Julius: Phoenix Mall, Lower Parel, Mumbai Continental Restaurant

Restaurant Name: Julius: Phoenix Mall
Phone: +91 8828823987 / +919967366261
Address: S 1-4, Second Floor, Block 1, Phoenix Mall, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400013 India
Time: 12:00 Noon – 11:00 PM
Meals for two: ₹2,000
Cuisines: European, Continental, Italian
Facilities: Home Delivery, Takeaway Available, Full Bar Available, Indoor Seating, Desserts and Bakes

Julius: Phoenix Mall, Lower Parel, Mumbai: Decor

Room up to the second floor of Palladium mall into an L shaped room. Well stocked bar, a gold framed mirror with an illustration of Julius (the young version) sofas and chandeliers complete the décor.

Food:

We eat our way through Julius Caeser’s empire (North Italy, Sicily, Greece, Regional France, South Germany, and Turkey). The well-researched menu gives dish descriptions. On both our visits, the pizza, with its crispy base and generous prosciutto topping came up tops, even though it did not exist in Roman antiquity. Chef Shashwat Shivan (formerly with Indian Accent) also ensures delicious crunch with the right dressing and anchovy in the Caesar’s salad (origin rightly attributed to chef Caeser Cardini in Mexico). Depth of flavour in the lobster bisque enriched with lobster wrapped in a flaky pastry. Ask for the soft cloud of snowy buratta with rocket salad, succulent pork ribs too. Lamb morsels in a thick broth of Lamb Tagine with couscous is a hit too.

Minus Points:

While we all agreed that the awkward L shaped room did not elevate our experience, we appreciated the use of the white table cloths. The inappropriate loud music could do with tuning down. Disappointing desserts, be it the oversweet baklava or the bread and butter pudding. Rhubarb crumble was not available at one meal. Stringy green beans, mushy tagine at one meal and superb tagine at the next.

My Point: Julius: Phoenix Mall, Lower Parel, Mumbai

Julius (dedicated to Julius Caeser, more or less) is a unique concept. It goes against the popular culinary tides of fusion, Minimalism, Molecular gastronomy, veganism and what not. Atul Ruia and Prashant Issar’s brain child. The hospitality dynamo duos trajectory over recent years is itself a sign of the times, Almost a decade ago, I first met Prashant at his Mirchi and Mimi (Powaii) where the regional Indian food and service by the specially-abled were exceptional. As are Ishaara and Dobaara, Eight (Pan Asian) and Cha (VFM dim sum). Now, with the open through-the-day Julius (European), they do a clever balancing act between history and crowd-pleaser dishes. Hail Julius!