Has this south Indian restaurant and bar in Kamala Mills made the cut?

Kadipatta Katal Prawn

Restaurant Review
Food: Tasty
Ambiance: Colourful
Service: Courteous
Cost: Higher side
Verdict:

Kamala Mills, home to some of the most innovative restaurants in Mumbai, is a tough riddle to crack. And the newest restaurant aiming to be part of the buzzing scene is South High Kitchen & Bar.

Karanga Idli

Rasam rendezvous
Barely a week old, the restaurant is going all out to draw in diverse foodies by offering sadhya lunch on a banana leaf in the afternoon for office hours, tea-time snacks, a bar menu that offers alcohol by the bottle and quarter and a south Indian food menu that also has a small non-south Indian section in case patrons miss their Punjabi chicken curry at a South Indian restaurant.

As we settled into the space for a weekday dinner, the decor upped our mood instantly. With its stone top tables, wooden benches and cheeky writings on the wall, it was the perfect mix of kitsch and simplicity. The menu covers all the four southern states, and includes a fair spread for meat lovers (no beef). We started our exploration with Anarasa (Rs 325, prices exclusive of taxes). A combination of rasam and pineapple juice sounded astounding on the menu but translated excellently on the table. The tart sweetness of the pineapple and the heat of the rasam complemented each other. Tempted to experiment a bit more, we ordered another desi twist beverage, Coorgi Mudslide (Rs 445). True to its name, the cocktail, with its filter coffee, date syrup and rum mix, glided smoothly on our taste buds.

The interiors are colourful yet easy on the eye

We took a few extra minutes to pick our food from the vast menu - Karanga Idli (Rs 195) and Kadipatta Katal Prawn (Rs 455) for appetisers and Mallipuram and Dosa (Rs 355) and Kori Rotti (Rs 375) for mains. We wish that the waiting staff, though courteous, were more informative about the dishes than giving a 'less spicy, more spicy than that' description. The Karanga Idli, made in spicy Andhra-style red chilli masala is not for the weak stomached. In spite of the high spice levels, the flavours still stood out and combined with our Imli Soda (Rs 325), the dish was easy to finish. The Kadipatta Prawns and the vegetable in the Mallipuram dish were curry leaf-based dishes; thankfully both didn't taste similar. The accompanying dosas were some of the best we have had in a while. The Kori Rotti, served with a Mangalorean chicken curry and rasa, had brilliant tangy undertones.

Anarasa

Imli Soda

Kharjoora

Date with dessert
The last order for the night was Kharjoora (Rs 275) a date payasam with chocolate hazelnut ice-cream. The natural sweetness of the dates combined with the chocolate hazelnut ice cream was dreamy. Our only grudge was the presentation - it can do without the wafer chocolate roll topping and stick to being a traditional genius.

Coorgi Mudslide

With its fun interiors, good food and great cocktails, South High gets a double thumbs up. All they need is a well-informed waiting staff to be at par with their neighbours.