Indigo

Critic´s Review

• Food: 3.5 / 5
• Service: 3.5 / 5
• Decor: 4 / 5

-By Rashmi Uday Singh

Though the buzz in Mumbais first stand-alone restaurant to serve truly international cuisine is slowing down, it still keeps reinventing its menu, keeps up its consistency. Its decor is beginning to fray and its bare walls, sandstone flooring, simple polished teak furniture, offset by a few splashes of colour need refreshing. In cool nights, sit on the open-air terrace, there's a wooden-roofed,living room-style lounge too. It has one of the best wine lists in Mumbai. Declared "one of the 60 best restaurants in the world" by Conde Naste Traveller, it's been the haunt of celebrities from Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to the Clintons. Indigo draws strong creative inspiration from France, Italy, the US and India. The ingredients are seasonal and very fresh. We try the robust Lamb 'n' Lima Bean Stew, the fancified Pickled Beet Carpaccio, an interestingly paired Rawas with Kerala Moilee-inspired Sauce and an impeccably made steak. A must-try (still) is the hot dessert souffle (thankfully they've taken off the outlandish Paan and Gajar Halwa dessert) but by large their desserts are outstanding, especially the Chocolate Jalapeno Fondant. The menus (bar snacks, lunch and dinner) are different and change seasonally. So by the time you read this, Chef Irfan Pabaney might have changed it again! Rahul and Malini Akerkar's restaurant in a colonial bungalow in the leafy bylanes of Colabarn(behind the Taj) continues to magnetize its die hard regulars, while the rest of the fickle Mumbaikars continue to search for new pastures. P.S. Try the all-you-can-eat-and drink Sunday Brunch ((Rs1,800 plus taxes) with live jazz. The attached bar has lost its sizzle somewhat. Indigo now offers an express lunch option with your choice of soup, veg/non-veg appetizer, main course (four veg and non-veg options) and dessert (two options) that can be prepared within 45 minutes if you're in a hurry.