Share table and meet new people while going through multiple dishes

Brioche and rye; The Shared Table dinner at Toast & Tonic

Bunches of white roses and baby's breath, fairy lights in glass sculptures and chequered napkins lay neatly placed on a table. This isn't the setting for a romantic dinner for two but a community meal for 15 strangers.

For the first anniversary of Toast & Tonic (T&T), its chefs decided to host Sharing Table, a food, drink and people-discovery dinner. This concept has been common in the West for years. Yet, it hasn't found takers in Mumbai, except for home chef pop-ups. So we are curious that a new player has started the concept. "Communal dining is a step towards rekindling the act of meeting perfect strangers over a great meal. The dinner will offer a new menu each time with its quest to deliver a fresh and innovative affair, which is the key to the dining experience at T&T," says Chirag Makwana, sous chef, who curated a bread and gin-based menu for the dinner.

Trio of Tuna On Sourdough Crackers. pics/ashish raje

The concept
Colaba's The Table was one of the early fine-dines in the city to introduce the community table, and Magazine Street Kitchen's, newer property in Byculla takes it up a notch by hosting just private and tasting-menu dinners. "It was difficult in the beginning as people were reluctant to sit next to strangers, but it's different now. The Table is in a touristy neighbourhood and a lot of solo travellers would rather eat with someone than sit by themselves. I first came across this concept in a coffee shop in London a decade ago, where they had one large table and a big pot if sugar in the middle. I felt it exuded a lot of warmth; the idea of sharing made space feel livelier. So, we added it to The Table, so those dining alone doesn't feel alone," says Gauri Devidayal, partner.

Lower Parel's The Bombay Canteen too has been hosting houseful "Daawats" since their opening in 2015. "We wanted to do a lot of exploratory dishes but putting it all on the daily menu doesn't make sense, our first Daawat was a nose-to-tail dinner during Bakri Eid. Indians love to share their food but are introverted. But when you know that the person around you has a similar passion, you are more open. We notice that as the dinner proceeds, people walk up to others and start a conversation. Plus, it's great for us to try a new dish for our main menu," says Yash Bhanage, partner. Veteran chef Rahul Akerkar feels community tables are also a space saving mechanism and set menus to ease the load on the kitchen. "The clientele at high-end restaurants usually hang out in the same social circles, so chances are that you might know the person next to you. It's a great chance for chefs to play around," Akerkar signs off.

The community setting at The Table

Classic favourites
The concept of shared tables for convenience has been common in the city for several years now, especially at Matunga's south Indian restaurants, and Maharashtrian eateries in Dadar and Parel. At any given day, a peek inside eateries such as Cafe Madras, Sharda Bhavan or Ram Ashraya in Matunga will reveal college students, residents, shop owners or professors sharing tables with ease during the peak hours.

This writer, a former student of one of Matunga's colleges, remembers one such quick lunch of onion uthappa at Sharda Bhavan, where an octogenarian we shared the table with turned out to be one of the founding board members of our college. He regaled us with the story of standing outside King George School to invite students to join the college; this, of course, was at a time when admission lists didn't close at 95 percent.

(Clockwise from top) Rahul Akerkar, Gauri Devidayal, Yash Bhanage, Chirag Makwana

The experience
We aren't regular gin drinkers, so the introduction to the art of gin drinking by the experts from the partner G&T brands makes for an apt icebreaker for us to chat with our co-diners, one of whom is a gin fan from London, and another, a long-lost friend (Akerkar's theory holds true). The guests at the other end of the table are too far for us to have a conversation. The non-vegetarians among us have better luck with the food as the veg versions of some of the dishes, such as the sourdough crackers are underwhelming. Our favourites from the five-course dinner are the sourdough toast, brioche and rye (duck breast, pumpkin brioche spread, green pea dust,gin-soaked blueberries, rye and millet stuffing) and a divine brioche toast for dessert (the avocado sorbet leaves a bitter aftertaste). For those willing to shell out Rs 4,000 (plus taxes) to meet new people, a shared table is a great concept, which the restaurant plans to host every two months.

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