Honest review of this new Bandra eatery serving diverse flavours

Brulee basque cheese cake

Bandra's Chapel Road has a brand new restaurant that promises to take you on a global culinary adventure under one roof that offers a spectacular setting below the night sky. Owned by actors and entrepreneurs Aman Singh Deep and Monika Rathore; and content creator Deepika Shah; Thea, the three-storied eatery has been named after the Greek goddess who lords over the sun, moon, and dawn. Seeking inspiration, its interiors have been designed to reflect this theme - the ground floor is dawn; the first floor has elements of the sun; and the second floor is an ode to the moon or nightfall.

In the evening, the paper art on the ceiling gives a look of a night sky with clouds. Pics/Aishwarya Deodhar

When we entered the place, magnitude was what came to mind. The ground floor seating has the patisserie, which is perhaps more suited for business meetings or quick stopovers with friends. We dropped by for lunch on the first level that also houses the bar. The top floor is a terrace space that comes to life at night.

We began our meal with a bowl of cream of 4 mushroom soup with truffle oil (Rs 320), which tasted rich due to rich cream and truffle oil, which was balanced well with the tastes of button, shitakale, porcini and portobello mushrooms. The wide menu crosses countries and continents where dishes have been reinvented using indigenous ingredients by chef Juliano Rodrigues, who also helped us pick dishes.

Creole broccoli florets and fox nut in sago basket

Perhaps the prettiest dish was the creole broccoli florets and fox nut in sago basket (Rs 470), and caprese grande bruschetta (Rs 410) that soon followed. The florets tasted good too; who would have thought something as bland and repelling as broccoli could taste so delicious. The caprese grande bruschetta can be given a miss; though the pesto sauce was a good variation in the traditional caprese tomato salad, the sourdough was a tad dry.

Next, the trio of lasagna (Rs 590) that has veggies, creamy corn florentine, and cheese is a dish that isn't overtly cheesy. The rendang curry with edamame blue pea rice, grilled cottage cheese (Rs 600) was the showstopper for us. The coconut milk based curry had a certain silkiness that went well with the rice; and flavours of fried garlic and sweet chilly were well balanced and did not make it overwhelming.

Rendang curry with edamame blue pea rice grilled cottage cheese

Thea's cocktail menu, which has been inspired by the Silk Route, has some bizarre, yet interesting cocktails. Calling it a symphony of eastern spices and western flavours, the drinks are designed to tease the taste buds. We sipped on the biryani cocktail (obviously!) (Rs 850) and the baklawa cocktail (Rs 850). The tequila-based biryani cocktail is not for the weak-hearted - there's toasted rice water, caramelised onion, mixed spice bitters and supasawa. It was a curious dance on the palate, especially since it includes cashew nuts and raisins. The gin-based baklawa cocktail that is served with the pistachio crackers has extremely sweet notes, with flavours of cardamom. Our favourite was the poached pear (Rs 850) that had hints of cinnamon which blended nicely with red wine red wine reduction and whiskey.

The city's landscape, for all its many fine-dining experiences and celebrity-owned gourmet menus, isn't exactly kind to the non-vegetarian who often find themselves staring at a dead end, when it comes to comfort food. Choices aren't as extensive as one would expect. So our non-vegetarian picks came as happy discoveries. The crunch of bacon in Aman's inspired brioche (Rs 680) was intact despite being wedged between lettuce and bread and the dressing wasn't overpowering.

Poached pear cocktail

Very few places can manage meat-flavoured hummus well. So the behlahm hummus (Rs 600) won our vote. It was a perfect protein snack of chickpeas and lamb with mild hummus and no overpowering flavour of garlic. For those who love their bacon and eggs, the pork belly pair with kimchi rice, fried eggs + greens (Rs 750) is a one-pot meal. The bacon fried rice could've been less oily though, but we feel this one could become a crowd favourite. The dip with coconut milk base was interesting, without being too clawing.

We ended the meal with brulee basque cheese cake (Rs 450) and bean to bar 70% chocolate pastry (Rs 325) that made for a sweet ending. By then, we had slipped into food coma despite the incessant traffic buzz outside.

Opens: Today
Time: 11.30 am to 1.30 am
At: 68, Chapel Road, St Sebastian Colony, Sayed Wadi, Ranwar, Bandra West.
Call: 7021499688