years and have had a great experience each time. The service is understated and competent, and the food is lovely. We went for dinner, and the music was ambient. We had gone with friends and could chat, which says a lot.

As I learned from the text on their menu, they serve Levantine food, which is Lebanese food. The freshly made, puffed-up pita bread is reason enough for us to go. They make the most delectable hummus. Be it the classic hummus or its extensions, such as the lahme (with a minced meat topping). Mopping the hummus with the soft pita bread is one of the most comforting and yet erotic experiences that one can have. I set etiquette aside this time and wiped the hummus left in the bowl with my fingers.

Some of our favourites this time were the batata hara (crunchy, chilli powder spiced fried potato cubes), shish taouk (juicy, charred chicken skewers), samaka harra (roasted buttery seabass in a tomato-based sauce) and soujok (lamb sausages). However, we enjoyed the sujak more during our previous visit. The tomato base was excessive this time. It remains a good thing to try.

The others at our (we had taken a few friends for K’s birthday) loved the date pudding, but I skipped it.

3. The Table, Colaba

The Table has a new chef, and I was keen to see how the food was. We went there for lunch on our way to the Taj.

Our waiter helped us decide on our order, and we had a delicious meal thanks to his reccos. We tried the Crab Royale 2.0, a refreshing salad with crisp tempura pearls adding a dash of drama to the shredded crab meat and luscious avocado slices.

Mumbai is known for its seafood, and the grilled prawns at The Table oozed oomph. I could not get a good photo of it.

The burger with French onion rings was nearly perfect. The brioche buns were nice and fresh, and the condiments and sauces were well-balanced. I would have liked the patty to be more juicy, but the onions gave a nice flavour hit, compensating for the slight dryness. And the fries—I was in ‘fries heaven’ when I had them. They were so sinfully good. We took the bone marrow add-on. The marrow was nice and smoky and well worth the extra expense.

We skipped dessert. K had a cappuccino, and I had an espresso. Both were great. You can always depend on the Table.

Tip: Try to go during the day and ask for a table by the window on the ground floor. It’s picturesque and romantic.

4. Le 15 Patisserie/ Cakes of Le 15

Thirteen years ago, I requested Pooja Dhingra of Le 15 Patisserie to make a birthday cake for K. It was a last-minute request. I told Pooja that K likes dark chocolate, dark chocolate macarons, and dark chocolate cakes. She does not like alcohol, fruits in her cakes, or pralines; she is okay with dry fruits (nuts but not raisins).

Pooja called me a few hours later and said the cake was ready and I could pick it up from their outlet at Phoenix Mills. The ‘cake’ was a ginormous dark chocolate macaron; K loved it (so did I). We have brought her birthday every year since then with this cake. This was the 13th year. Along with the ‘Kainaz special cake,’ she also sent a cake like the one she had made for her birthday earlier in the month. It spoke to the child in me…it was chocolatey, creamy…had chocolate chips. I know what cake I want on my birthday if we are in Mumbai. It’s that one! It’s called ‘Pooja’s birthday cake’ on their site.

PS: This is not SOBO exclusive; you can order it to be delivered anywhere.

5. Sea Lounge, Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai

We love the Sea Lounge, located in the heritage wing of the Taj Mahal Palace. We have breakfast at the Sea Lounge, even if we stay at the Tower wing, where breakfast is served at the Shamiana. Something about its old-world charm and the view of the Gateway of India has our hearts. We feel transported to another world here—a slower, kinder, and nicer one.

K loves the waffles here. She is on a diet but said she would make an exception for the Le 15 cake and the Sea Lounge waffles on her birthday. I ordered one as well. The waffles were perfect. Slightly crisp on the surface and soft, but not mushy or doughy, inside. The batter had just the right amount of sweetness. K does not like anything topped on her waffles, just some butter on the side. I followed her lead but asked for some honey or maple syrup.

