Restaurant Review: Apicius

The biggest draw at Apicius, Andheri’s new rooftop restaurant which derives its name from an ancient Roman recipe book, is the al fresco lounge, perched on the eighth floor of a commercial building off Link Road. The view from its tall windows is that of the concrete and glass suburb, but thankfully at that height you’re spared its cacophonous sounds. The defining feature of this slate-walled, wood furnished section is a square-shaped bar built smack in the centre of the sprawling room that can comfortably accommodate 150 people. When dusk sets in, we imagine it would be the perfect setting for a night of revelry. We say “imagine” because the lounge wasn’t operational when we visited (it is slated to open today, Friday, May 4, but we recommend calling to confirm). We ate our meal in the indoor restaurant section, which has the same slate and wood décor, with the unfortunate addition of tacky glass chandeliers suspended over each table.

Even though about 85 per cent of their menu is made up of Italian staples like pizzas, pastas and risottos, Apicius, like many new Juhu and Andheri establishments, bills itself as a Mediterranean restaurant. Dishes such as lamb kibbeh; shish kebab; and shish taouk comprise the remaining 15 per cent. Alas, no cuisine was particularly well executed. The minced lamb was woefully dry in the deep-fried kibbeh and its breadcrumb batter far too thick. We left most of our pesto pizza, which was topped with zucchini, artichoke, and pecorino shavings. The crust was soggy and what the menu claimed to be fresh pesto tasted acutely salty and seeped in oil as bottled pesto tends to be. The cannelloni fiorentina, stuffed with spinach and ricotta and blanketed with a thick and creamy tomato sauce, lifted our spirits but only momentarily. The shabbily presented dajaj mousakan was a flaky Frankie-style paratha stuffed with chunks of boiled chicken generously powdered with sumac, which was also dusted all over a heap of chopped onions untidily placed over the wrap. Apart from the slightly acidic taste of the sumac, the dish was flavourless.

Dessert saved our meal from being entirely forgettable. We loved the creamy tiramisu for its intense coffee flavour, and were impressed that the chef had made the pistachio-studded baklava from scratch. It was a good, rich baklava but not a perfect one because we could taste the ghee brushed on the sticky sheets of filo pastry. We then left Apicius with the feeling that Andheri has got yet another mediocre resto-lounge, albeit a relatively better looking one.

A meal for two costs approximately Rs2,700 without alcohol. This review was conducted anonymously.

Apicius

LocationBlue Wave Building
Eighth Floor
Near the Renault Showroom
Off Link Road
Andheri (West)

Phone2673 4337

HoursDaily, noon to 3.30pm and 7pm to 1.30am