So what is Papa’s all about? What happens inside it?
Papa’s, if you are living under a rock and didn’t know, is a 12 seater ‘counter restaurant’ located in Bandra in Mumbai. It is helmed by chef Hussain Shahzad, the executive chef of Bombay Canteen and O Pedro from the same group. Papa’s has just completed a year and has become the talk of the town in the restaurant industry. The accolades and awards it has won in such a short time warrant a trophy room, not just a chest. It is not easy to get a table there as they have just 12 places per seating and 4 seatings in a week, assuming Chef Hussain is present. This has created a sense of mystery around the restaurant. You are curious to know why it is so well regarded but have no way of knowing so. Unless you are supper-lucky when the booking slots open at the start of the month. Kainaz tried over a couple of months but did not manage. I finally snagged a couple of seats after trying for long, using ‘connections.’ We paid for our meal.
We went there a couple of weeks back. We walked down to Veronica’s, the premium sandwich deli owned by the same group. It is located in one of the bylanes of the suburb of Bandra. They have renovated the old Jude Bakery building and set up base there. Jude is one of the oldest bakeries in Bandra.
We climbed up a flight of stairs to reach Papa’s. The name is a tribute to the late chef Floyd Cardoz, the founder chef of the Hunger Inc. group.
The floor is divided into two sections. We were first led to the bar, where we were welcomed by Harish, who was in charge of the bar. You pay per drink, over and above the meal. I had a pizza marinara, and K had a tom yum. Both were mocktails (we don’t drink alcohol), and we were given an apple cake drink shot as a welcome drink. What was amazing was how each drink replicated the flavour profile of the dish it was named after.
Our dinner started at the bar with a sweet and savoury starter set, including a fantastic foie gras laddoo(!). We were told that the menu was influenced by Chef Hussain’s Bohri background (hence the start of the meal with a sweet as in a Bohri thaal) and his South Indian roots (which is why the biryani he made later was the Ambur biryani of Tamil Nadu.
We chatted with a couple of our fellow guests while we waited, and once all 12 guests arrived, we were led to the dining section.
That’s when Chef Hussain took over. His effusiveness, storytelling skills and impish sense of humour made the evening what it was. But make no mistake, behind his characteristic smile and easygoing manner lay the heart of a perfectionist. One got glimpses of this in the way he checked each dish element before it was served, be it the food or the plating; he even wiped anything that you might have spilt on the table.
Hussain is a hands-on skipper, and his spirit inspired the kitchen and service team to go a few notches above their best. We were seated at the corner, and I enjoyed the bird’s eye view of the cooking station. It was fascinating to see the synergy on display; it was all hands on deck and teamwork at its best.
The food was innovative and featured some of the best ingredients from across the country. The flavours were mostly (pan) Indian, though not always in a familiar way.
The vibe was that of being at your friend’s place on a Sunday for lunch.
Oh, and if you have a friend who can make modaks stuffed with some of the most perfectly balanced char siu pork that I’ve had, fresh green peas with churpi (mountain cheese) infused soup, a juicy and creamy rabbit seekh kebab, a silken nihari gravy with bheja pakora, grilled duck, or an ice cream sandwich with blue cheese-flavoured ice cream, then can you get me a Sunday lunch invitation to their place?
As you might have guessed, that was a sample of what we ate that evening.
Is Papa’s worth saving up for and queuing up for? Given the experience and food, I’d say yes. As in the case of tasting menus, there were some dishes we loved and some we liked; nothing we disliked. The food was not of the highfaluting sort that asked you to over-intellectualise. It was just food meant to be enjoyed, to send you home happy and satiated.
Kudos to Hussain and the team for creating an experience that stands out in a crowded dining out scene.
