2021 - Looking ahead: The table is set, again

Sameer Uttamsingh

Delivering dine-in
Coming in: February
The past year saw several cloud kitchens mushroom across Mumbai, including Atom Box, and Bun & Only, co-founded by Sameer Uttamsingh, CEO, Acme Hospitality. According to Uttamsingh, a dine-in area will house both the brands at the existing kitchen in Santacruz. "We'll also launch a second delivery kitchen in SoBo in the second half of 2021," he adds. The F&B professional is also tying up with chefs Seefah Ketchaiyo and Karan Bane for a Japanese restaurant and bar, which is expected to open mid-year. "We're looking at a 3,000-sq ft space offering Japanese-focused food and drinks," he reveals.

Abhayraj Singh Kohli at Tori in Khar. Pic/Sameer Markande

Latin America to London
Coming in: January
Abhayraj Singh Kohli prefers to look at the pandemic as an opportunity - one that he seized to conceptualise his latest venture, Tori, a Latin-Asian eatery that is set to grace Khar in place of the now-shuttered Sanchos in early January. "It is a 'Zoom restaurant'. Chef-partner Thomas Catley, who's worked with Michelin star restaurants, hired his whole team from London via Zoom! It'll be a Tapas-style fun dining place offering cuisines from Latin America and Asia, with a strong cocktail programme. We'll be playing fun music like K Pop, Japanese hip-hop and Latin music," he promises. Kohli, who runs Grandmama's Cafe, MRP, Pritam Da Dhaba, among other places, tells us that he also signed off 2020 with a new restaurant modelled on London's Edgware Road. "If you want to eat Lebanese food and have sheesha in London, this is the place to be. We're recreating that experience in Juhu for Mumbai folks," he shares, adding that two delivery concepts are also in the works.

Sweet beginnings
Coming in: February
If you've loved the sweet treats from Rachel Goenka's Sassy Spoon, then here's some good news. The founder and CEO of The Chocolate Spoon Company is set to open the first Sassy Spoon café at BKC in February. "The idea is to offer a 'gourmet grab-and-go' option for people who would like a quick lunch, but have guilt-free and healthy mains. So, think more on the lines of salad bowls, hearty sandwiches, wraps and light bites, including cake slices and dessert pots," she elaborates. The entrepreneur is also looking to launch House of Mandarin at the Sheraton Grand in Pune this year.

Comfort matters
Coming in: TBA
Although restaurateur Zorawar Kalra admits that 2020 was "an absolute write-off", he's geared to take on 2021 in full steam, with a focus on brands that offer comforting, crave-worthy fare that celebrates the chefs heading them. Take for instance, the newly-opened +94 Bombay at Lower Parel's Palladium Mall, which is a celebration of Maharashtrian chef Dipesh Shinde's native culture as well as his culinary trails in Sri Lanka, Kalra tells us. He adds that he plans to acquire spaces at a few iconic buildings to expand the Massive Restaurants chain in the city. Apart from restaurants, there will be sustained focus on opening new delivery concepts that will be both premium Indian in nature using the Jiggs Kalra brand, as well as accessible, but high-scale international brands. "We want to focus on small menus to offer consistency. For instance, a new delivery brand likely to be introduced in January, called Butter Delivery. Today, everything is focused on healthy and low-fat; and so we've gone in the opposite direction and created an ode to all things buttery including chicken, dal and paneer. It's a limited menu of repeatable food," he reveals, adding such delivery platforms will mushroom across the length and breadth of Mumbai. He will also be taking Farzi Café to Canada and Bangladesh.

(From left) Karan Jain, Brewdog founder James Watt, Rohit Jain and Abhijit Rao

Chug on angrezi beer
Coming in: January
With 106 taprooms in the world, UK-based craft beer specialist Brewdog is foraying into the desi space, with their first outpost in India at Kamala Mills. Directors Abhijit Rao and Karan Jain, who convinced the brewery to enter the Indian market along with chairman Rohit Jain, tell us they plan to open up 10 taprooms across India by June 2021. "The menu and design will be acquired from the UK but will be tweaked according to our taste buds. While some beer will be imported from UK, it will also be brewed at our Nashik plant," shares Rao.

Mediterranean escape
Coming in: February
Over the years, Kaneesha Jain's Santé Spa Cuisine has become a go-to for those seeking a healthy menu. In 2021, Jain, owner of Kasa Food Works, is whipping up a new concept - a Mediterranean eathouse, dedicated to vegetarians, in Kala Ghoda. There'll be Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and a little bit of Turkish cuisine, she informs, adding that the menu has been designed by chef Gracian de Souza. The place will be headed by chef Arnez Driver.

For the sake f fun
Coming in: May
Mihir Desai, co-owner, The Bar Stock Exchange (TBSE), is also looking east this year with an Asian resto bar planned in Colaba. "We're flying down a chef from Japan. It'll be like a Japanese saké bar, with a focus on food and drinks from the country. We plan to open the place by May," he shares. The restaurateur tells us that he also plans to introduce the bar stock exchange concept in London, with their first international outpost. "London is the city of bars, so it seemed like the best place to take TBSE to. The rooftop bar is likely to open in June."

Powai gets groovier
Coming in: TBA
Yet another promising addition to Powai's steadily growing clique of hip spaces to hangout is a new lounge bar that'll be based inside five-star eco-hotel Meluha The Fern. Punish B Sharma, V-P, operations, claims that the bar will be one-of-its-kind at the Hiranandani Gardens. "What sets a lounge apart from a bar, is the former's finesse. It'll wear a more rustic look. We're ready to open but we're waiting for restrictions to ease."