One of India’s top award-winning restaurants, Indian Accent, makes its way to Mumbai

When Indian Accent, helmed by chef Manish Mehrotra, opened in New Delhi back in 2009, it set off a domino effect in the Indian culinary industry. Up until that point, regional Indian food at fine-dining restaurants was served as close to its traditional avatar as possible. Indian Accent changed the game by turning beloved Indian dishes on their head, while retaining their flavours. Think naan stuffed with blue cheese, a raita spiked with wasabi, and a ‘hundred-layer’ paneer dish. The food and the concept won over the world, with the restaurant ranking #19 on the Asia’s Best Restaurants List for nine consecutive years, and finding a spot on Time Magazine’s ‘World’s 100 Greatest Places’. Now, it’s bringing all of its signature dishes, and then some, to Mumbai. This will be the celebrated restaurant’s third outpost, with a second branch in New York’s Thompson Central Park. 

Ahead, discover what’s in store for you at the restaurant. 

Enjoy Indian Accent signatures and new dishes curated especially for Mumbai

The kitchen at Indian Accent Mumbai has head chef Rijul Gulati behind the pass, who’s worked at the New Delhi Indian Accent for close to eight years. He brings the same culinary experience the restaurant is known for to Mumbai, with dishes that are Indian at heart but are given an imaginative, contemporary treatment. 

Indian Accent patrons will be pleased to find familiar dishes on the menu, think cult favourites blue cheese naan, Indian Accent shorba, and daulat ki chaat. Of course, there are other Indian Accent signatures, too, including starters like meetha achaar with green apple and the ghee roast soya boti served with an assortment of chutneys, laccha paratha, and a roomali roti pancake, most of which feature on the a la carte menu. Chef Mehrotra, culinary director of Indian Accent, and chef Gulati have also curated dishes especially for Mumbai—think burrata chaat with lotus root papdi and mustard tomato jam, the restaurant’s take on the burrata trend, or the spicy-sour gunpowder prawns that come with red rice and a smoked chilli and raw mango curry. As chef Mehrotra explains, there are more seafood and vegetarian options in the Mumbai menu, keeping in mind the region’s local produce and dining habits. There’s also a special business lunch menu, apt given the restaurant’s location is in BKC, Mumbai’s swish business district. And if you have dietary restrictions, the restaurant has vegan, gluten-free, and Jain menus as well. 

The bar menu has been curated by Varun Sharma, who also leads the award-winning bars at Comorin and Hosa, EHV’s other restaurants. In line with the Art Deco theme, the cocktails at Indian Accent are an ode to the jazz age with concoctions like brandy-forward Bombay Sling with citrus, orange, and grenadine and Raspberry Rickey made with gin, raspberry, and citrus before being topped with soda. There are plenty of wines to choose from too, with the chef’s tasting menu offering wine pairing along with the courses. 

The inviting interiors pay homage to Mumbai’s Art Deco heritage

With curved mirrors, statement lamps and light installations, rounded chairs and tables, and a warm palette, the restaurant will transport you to a bygone era. Done up by London-based Russell Sage Studio, along with EHV’s design director, Rohini Kapur, and director of development, Vikas Bhasin, the interiors are a nod to the Art Deco heritage of Mumbai, considering the Maximum City is known for having over 200 Art Deco structures, one of the most in the world, second only to Miami. The 75-seater restaurant also has two private rooms in addition to the main dining area, along with an attached interactive slow kitchen. But if you really want to take in the Art Deco interiors, enjoy a drink at the bar! 

All images: Rohit Chawla