Restaurant Review: The Bombay Canteen, Mumbai

Hey from EL The Cook!

Today we review "Indian Inspired!" food, served up at one of the most trending restaurants in Mumbai, The Bombay Canteen (TBC).

A blend of past and present, TBC stresses its "Indian-ness" by its self anointing motto "an adda for any occasion" or a really cool place to chill with friends.

TBC focuses on recreating familiar Indian foods and traditional recipes and showcasing them as innovative and contemporary!

A booking must be made at least a week in advance and for those planning to visit with kids, the night bookings are not available.

The 4 partners, Sameer Seth, Yash Bhanage, Floyd Cardoz & Thomas Zacharias have a vast culinary background in USA, which they put to full use at TBC.  

Outside the restaurant, a small stilt board caught our eye, in which the founders mothers, were all invited into the kitchen to make their favorite dishes! TBC likes to keep their restaurant traditional and well integrated with dishes from the past to invent their menu's of the future!

The ambiance at TBC, reflects Mumbai's colorful streets and the rickshaw parked inside the front door, leads you in to a khao galli or eat street type of feel.

Fashioned from one of Mumbai's old bungalows, the atmosphere is airy and abuzz with the latest food gossip!

The daaru-khaana or bar is jam packed with alcohol and also with vases of different pickling liquids! The colorful streamers highlight Mumbai's streets!

In the middle of the restaurant is a tree,lit up! On the tree various photographs are hung which are all the memories and inspirations to the chefs!

The menus are inspired by school registers! Floyd Cardoz, TBC's culinary director, brings his distinct touch to the menu which highlights Mumbai's seasonal produce and guarantees flavorful cooking! 

DAARU-KHAANA

GUAVA CHILI MOJITO

TBC tells a story with each of its fancy drinks. The guava chili mojito is meant to take you to Mumbai's streets where you would buy guava's from a cycle vendor. The guava is then cut into quarters and swiped with red chili powder!

TBC presents this in a green bamboo shaped glass. Earthy guava puree is combined with white rum, a dash of red chili powder and fresh mint leaves. This concoction is bulked with a bubbly glass of sprite. The resulting cocktail is sprightly and refreshing!

TAMARIND WHISKY SHAKE

TBC does push the boundaries of flavor combinations. A good example is this the Tamarind whisky shake. A local brand of whisky is combined with sweet orange and a sour lime juice. Then a tamarind pulp is added which adds an earthy, sweet sour tang! Funnily it amplifies the flavor of the orange and lime and compliments the whisky beautifully!

The citrusy taste is refreshing, mildly alcoholic and reflects the contemporary Indian palette!  

KHAANA-KHAANA

CHHOTA

CHILLED SEAFOOD BHEL

A tribute to Mumbai's epic chaat story, TBC's chilled seafood bhel is everything street with a twist of seafood! 

One of the most awaited dishes we wanted to taste, super light puffed rice is given its delicious tang with a swig of tamarind. Bits of squid and prawns slightly flavored with lemon are thrown in as a surprise!

As you take a bite, the sweet tangy flavors of raw mango burst through, crunchy textures of the bhel and sev add theater. A brilliantly thought of dish, with immaculate execution! 

MUSHROOM SEEKH KEBABS

An unexplored combination of flavors, earthy mushrooms are pureed and flavored with Indian spices like pepper, ginger, garlic, amchur and garam masala and formed into kebabs. These are then put onto skewers are placed in a tandoor!

The melt-in-mouth dish that ensues is just mind-blowing. A predominantly  meaty dish is given a vegetarian edge which is really special. The earthy mushroom is served with hot & sweet garlic chutney and a pretty kachumbar (onions, tomatoes, green chili and coriander, finely chopped) for that real desi feel!

CHEESLING JHAL-MURI

Jhal muri, a typical Bengali dish, is a chaat variant which uses mustard oil as the spice for a bhel. TBC decides to host a surprise within this chaat-standard as well!

The wait-staff does give you a fair warning of the punch of spice in this dish!

Cheeslings or puffy cheese biscuits are used as the textural replacement for puffed rice giving a lovely cheesy flavor to the spicy hit of the mustard oil. The tangy tamarind dressing adds a notable street food feel, transporting you to the cart vendors of jhal-muri in Kolkata!