The waffles we had for breakfast that morning needed no side act. They were perfect. We later approached the young chefs at the waffle counter and thanked them. We congratulated them on landing the ideal waffle without any specifications from us. The following day, I had a beautifully made egg Benedict. I requested they make one benedict instead of two.

 

Ankita, the young lady who manages the Sea Lounge, saw us and said, ‘We know it must be your birthday. Whose is it?’ It was a personal touch, which felt good given that everyone in the hotel had wished me happy birthday the day we checked in, while it was K’s birthday the next day. The folks at Sea Lounge cut a cake for K’s birthday.

We returned to the Sea Lounge for K’s birthday lunch. We got a coveted window table. “You will have your special sandwich, of course,” said Ankita, and went into the kitchen. A waiter came out with the sandwich that gave us such joy. It’s a simple ham sandwich. It’s not on the menu. It is minimalist, as are the best pleasures in life.

Soft white bread. Buttered. With slices of ham inside. NOTHING ELSE. No mayo, mustard, lettuce, cheese…just bread, butter and ham. If we want variety, we ask them to repeat the same, bacon instead of ham this time. Ham is the best, though. Place this order, and chances are that they will think that we have come over. I am petitioning for them to name this the Karmakar Ham Sandwich. It is not much to ask. They have a Currimboy Salad, after all!

The menu at Sea Lounge is extensive. They have chaats, high tea Charlies, quinoa, and avocado for the SOBO youngsters, but as far as we are concerned, we will always have ham sandwiches and waffles.

 

A few tips: Sea Lounge is reserved for guests for breakfast. If you are not one, you can go there before 8 am and try your luck. Avoid window tables during breakfast. It is too sunny until 1030am. Please make a special request for the ham sandwich if you want it. Waffles are part of the breakfast, but I am told they can make it for you later if you are willing to wait. The sandwich comes with mind-blowing fries. And a spoonful of salad!

Go for the Epicurean membership. We got some pretty good deals. We got vouchers for a two-night stay and paid a bit extra to upgrade ourselves to a sea-view room. We love spas and plan to use the spa coupons at Land’s End. Plus, there are discounts on food, etc. We are sharing this point here because we found it helpful.

6. Americano, Fort

We had kept our American dinner for K’s birthday night. We had eaten here a while back and enjoyed it, so we were sure we would this time as well. We did not have pasta in any of the earlier restaurants this time as we wanted to keep the ‘pasta compartment’ in our tummies empty for what Chef Alex Sanchez of Amreicano had on offer. Our expectations had been further fuelled by the fact that we recently had a lovely meal at Otra, Chef Sanchez’s Puerto Rican restaurant, the precious month.

You must be thinking that the paragraph above is a build-up to the heartbreak of a dinner.

Don’t worry—the food was supremely good. We were impressed that they had printed copies of the menu with ‘Happy Birthday Kainaz’ written on it even though I had not stated the occasion while booking. I took a social media break during the trip. My only post (I took a break from posting) was wishing K her birthday—the usual PDA stuff kept for such occasions. They must have read that.

My favourite was the carnivore pizza. It rates as one of the best we have had in the world, and we have had a fair bit. The crust was supple; it had intensely flavoured meats… nduja (a spicy, cured sausage), smoked bacon, fennel sausage, and spicy salami… balanced by just the right amount of tomato base. Nothing overpowered anything. The best way to have it is to  take a slice of the pizza, roll it/ fold it, take a bite, and break into a smile that says, ‘I have lived.’ I would say that it was one of the most memorable dishes of the trip. I rarely order pizzas as they are an avoidable carb dump. This was worth breaking my self-imposed rule.

The other dish of the day would be the truff puffs —crispy choux pastry with an intense pecorino filling and black truffle. We had the jalapeno dijon pork belly. Folks who say Italian food is bland should try this. The pork was packed with flavour. There were fresh apple slices—hopefully enough to keep the doctor away after the night’s excesses.

