ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
Address: Royal Opera House, Charni Road, Mumbai India
Time: 12 Noon to 12 Midnight
Meals for two: Rs. 2,500
Cuisines: Italian
Facilities: Full Bar Available, Luxury Dining, Live Music
Rejuvenation. Revival. Restoration. (Trumpets, please!) Mumbai’s century-old historic Royal Opera House, after being closed for a six year renovation, is now (trumpets again) alive and kicking and singing and cooking. And in all this, playing center stage is the live music and the gracious venue — actually all four of them — al fresco restaurant, a cocktail bar, cafe and jazz bar.
Rejuvenation is the theme tune, and aptly my dinner companions are not only music lovers, discerning foodies but also rejuvenating healers. Firoza Moos and Meher Davis, both work wonders with their non-invasive, drug free NAET, the natural solution to eliminate allergies and helped me review “Dine at the Quarter”. Over sparkling under fairy lights. I lunched here as well. Though the al fresco was open, it was too warm and I opted to sit on the first floor air-conditioned bar (same menu).
The Quarter, Charni Road, Mumbai: DECOR
Vintage, shabby chic, retro charm and glamour oozes in all four venues. The al fresco dine is replete with indoor plants, vintage almirah at the gate and a live wood fire oven. The jazz club is evocative of Bombay of 1950s. The bright, white airy, cocktail bar and cafe with its light-weight wooden and distressed furniture, all created by the brilliant conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah, who has also restored the main building.
The Quarter, Charni Road, Mumbai: MUSIC
Music lovers, rejoice. The live music venue Blue Frog shut down but now, ace drummer Ranjit Barot and Blue Frog founders Ashu Phatak and Nakul Toshniwal have raised curtains here. Already, three Grammy Award winners (including AR Rahman) have performed here. They’re also starting ‘Late night at The Quarter’ DJ music from 11 pm to 1 am.
The Quarter, Charni Road, Mumbai: FOOD
Nico Goghavala’s menu makes for an interesting read, without doubt! Jambalaya (it’s tasty and aptly from the Louisiana home of jazz), Taco Bar (served with velvety sour cream, tangy salsa and guacamole), Cheese Bar (choice of locally sourced Buffalo mozzarella, burrata paired with vegetables), Poutine bar (The Canadian dish of French fries topped with brown gravy and cheese curds). There are ‘Red Pizzas’ and ‘White Pizzas’ (without tomato puree) dough made without yeast and baked in a wood fired oven. Dense with flavor black hummus is a must-try.
The Quarter, Charni Road, Mumbai: MINUS POINTS
Under performance marks many dishes; many others need new scripts. While the Pizza Pie is tasty, the toppings are too sparse (we tried ‘Buffalo Soldier’ and ‘Mr Nico’). Chewy Duck Carpaccio, overcooked Red Snapper; ditto for the linguini. In some dishes (compositions of cheese with anchovy, nuts, asparagus), the actors on the plate don’t seem to be communicating with each other. Inattentive and uninformed servers. Wine served at wrong temperatures. As for the desserts (we tried five). Let’s just say they didn’t jazz up our evening… their music was inaudible.
The Quarter, Charni Road, Mumbai: MY POINT
There has been a reincarnation, not only of the century-old Royal Opera House but also of the sparkling al fresco restaurant, indoor cafe and bar and jazz bar. Food plays a cameo role. For sure, many a times, food isn’t the primary consideration in deciding where to eat. Several restaurants have persuasive charms beyond the perimeter of the plate. And that’s what makes this open through the day ‘The Quarter’ perfect for meeting, lingering (child-friendly in the day too) and of course, swinging to the music. Encore!
P.S. Looking forward to SunDaze, their once-a-month pledge for sustainability at the Opera House lawns. Food, farmers market, beer, gin, fresh bread and live music from noon till sundown.
