Indian Accent Mumbai review: New outpost, same ambition

Floor-to-ceiling glass walls line the length of Indian Accent Mumbai at NMACC, Bandra Kurla Complex. (Photo courtesy Rohit Chawla)

There’s no denying that Manish Mehrotra's Indian Accent, launched 14 years ago at The Manor in Delhi’s Friends Colony, is a flagbearer for progressive Indian fine dining. Promoted by hospitality hitmaker Rohit Khattar, it heralded the concept of a multi-course Indian tasting menu presented in an avant-grade setting and paired with luxurious wines. It took Indian food beyond the trinity of butter chicken, kabab and biryani - Indian Accent went on to become India’s first entry in Restaurant magazine’s 100 World’s Best List, generally regarded as the definitive list of the world’s 100 best restaurants.

That was 14 years ago. Since then, the term ‘progressive’ has been misappropriated by chefs unleashing foams of all kinds, spraying liquid nitrogen and blow torching almost everything that lands on the table. But Indian Accent kept evolving (with an outpost in New York) and is still going strong. “Fourteen years ago when we started, guests were not used to experimenting with Indian food. Now with so many new restaurants doing inventive Indian food, people are much more adventurous. Those who have dined with us in Delhi and are familiar with our food can be our mentors. I can say we have eyes on us,” says head chef Rijul Gulati, Mehrotra’s protege of eight years and the man in charge of the newly opened Indian Accent in Mumbai’s Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, BKC.

Head chef Rijul Gulati in the show kitchen in private dining room II at Indian Accent Mumbai. (Photo courtesy Rohit Chawla)

The first thing you notice on entering the capacious dining hall are the floor-to-ceiling glass walls. They line the length of the restaurant and bring the playfully dancing fountains outside at an arm’s length. It makes for great eye candy but only till the first course arrives – little naans crammed with blue cheese and served with a warming and velvety corn soup. An assortment of chaats - smoked eggplant on banana chips, dilli papdi chaat and chhole bhature - follows. The à la carte menu at Indian Accent Mumbai features many of the iconic dishes from the Delhi outpost. There is chilli hoisin duck kulcha, dal moradabadi, lotus root papdi, etc.

Burrata chaat, lotus root papdi, mustard tomato jam (Photo credit: Chef Manish Mehrotra)

The small plates are a must-try. The smoked duck shaami comes with crispy sevai and tangy barberry chutney. The murgh malai and gobindobhog feels like a risotto but also comfortingly Indian. A whisper of freshly shaved truffles takes it a notch up. Yes, a meal at Indian Accent comes with a non-negotiable side order of back stories. But it’s unnecessary. The dishes themselves have a potency and speak for themselves.

Some dishes come with a wink: crabs in a XO balchao sauce paired with Lilliputian ladi pao spiked with chilies. Or pork ribs dressed up with chunda (sweet mango pickle from Gujarat) - the tongue picks up the tang from raw mangoes, sweetness from cardamom and bite from the chillies. The food is playful, but tasty.

Indian Accent Mumbai is slickly kitted out with works of photographer Rohit Chawla. There are also two private dining rooms for family gatherings, client dinners, etc.

Daulat ki Chaat; and (right) XO balchao sauce with Lilliputian ladi pao spiked with chilies. (Photo courtesy Rohit Chawla)

The restaurant is yet to get its liquor licence, but there is an array of whimsical mocktails to choose from. For dessert, there is an astonishingly good Doda Burfi (a dessert from Haryana and Rajasthan) served as a traditional British treacle tart along with vanilla ice-cream. But have you even eaten at Indian Accent if you haven’t had the highly Instagrammed Daulat ki Chaat? The cloud-like milk treat that comes ensconced in faux currency notes simply disappears on the tongue.

Pistachio chandrakala, lachha rabri, white chocolate (Photo credit: Chef Manish Mehrotra)

Fact file

Entry for those aged 10 and above.-

Meal for two: Rs 3,000 plus taxes without alcohol. Chef’s Tasting Menu: Rs 3,900 (veg); Rs 4,400 (non-veg)

Address: Gate 11, Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, BKC, Mumbai.

Reservations: +91-22-35251500/ reservations.mum@indianaccent.com