This Latin-American restaurant in town will tickle your taste buds

That's what we want to say to a new Latin-American restaurant in Khar that pleases us with its fare

Elevators can be fascinating: you never know which world they will open their doors to. Though Haruki Murakami is better suited to develop on the magical realism of elevators, as he did in one of his popular books, let us tell you about a particular incident.

After a long day at work, we zip along the Western Express Highway to arrive at Gabbana House in Khar West. We enter a shoddily maintained building where we spot a receptionist who looks positively adrift. A short flight of stairs leads us to the elevator - the buttons don't work, the panels malfunction, but we finally manage to press '2'. The doors open and voila! We are in another world.

Nutshroom

Inside Oi – Kitchen and Bar, a new Latin-American restaurant, the decor is pleasing, but a tad confused. The speckled marble floor gives way to an array of cement tables lined with mix-and-match chairs. Artificial ivy and bougainvillea hang from the ceiling, adding a touch of green, albeit manufactured. We say confused, because parts of the space, like a high table in the centre with bar stools, resembles something out of a Latin Noir film. Whereas other sections, like the one separated by patterned bronze panels, looks like the archetype of a "cute café" you're likely to find in Vile Parle East.

Brazilian curry. Pics/Datta Kumbhar

We write that, and the relatively slow service off as teething issues, hoping that the food is good. We start with a plate of chicken croquetas (Rs 350), and call for a grapefruit delight (Rs 495) to sip on. Our partner, on the other hand, experiments with the nutshroom (Rs 495). We like the rich flavour of the bread-crumbed fried snack that comes with a grilled chicken and cheese filling. The in-house ketchup and mayo that it's served with is lacklustre, but we like the addition of extra grilled chicken as part of the garnish.

Our grapefruit cocktail is strong, but not heady. It comes with grapefruit-infused tequila, homemade rosemary syrup, lime, a pinch of pink salt, and is topped with sparkling water. There's an overpowering bitterness (probably from the tequila) that could have been balanced out with the freshness of real grapefruit. In short, the drink sounded tropical, but didn't taste so.

Chicken croquetas

The nutshroom, which comprises shiitake-mushroom-infused brandy and bourbon, is a play on the regular whiskey sour. We like it for the slight hint of sweetness that we always wished a regular sour had. For the mains, we call for a classic Mexican treat, a chicken enchilada (Rs 400), and a Brazilian prawn curry (Rs 450).Typically, enchiladas are tortillas rolled around a filling and topped with a fiery sauce. It comes just like that, on a small sizzler pan, but before we can dig in, we burst out in a cackle. "Is this some Mexican lasagna?" our noob of a gastronome partner remarks. And if you think about it, it's in fact, an erudite way of explaining the dish to the uninitiated. We like the spicy dish and move on to the Brazilian curry.

A spoonful of this creamy delicacy (we are not sure of its authenticity), which is served with steamed rice takes us back to 2017 when we tried a similar dish at The Little Door in Andheri. We were left devastated upon learning that it was discontinued just a few months after. So, we gleefully indulge in the coconut-y flavour of this piquant casserole that comes dotted with chopped pineapple.

Now, with our tummies full and our hearts content, we prepare to leave, offering a silent muchas gracias for our job because it takes us to hidden and gratifying worlds beyond shoddy elevators.

AT: Oi–Kitchen and Bar, 15th Road, Khar West.
TIME: 12 pm to 1.30 am
CALL: 61739711

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