GOAN SWEET SPICED GLAZED OXTAIL

This delicacy from Goa is a cut of meat which is seldom used because of its gaunt appearance! The tail cut of cattle is bony and gelatinous. We were skeptical to order it because it is a cut usually used in soups and stews.

However we decided to risk it because it is TBC! The generous helping of meat, is as delicious to taste as its looks! The oxtail is super-slow cooked and is comparable to the best pulled pork we've tasted! The smokiness of flavor and the sure depth of Goan spices used, had us flawed!

The gelatinous cut of meat is super tender and the sticky glaze is sweet and finger-licking good!

The Delhi carrots add a lovely sweetness to the dish which is complemented by an earthy Sunday Pulao! 

BANANA LEAF ROASTED RED SNAPPER WITH STEAMED COCONUT RICE

TBC, reflects on Mumbai's affair with its coast by throwing up this wonderfully flavor laden meal! A delicious Red Snapper is marinated in rich Kerala tomato paste and cooked in the healthiest way possible; steaming!

The rich tomato and Kashmiri chili flavors infuse beautifully in the salty Snapper flesh, leaving you tongue-tied as it gracefully hits your palette!

Served with a side of freshy steamed coconut flavored rice which have been infused with delicate banana leaf flavors. The combination is rustic and coastal. TBC does well to showcase Kerala on a plate! 

MUSTARD CHICKEN CURRY WITH MALABAR PARATHAS

A combination from the East and South of the country, the spicy mustard curry is toned down with a luscious hung curd gravy. The paratha is a Keralite tradition and is really hard to find! It resembles its North cousin, the Laccha Paratha but more distinct in terms of crunch and flakiness, bought by adding egg to the dough.

The combination of the paratha and curry is ecstasy on the palette with a flaky thin layers of the paratha entrapping the succulent chicken, heaven on a plate!

SWEET DISHES 

COFFEE RASGULLA

TBC's most delicious inventions are by far its dessert course! First up their coffee flavored rasgulla. A typical Bengali sweet, rasgulla is made of cottage cheese and semolina dough, cooked in a light sugar syrup. Add coffee to the mix and it becomes an explosion of flavors!

The soft succulent balls become mini coffee bombs in your mouth! Served with a side of super gorgeous salted caramel ice-cream which compliments the rich coffee flavor beautifully. Textural elements are found in the crunchy peanut chikki, adding further sweetness and balancing the coffee and saltiness of ice-cream!

GULAB NUT

A gulab-jamun on steroids? With a dash of Old Monk Rum? Dessert ecstasy touches new heights with this TBC invention. The good ol' gulab-jamun is soaked in that smoky old favorite rum, Old Monk! The rich khoya (evaporated milk solids) is flavored with cardamom and rum creating a to-die-for dessert!

As if that isn't enough, the moist ball is stuffed with delicate pistachio cream and garnished with a light pistachio crumb to create, well the best, darn gulab-jamun ever.

ULTA-PULTA PINEAPPLE CAKE

The pineapple upside down cake is a lovely dessert! At TBC however it becomes an indulgent dessert. The super moist cake is topped with a gorgeously inviting caramelized pineapple slice! Served with a side of luscious vanilla ice-cream with actual vanilla seeds, just adds to the richness of the dessert.

To be truthful we were super full from the inventive desserts, but when a traditional dessert is as good as this, you can't resist taking a bite!

The Bombay Canteen, truly celebrates Indian cuisine by transforming age old classics into contemporary inventive dishes. The marrying of familiar flavors in unfamiliar ways takes you on a treacherous unexplored path with delicious consequences!

With each dish or drink,a unique story unfolds, so effortlessly mingling Mumbai's culture with its food!

A bigger picture is painted of the robustness of Indian cuisine that even with such impressive tweaks, the flavors which you experience are of the highest caliber!

The Bombay Canteen, showcases some unique flavor expertise and inventiveness, which we love!

EL The Cook recommends a visit to The Bombay Canteen to really refresh the way you look at Indian Cuisine!