By Nisha & Aakash
There was a time when we at Kara Tales would excitedly pour through CNT and Architectural Digest and look at all the exciting restaurants that we had yet to be able to visit for lack of money, time and because they seemed like far away magical places only the most rarefied of personalities could visit. We’d eagerly make lists in our little diaries, or notes app fantasising about the day they could be ticked off. Over time as the list became repetitive and we were able to visit a few, the list began to seem more and more like a sham. Nowhere was this most apparent than in the most recent incarnation when the overrated Indian Accent (appeared not once but twice!) and Masque, whose head chef Prateek Sadhu left to set up Naar, appeared at number 3. Bombay Canteen and O’Pedro again? I would go back to Bombay Canteen only for their Tamarind Whiskey cocktail and honestly I think I am super close to cracking that recipe at home. Ever since Chef Tzac left, there have been almost 0 new items on the menu. Bandra Born? I have had better chicken puffs at my neighbourhood cooperative housing society meeting. And the less said about Veronica’s the better.
More than anything the writers, or jury, or the people who paid to be on the list, seem to think that no good restaurant exists outside the four metros, or without paying upwards of several thousand rupees at the bare minimum. We’ve been to some, loved some, liked a few, hated quite a few.
Here’s our take and a list of alternative choices.
Any stall outside Nizamuddin over Indian Accent in New Delhi.
Noronha’s food truck over Bomras (even though we had one of the most succulent pork dishes at this establishment). Also the service is terrible!
Naar (over Masque because after Prateek Sadhu left its a shell of a space and no I do not want to take a selfie in the kitchen mid-meal and if I want butter garlic crab inspired by the chef’s childhood of going to Trishna I will just eat it at Trishna)
Avartana surely reimagined South Indian cooking but why do we need this reimagined when every nook and corner of Tamil Nadu is culinary haven!
I knew Sienna would make it. I would have lost my mind if Sienna didn’t make it. Now there is a concept I can get behind. I want to see Sienna and Chef Auroni and his team whip up magic each season. I sit in Bangalore, some afternoons and crave the Makha Sondesh. A friend sampled the Pujo menu and could only grin ear to ear recounting the dishes.
Lupa is beautiful and for the most part quite good. The cocktails are good and the food is alright. I am sure I’ve had an equally good taco for much cheaper. Same with the gnocchi. But the desserts were terrible which was so disappointing because conceptually they sounded amazing.
Go to an actual Mumbai college/police/government office/gymkhana canteen over The Bombay Canteen (The vibes are immaculate and the misal pav and thalipeeth and Indian chinese and kheema is outta this world and we are tired of hearing about The Bombay Canteen)
O Pedro has a really good hot sauce and we are friends with one of the bartenders so okay we’ll leave it on but this is a non-recommend recommendation.
Chicken mayo roll from any Bandra Cafe, Roast beef sandwich from Andrews Auditorium, any cheese frankie or bombay masala toast over Veronica’s.
Americano’s is relatively new and has good corn ribs so fine and it is the only interesting restaurant in Kala Ghoda
Izumi for that one Mezcal cocktail that rules them all in Mumbai.
Bengaluru Oota Company for the outstanding food, the location and because the owner-chef sits and talks to you about food while being engaging and non-pretentious.
Seefah is just overrated.
Avoid The Table. Take a ferry to Alibaug and stuff your face with pomfret fry and mandeli and crab.
I am quite excited to see For the Record make the cut yet again this year. It is truly a dining and drinking experience unlike any other in Goa. The cocktails are inventive in a way that they never are, anywhere else. I remember the previous team whipping up a sinful feni based kokum curry leaf cocktail called soul curry! I am infamous for having thrown down one too many of them, one evening. The seaweed dusted potato wedges are a gift to mankind. The black garlic tart, I believe that’s how a toddler feels when he has that first bite of a chocolate cake. And the pides are pure comfort. The current cocktail favorite among friends is the Goencho Dukor!
We have been told by reputed sources that Izumi in Goa is way worse than Izumi in Bandra ( and even more reputable sources that the sushi at Izumi in Bandra is far too overrated). What sets most people down the rabbit hole of sushi in Mumbai is Global Fusion because it has unlimited sushi that could give you food poisoning and then if you ever have the chance to eat good sushi (by going to Japan or making it yourself you come to realise that no place in Mumbai has good sushi, and maybe even India)
Edible Archives, despite the pretentious tagline, is one of the most non-pretentious places on this list. It should be way higher because it has only four tables, friendly staff, an even friendlier dog and the best rice congee we have ever had the pleasure of having while throwing down their fresh urrack.
Kappa Chakka Kandhari is not at all what it used to be. One of the dishes had scrap pieces of meat in it and was lacking salt. Chef Pillai’s restaurant is, perhaps, serving better food as we speak.
I cannot understand why Olive makes it to the list time and time again. Are we not over Olive? Toast and Tonic too!
Karavalli is fantastic, but so is Machli. Is overpriced menu the only criteria?
If I were to be very honest, the Boteco in Pune is much much better than the one in Bangalore. Neither the food, nor the cocktails cut it. Instead it makes you miss the Permit Room more.
Burma Burma, continues to be excellent. No questions asked. I will perhaps push it further up simply because a vegetarian Burmese restaurant, in no world should be this good but it really is.
Coromandel Cafe, though overhyped, is a decent entry from Pondicherry! I will not pass a comment on the fact that Naru and Jamun are here again. I don’t want to sound repetitive. And I shall not say anything about Oota because I have not eaten their vermicelli biryani and no opinion can be passed until that is done.
Excited to see Spirit Forward and Farmlore on the list!
NĀVU is a personal favorite. The menu rotates which makes it all the more exciting to visit ever so often. Their meat dishes are pure perfection but what is truly astounding is the vegetarian fare. Culinary art, at its finest. The miso aubergine, the cauliflower creme brulee, the beef tartare, beef carpaccio, duck agnolotti, the sunchoke dish – all mind blowing! The desserts, oh lord, don’t get me started. The chocolate cake is sinful, the open baklava is scrumptious air and the choux pastry will transport you to France.
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