The chef sent a pasta on the house that is yet to be on the menu: pepe alla norma. It is made with conch-shaped shells and a kiss of tomato-based sauce and cheese. It is an excellent example of balance and subtlety, creating something memorable. I later DM’d Chef Sanchez to say we enjoyed the meal. He said that the pasta was one of his favourites. We saw the chef moving around during the restaurant but didn’t get to meet. He was busy, and we (K & I) were on a ‘date night.’

With our recent experience at Otra and this one at Americano, it’s fair to say that Chef Alex is on a roll and that we would return to his restaurants even if not on a SOBO staycation. They sent a fabulous dark chocolate pudding on the house.

7. Araku, Colaba

This was the find of the trip. K had been to their outlet in Bangalore and had enjoyed the coffee she had there. The Mumbai outlet is just behind the Taj. We had reached there at 3.40 pm on K’s birthday, but lunch service was over.  We checked out of the hotel and arrived well in time, but they said that coffee would not be served for a couple of hours as they were redecorating props. We threw a fit. How can you not get coffee at a coffee place? Could you not redecorate it before business hours? They gave in and said we would be served coffee. We had excellent food first. What sort of cuisine do they serve? Ingredient-focused, based on the chef’s travels across India, sustainable…you get the gist. The brand is built around coffee, and they work with farmers across the Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh. You will get more details on the website.

I was looking forward to the sheep sausage on the menu. The menu had changed, and this was not there. It has been three weeks since the change, and the online menu has yet to be updated. They need to work on these fine details.

We started our meal with the roasted duck and charred spring onion bruschetta and loved how soft bites of juicy duck meat peeped out of the greens. The bread used was nice, too—it is baked in-house. We had a nice fresh salad whose name I can’t remember.

The charred prawns, cooked in Naga Sichuan pepper with pickled onions, were a beautiful dish. The prawns were fresh and juicy, and the sauce was light with the odd bite of tongue-numbing pepper. The Araku ramen with prawns offered a different flavour profile with its chilly oil base and umami flavours.

We happened to meet the chef during the meal. His name is Rahul. He recommended we try the campfire bread, seasoned with whatever is unused in the kitchen. It was nice. He convinced us to go for dessert, specifically the brown butter cake and the mahu ice cream. The cake was lovely, but what was memorable was the mahua ice cream, which packed quite a punch.

The coffee was excellent. K had a cappuccino. I had a macchiato. She later went to the Bangalore outlet and praised her shakshuka and the coffee there.

Thus ended our SOBO vacation, and we headed home. Satiated? Not entirely. It’s never enough. Happy to be back home? Definitely! Waiting for the next one? Of course!

 

Appendix

8. Mag ST

Mag ST  is one of our favourite places in town. This was our only SOBO vacation, and we did not go to Mag ST. We even ordered their bakes when we stayed at the Oberoi. This was before retail outlets were allowed to open, and they sold their bakes at Mag St. We skipped Mag St this time simply because we had no slots left. We chose Neuma for K’s birthday Eve dinner, which turned out to be a bit li down compared to when we went there the last time. I will not get into the details as this article celebrates our favourites.

We love the vibe at Mg ST, whether at lunch or dinner. We have never gone there for breakfast. We love their iconic lobster roll—the lobster roll at Lyla, BKC, has more lobster, though! They also have burgers, coffees, salads, crab cakes, etc.

We have never ordered anything at Mag ST that we did not like. They have opened in our neighbourhood of Bandra. I went there once for breakfast when I had a lovely Goan Chorizo breakfast, and once for tea, where I had a super Goan chorizo puff with an espresso. The espresso came with a small biscuit. I loved that. K and I always feel that cafes. It would be best to give a little nibble with coffee/ tea.

I did not know this biscuit would come, so I ordered the miso chocolate chip cookie. It was soft, gooey, and pure ‘crack’. Pre-diabetic, and my severely diabetic friend polished it off. The chef should be shot.

For making something so tempting!