BackLounge review: Doppio Bar & Brasserie, Mumbai
Doppio has an exhaustive bar menu with a range of coffee-based cocktails, and gets most of the dishes right
Premium
Located on the second floor of a commercial building in Breach Candy, Doppio is the latest on Mumbai’s bar scene. The interiors are a hotchpotch of styles—a coffee shop-like area with comfortable high-backed couches, a dining section in the middle (with a community table and done-to-death industrial light bulbs overhead), and the bar, which is topped with mounted (hopefully fake) stag heads and leather-bound books. The playlist swings between retro and contemporary, and is quite lively.
The good stuff
Doppio has an exhaustive bar menu with a range of coffee-based cocktails, a list of “twisted libations", and the usual cocktails, wines, whiskies, etc. We tried one of their signature cocktails: The Smoked Espresso ( ₹ 550) was delightful, with Talisker Scotch, espresso, bitters and black cardamom syrup, with distinct smoked flavours giving it a woodsy touch. The Garam Masala Agave ( ₹ 500) was an unusual but flavourful combination of tequila, triple sec, citrus juices and garam masala syrup, slightly reminiscent of chai, and wholly enjoyable.
The menu is divided into soups and salads, small plates, large plates, and a limited dessert selection. All the dishes are of substantial proportions. We decided to head straight for the small plates. The filo pastry of the Spinach and Feta Spanakopita ( ₹ 350) was excellent, very thin, and baked to a perfect golden brown. The spinach and feta filling was tangy and creamy, though the accompanying smoked tomato aioli seemed like store-bought mayo, with hardly any garlic flavour. The Vietnamese Fish Tacos ( ₹ 375) were excellent (even though the fish was basa), and the stuffing of pickled carrot and papaya as well as the chilli-basil sauce gave the dish a nice freshness.
When it came to the large plates, both our non-vegetarian selections were stellar, easily our picks of the menu. The Lobster Benedict ( ₹ 950) came with two fat lobster-stuffed muffins, topped with perfectly poached eggs and creamy hollandaise. The Lamb Bolognaise Papardelle ( ₹ 525) was a hearty lamb mince with complex flavours, mixed with thick pasta strips. The pasta was garnished with goat’s cheese, which, when stirred through the ragù, added more depth and richness to it.
The dessert menu has only four choices, and we selected the Mulled Wine with Strawberries ( ₹ 400), which arrived with a massive dollop of mascarpone on top. The fresh berries steeped in the sweet-spicy wine were delectable, though there was too much cream.
The not-so-good
While Doppio gets many of the dishes right, there are some niggling issues with the accompaniments that eventually let down the dish. From among the “bar nibbles", we tried the Artichoke Pakoras ( ₹ 350), succulent pieces of artichoke coated with a light batter. However, the accompanying thecha was just a small bowl of mayo with so little of the spicy garlicky chutney stirred through that it made no difference to the taste. The Sage and Walnut Butter Gnocchi ( ₹ 325) was entirely misguided—though the gnocchi was soft and well-made, the delicate flavours of sage were completely overwhelmed by the superfluous spiced tomato coulis.
From the vegetarian large plates, we opted for the Asparagus and Ratatouille Mille-Feuille ( ₹ 525)—the puff pastry layers were too thick (almost like khari biscuits) and their buttery textures overwhelmed the filling, which itself was one layer of rather insipid mashed asparagus and a layer of mixed bell peppers. The mille-feuille stack rested in a pool of smoked paprika sauce, essentially white sauce with some flecks of paprika, and didn’t do the dish any favours. We also wish they would dial back their love for microgreens: Almost every dish arrived with the garnish, whether it added anything to the dish or not.
Talk plastic
Our meal—two cocktails, three starters, one bar snack, three mains and one dessert—cost us ₹ 6,224, all inclusive.
Doppio Bar & Brasserie, 7pm- 1.30am (will open for lunch from the end of January), 201, Hubtown Skybay, Second floor, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Breach Candy, Mumbai (tel. 022-65213331/ 7666499000).
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