Oriental Mansion Building, Opp Regal Cinema, Colaba.
Tel: 22815428/9
Meal for 2: Rs 1,500
Rating: ****
An atmospheric Irani restaurant. A trendy cafe. A popular coastal seafood eatery—the newest baby in Colaba was all this before being reborn as Bombay Vintage, a restaurant specialising in fusion food. It’s a cosy space with bare brick walls, marble-topped tables, old film posters, antique transistors and clunky telephones.
To start with, the menu appears baffling. It features burgers and Mangalorean curries, pizzas and biryanis. But the helpful staff steer us to the fusion dishes.
The memorable meal begins with complimentary shots of yummy, creamy roasted pumpkin soup. Then, the starters. The neer dosa rolls (Rs 265), stuffed with sukka chicken and served with a chilli mayo, are excellent. The bacon-wrapped prawns (Rs 354) arrive with an unusual prune mayo and are delicate and delicious. The fried calamari (Rs 225) is served on a bed of crunchy red cabbage and pickled carrot and is perfectly cooked, while the sabudana croquettes (Rs 175) are crunchy-soft and wonderful with the flavourful peanut sauce. The main dishes are as enjoyable. The mutton misal (Rs 265) arrives in a tiffin box, after which the fiery red mutton curry, pieces of kori roti and chivda are mixed at the table to create a non-veg version of the veg classic. The fish pulimunchi (Rs 345) is served with light neer dosas. While the pork chop (Rs 395) is top notch. The only disappointments are the stodgy, herby bullseye steak burger (Rs 395) and the mascarpone sandwich with rabdi. But the sizzling brownie, topped with kulfi and butterscotch, (Rs 225) makes up and makes sure that we will return.