Restaurant Week Comes to Mumbai

Koh by Ian Kittichai.

There’s good news for those who’ve long bemoaned Mumbai’s cloistered high-end food scene and its prohibitive pricing. Restaurant Week, an immensely popular concept from London and New York that offers three-course meals at fancy restaurants for a snip of their usual prices, will begin here Monday, September 6 and run through to Sunday, September 12. Started by four friends—writer Mangal Dalal, East chef Nachiket Shetye, manager of Worli wine bar and cafe Ivy Satish Shewale and former finance guy Azeem Zainulbhai—Restaurant Week will be modelled on its Western counterparts, with a prix fixe meal offered at a flat Rs1,000 (excluding taxes), for three courses drawn from the restaurants usual ala carte offerings. The foursome have roped in a nice mix of restaurants—Stella (Leela Kempinski), Indigo, Tote, Botticino (Trident, Bandra-Kurla), Koh by Ian Kittichai (Intercontinental, Marine Drive), India Jones (Trident, Nariman Point), and San Qi (Four Seasons Mumbai)—tha seem to span a geographical expanse stopping at Andheri. The idea is to reach a wider customer base, and give people who wouldn’t necessarily be able to, the opportunity to sample highlights from some of the city’s best restaurants. Reservations can be made on the site, restaurantweekindia.com, starting later today, and are available for lunch and dinner, except in the case of Stella, which is only open for dinner. You also won’t be able to make Sunday brunch reservations at Tote and Indigo. Other than that, everything’s up for grabs, though we hear most South Mumbai restaurants have put aside more tables with seating for four than for two, with around 40 per cent of seating at all venues reserved for the week-long event.