First Look at F Bar, Lounge and Diner

Photo: Vikas Munipalle.

We first told you about the arrival of F Bar in Mumbai back in December 2010 when we listed it as one of 10 openings to look forward to in 2011. Now a whole year and two months after its original launch date of February 2011, F Bar, Lounge and Diner will open its doors in the third week of April. The Mumbai property, located on the third floor of the One India Bulls building in Lower Parel, will be more of a restaurant and lounge than a club with a focus on food and music (a decision based primarily on our city’s 1.30am deadline).

For the former, they have roped in Vineet Bhatia (who also helms Ziya at The Oberoi) as the consultant chef, a distinction which they’ve billed, via a sign on the staircase, as being “the first stand-alone restaurant in India” to which the Michelin-starred chef has lent his name (evidently, they’re not counting Azok at the Oakwood apartment complex in Juhu). For the latter, they’ve enlisted Kris Correya, the formed resident DJ at Zenzi, as the head of music programming and promotions. Emiliano Collazo, who was one of the partners of the now-shuttered Bandra institution, is the general manager, while mixologist Shatbi Basu was charged with the creation of the drinks menu. The approximately 10,000 square feet split-level establishment has been designed by architect Sameep Padora, whose projects include the Palladium outpost of Indigo Deli, and Opa and Le Monde in Juhu.

By their own admission, the folks behind F Bar, Lounge and Diner, from the restaurant’s director Rajan Madhu and Sanjay Mani, the head of licensing of FashionTV in India, to Collazo, the space has a decidedly more subdued feel than its blingy Delhi counterpart. The various rooms are linked in typical Padora-esque style via black DNA-strand resembling panelling, made of fiber-reinforced plastic, that features on both the ceiling of the upper level and behind the bar below.

You will be able to buy a Kingfisher here, and though menu pricing was still being finalised when we visited, Collazo said that the price of the beer will be higher than that “of Hawaiian Shack and lower than that of a five-star hotel”. The meals too are expected to be cheaper than at Ziya, with a 50-50 split between Bhatia’s Indian fusion fare and Mediterranean options including tapas, pizzas and pastas. They also plan to serve set lunches targeted at the office crowd working at One India Bulls.

Correya said the music will be “laid-back yet funky lounge” until 10pm, after which he and his team of DJs, among them Kini Rao, Mikhail and Amul, will spin a mix of house, hip hop, funk, R&B and jazz. Live gigs are likely to be held on Sunday afternoons, while a slew of non-music related activities are scheduled during the first couple of months. They include fashion shows, workshops for aspiring visual jockeys, art exhibitions and film screenings. “Zenzi had a lot of artists, filmmakers who were just breaking through,” said Collazo. “Now you take those people five years later and you have our target audience. [They’re] a little bit older, a little bit more comfortable and a little more established.”

Unlike at Zenzi, you won’t be allowed to enter in shorts or slippers—the dress code is “smart casual”—but Collazo promised that stags will be welcome and said that there will be a cover charge, which is yet to be finalised. And if you’re wondering where the fashion element comes in, the team say they will spotlight a “fashion celebrity” (designers, stylists and even supermodels) every fortnight, and offer a “week-long experience” centred around them by including their favourite foods and cocktails on the menu and playing their favourite music.

F Bar, Lounge and Diner, which was slated to open on Thursday, April 19, is now scheduled to open on Friday, April 27.

F Lounge and Diner

LocationThird Floor
Next to Gold's Gym
One India Bulls
Senapati Bapat Marg
Elphinstone Road

HoursDaily, from noon to 1.30am