Classic goes chic: This new Mumbai café serves old school favourites in a contemporary setting

Café Reed by The Quorum

FOOD Scrumptious

SERVICE Attentive

AMBIENCE Breezy

COST Moderate

VERDICT Good

THERE'S something about the idea of a members-only private club that gets our goat. Maybe, it's the imagery of a stuffy place where snooty people get together, inhaling their exclusive brand of rarefied air that has stoked our prejudices.

And so, we were pleasantly surprised to hear that the recently-launched Café Reed is nothing like that at all. As part of The Quorum that bills itself as "the country's first home-grown private club", this all-day dining café - that's open to walk-ins and non-members as well - is like a refreshing gust of breeze.

Sitting eight floors above terra firma, ensconced within panels of glass, this airy café has a botanical motif running through its interiors that is referenced by potted plants, chintzy wallpaper and lotus pad-shaped mesh pendant lighting. While one section of the café features a shelf of coffee table books under the CMYK imprint that are on sale, an entire wall functions as a mini gallery. Black and white prints by contemporary photographer Rohit Chawla are also on sale, in collaboration with art advisory firm, Artery India.

But it's art of the edible kind that caught our fancy. Café Reed's menu that primarily features European classics along with a few Indian and Pan Asian options - as well as a range of breakfast dishes - is a straightforward one devoid of frou-frou and drama that we've been seeing a lot of at most new restaurants that we've visited.

French Onion Soup

The French onion soup (Rs 450) is a superb example of a classic done right. The intense, savoury flavour of the caramelised onions in a rich brown broth served as the perfect foil to the creaminess of the croûte sitting atop the bowl. It featured Gruyère cheese melted over a disc of toasted bread.

Next, we took a short detour to Japan with our choice of drink. The yuzu mint sour (Rs 275) was a zesty, non-alcoholic drink headlined by the Japanese citrus fruit, lime, mint and demerara sugar. It was topped off with a splash of ginger ale for a spicy finish.

Oven Roasted Spring chicken; Yuzu Mint Sour (right)

For the mains, we returned to the comforts of another classic. This time, we called for the oven roasted spring chicken (Rs 795) made in the traditional French poulet rôti style. What we got was a perfectly made half bird that was unbelievably succulent, replete with crispy skin bursting with flavour. Accompanying this was a trio of sautéed veggies in the form of buttered asparagus spears, red radish rounds and broccoli florets. The choice of sauce that came with it was a punchy red peppercorn jus that shone with the almost raw mango-like taste of the pepper berries. And though our chicken came with a side of creamy mashed potatoes, we couldn't resist calling for some more (Rs 250). It was ridiculously good and more-ish.

Basil Panna Cotta

Sitting pretty in a jaunty, retro-style coupe glass, our dessert for the afternoon was a delicate basil panna cotta (Rs 375) and a fitting final act to a memorable meal. The tart top layer of raspberry coulis provided an acidic balance to the clean, herbaceous taste of basil and the milky richness of the set custard, while the shortbread cookie crumbs offered much-appreciated texture to this Italian dessert.

AT Café Reed by The Quorum, One World Center, Tower 2A, 8th floor, Parel.

TIME 8 am to 12 am

CALL 7208898778

CAFE REED DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE THERE. THE GUIDE REVIEWS ANONYMOUSLY AND PAYS FOR ITS MEALS.