Opinion by Roshni Bajaj Sanghvi; Food, travel and design journalist
Brunch is back in Mumbai, and it’s better, and more grown up. Until even five years ago, the city was known for its epic eat-and-drink-all-you-want brunches from which we rolled out on our bellies. They typically started just after 11 in the morning, and offered great deals. These meals are still available at some establishments, but they’re now few and far between, and hardly as popular as they were in the last decade. Instead, brunch has become more sophisticated, less sloppy, more defined and less debauched. Restaurants have created à la carte, thoughtfully curated, finely calibrated brunch menus that offer quality over quantity, choice instead of chafing dishes, and this is quite a good thing.
Nothing exceeds like excess
When Olive (Bandra), the erstwhile Indigo (Colaba) and Shiro (Parel), and hotel restaurants like Lotus Cafe at JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu were the most popular places to brunch in Mumbai, boundless brunch was at its peak. It was the most popular meal of the week, one where all the coolest people showed up, as AD Singh, founder of Olive, and a leading light in India’s restaurant industry recently said to me during a chat. The brunch model was an elaborate buffet where people sat for hours and enjoyed themselves. It was typical to have up to 40 items available – overflowing cheese and cold cut stations, soups, salads, appetisers, canapés, hot foods from the kitchen, all manner of eggs, plenty of bread, often oysters, and then live stations with rich, meaty main courses, followed by an array of dessert options. Alongside, there would be dozens of robust cocktails, shots, champagne, and every kind of spirit. Englishman Guy Beringer, who invented the term in his 1895 essay, Brunch: A Plea, may or may not have approved. For him, the idea of this meal was to chase away hangovers moving from lighter bites, to heavier plates, alongside a couple of spirited hangover remedies.
The pick of the brunch
In Mumbai, all of us have since moved on from this feckless excess – as diners, restaurateurs, and chefs. For diners, the idea of inhaling very similar spreads left out in vast quantities for multiple hours is now tiresome. For restaurants, the wastage that came alongside the extravagance has stopped making sense, all things considered: rising food costs, the effort and complexity of its preparation, and the impact of food waste on the environment. Over time, this Sunday-obliterating archetype has become uninteresting, and the meal lost its appeal.
But brunch is coming back, and the best ones are firmly set in the now. The offerings are still generous and decadent but they are more refined, and available à la carte so that diners have more choice.
Chef Rahul Akerkar, who founded the now-shut Indigo (Colaba) 20 years ago, for many years hosted the city’s fanciest and booziest brunch. At his latest property Qualia (Parel), he’s employed the restaurant’s wood-fired oven and hearth to recently launch BBQ Sundays. It’s the sort of menu that, Akerkar says, may prompt you to call a cardiologist after the meal. There are blueberry pancakes with honey fermented berries, an eggless avocado Benedict, fresh wood-fired pizzas, and a great deal of grills: plantain hot dogs with pickled corn; oven roasted clams with tarragon beurre blanc and sourdough, wood-fired cornbread, rhubarb-apricot glazed ribs, and jalapeño-mango wings. Signature cocktails come in pitchers. Brunch lasts all day, from 11 in the morning to 11 at night, and is accompanied by a live band.
At The Bombay Canteen (Lower Parel), the menu reflects the restaurant’s philosophy of celebrating regional Indian foods. An à la carte menu offers nargisi Scotch eggs, Kundapur ghee roast chicken Benedict, desi yogurt granola, and salem mutton kalaki with sevai upma. A thela (trolly) offers punch, or varieties of Bloody Mary, including one with basil and chilli.
At Sequel (Bandra and Kala Ghoda), which encourages clean and sustainable eating, brunch-goers get kale chips, chia pudding, and burrata and sauerkraut bowls. Japanese restaurant Mizu (Worli) has switched its Sundays to a “yoshuku” brunch menu which includes Japanese food inspired by Western influences.
The brunches leading into 2020 are chef-led experiences, tying perfectly into the philosophy of the restaurant serving them. They’re meant for indulgence, but not gluttony. The new brunch allows us to eat well, to congregate and converse, but to also continue having a good, productive Sunday.
