Explore regional North Indian delicacies at a new Mumbai restaurant

The interiors of Loya Mumbai.
The interiors of Loya Mumbai.

Summary

The gourmet destination Loya Mumbai at The Taj Mahal Palace will take you on a culinary journey across regional flavours of North India

South Mumbai is witnessing a gradual rise of fine dining restaurants specialising in regional North Indian fare. Standalone space Nksha launched in Churchgate in 2023 while Waarsa, by the Aditya Birla dining group, started at the NCPA in Nariman Point in 2024. The newest entrant is Loya at The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Colaba.

Loya Mumbai opens up into a vibrant bazaar design with sand-coloured walls, Kashmiri copper work on the doors, multi-level seating and landscape art adorning the 2,700 square feet space. The first thing one will notice upon entering is a gray stone block quarried from Dholpur in Rajasthan behind which the bar team will be shaking cocktails.

Loya spreads the flag of North Indian cuisine beyond dal makhani and butter chicken, both of which don’t find a mention on the menu. Instead, patrons are served dishes such as Chulai Kebab with skewers of fresh amaranth that are coated with puffed amaranth seeds and finished in clay oven; Chapli Paratha, hand pounded minced mutton kebab with flaked paratha that’s as good as it gets; Sepu Wadi featuring Himachali split urad dal dumplings with a tomato-yoghurt sauce; and Bhangjeera Murg, which has chicken cooked in hemp seeds. The food menu highlights distinct styles of North Indian cooking—dhungar (smoking), baghar (hot oil tempering), sigdi (cooking over coal), dum (slow cooking) and using traditional earthen and metal pots for preparing dishes.

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The team shares that post their research on local culinary practices, they brought back several clay pots and iron kadhais from villages in the North for their kitchen. Also, they found some interesting variations to conventional pulses and spices to create a few dishes. “We discovered items such as white rajma in Harsil, Himachal Pradesh that is buttery-soft in texture compared to regular rajma. Then there’s the spice timbru and the yellow chilli called lakhori from Uttarakhand. Timbru is used in the dish Timbru jheenga (prawns) and the chillies go into Lakhori Murg," says chef Rajesh Wadhwa, brand chef at Loya.

Lakhori Murg at Loya Mumbai.
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Lakhori Murg at Loya Mumbai.

As for the drinks, the menu is tightly edited by beverage consultant Hemant Pathak. It is divided into five sections, Heart-Harmony, Experimentation, Authenticity, Reverence, and The Spirit with each featuring two cocktails.

The cocktails that catch my attention right away include Mulethi, Masala Whisky and the Loya Manhattan. The Loya Manhattan’s idea came from a whole day of spice market shopping in Delhi. It led to the creation of a signature amaro blend using dried mint, basil, cinnamon and other spices. Their flavours are extracted through sous vide with a neutral grain spirit, balanced with water and aged for 90 days. Complimented with Indian single malt whisky, rye whisky, sweet vermouth, spiced cherry and bitters, this is a mildly spiced Manhattan with a long finish. The Masala Whisky is another spice-forward drink with a remarkable restrain on the palate. It has rose petals, nutmeg, white pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, sumac, hibiscus, and more, that come together to create a house masala syrup. It’s mixed with bourbon, orange bitters and star anise smoke for a riff on an Old Fashioned that feels familiar yet distinct. Pathak says that the recipe for the masala syrup took him three years to perfect. This cocktail can now be batched and bottled for service as needed.

We agree the standout drink is the Mulethi. A variation of gin sour, the cocktail is made with mulethi(licorice)-infused gin, sugar and Loya citrus blend topped with a honeycomb tuile as a garnish. “Mulethi is packed with health benefits and also gives a foamy top that changes the coating and texture of the drink to perfection. I want to turn this cocktail into a modern Indian classic and I will do everything to make it happen," beams Pathak.

The Mulethi cocktail at Loya Mumbai.
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The Mulethi cocktail at Loya Mumbai.

Ultimately, this is the goal of a restaurateur, bartender or chef aiming to create a legacy. For instance, the dal bukhara from ITC’s Dum Pukht is as legendary as the restaurant. ITC, as a hotel brand, has tasted success in creating restaurant brands, such as Dum Pukht and Avartana, that have travelled to cities where the hotel chain is located.

Luxury hotels are also betting big on bar programs with places like ZLB23 at The Leela Palace in Bengaluru and Aer at Four Seasons in Mumbai featuring on prestigious award lists.

The Taj group has now entered this arena. Loya is positioned as a North-Indian food and drinks-centric place. The first Loya opened at The Taj Palace in Delhi in late 2022, followed by Bengaluru a year later, and now they have launched in one of the most competitive cities for dining.

For food enthusiasts in Mumbai, the micro trend of restaurants delving deeper into regional North-Indian cuisine will be interesting to follow even as a luxury dining destination like Loya has added to elevating its overall gourmet quotient.

Priyanko Sarkar is a Mumbai-based writer covering the F&B industry.

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