Lounge Preview | The Sahib Room & Kipling Bar, Mumbai

Colonial post

The British Raj has been well- preserved in The Sahib Room & Kipling Bar—a monocle glinting on the signboard, an old-fashioned phone at the reception, a cosy bar with a community table in the centre (and a corner ostensibly reserved for “Kipling Sahib”). Completing the colonial setting are several porter chairs, with high and enclosed backs, in the bar area. The Mumbai restaurant harks back to the age of the pukka sahib.

The Sahib Room, which replaces the Indo-Lebanese restaurant Ekayana, serves a mix of Kashmiri, Awadhi, Lucknavi and Hyderabadi cuisine (no butter chicken here!). “The focus is firmly on the flavours and less on overtly spicy and oily dishes,” says chef Paul Kinny, the group director of culinary services at Palladium Hotel.

Among kebabs, the Gilawati Kebab was the softest I have ever eaten; the meat is minced four times and lightly spiced, predominantly with clove. The Jaituni Pomfret fillet with a unique marinade of Kerala peppers and Spanish olives was a flavour surprise. On the vegetarian front, the Sabzani Paneer Tikka, stuffed with a sweet and sour prune chutney, was quite a hit, while the Chowk Ke Aloo, baby potatoes marinated in mint and curry leaves, were strictly okay. The hands-down winner was the Lahori Champein—lamb chops marinated for 12 hours in a fennel mix and grilled to perfection.

In the entrées, the meat in the Sahib Room Nalli Nihari fell off the bones of the 12-hour cooked lamb shanks. The Jheenga Anari was an odd combination of shrimp, hot tomato salsa, ginger and pomegranate seeds, but it worked well in flavour as well as texture. Vegetarians must try the Purvanchal Ka Saag, a tawa (griddle) cooked dish of mixed leafy greens, as well as the slow-cooked Dal Makhani. My pick for meat-eaters would be the Kashmiri-style Sasranga Meat—hand-pulled lamb delicately flavoured with garlic, cardamom and mace.

The entrées were served with a bread basket, of which I would recommend the Zafrani Taftan (saffron-flavoured Persian bread). The Kacche Gosht ki Biryani, an Awadhi delicacy where the meat and rice are cooked together, was equally tantalizing.

The cocktail that I was most looking forward to, the Royal Hibiscus (a blend of tequila, saffron, rose and hibiscus), was a disappointment. It had an overpowering rose scent and I couldn’t discern any hint of hibiscus; Rooh Afza fans may like it.

A meal for two, with two cocktails, two kebabs/grills, one entrée (with bread accompaniments), one biryani and one dessert costs around ₹ 5,000, plus taxes.

The Sahib Room & Kipling Bar, Level 9M Palladium Hotel, 462, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel. For reservations, call 61628000.