#blahvsfood goes to Sobo20 (obviously in South Bombay)

Panchali Mahendra is a force of nature. As if it wasn’t enough running a bunch of super successful restaurants in Dubai and winning Michelin stars, she decided to come back to India and open Inja… a restaurant cooking a cuisine that sounded like a spoof (Indo-Japanese) and take it to Asia’s top 100 within two years of opening. And if that wasn’t enough, she also ended up starting one of the best pizza places in the country in Camillo’s Pizzeria. 

Cajun dusted Soft shell crab linguine 

Logic would say that the next step would be to either expand Camillo’s or open another space in Delhi. But no. She chose national conquest by opening a brand new concept in the heart of South Mumbai. And conquest is the word because Sobo20 is a triumph. It’s supposed to be New Orleans inspired food and in many ways it is. But it’s true brilliance is how it takes what seems like a new cuisine for Indians and presents it in a way that feels familiar and comforting without losing the sense of discovery or newness. 

Chef Sudeep Kashikar and his dark chocolate pate 

Set in a stunning art deco inspired room in the ground floor of The Intercontinental, Sobo20 is a space that feels like a special occasion with a fantastic cocktail menu adding to the experience. But the menu itself has so many bangers that it also ends up being the kind of place you can come back to again and again, like a favourite modern bistro designed for the Indian palate. 

Sobo Foccacia 

Gamba 

Take the gamba. In this version you have 3 kinds of shrimp, but there’s crispy chicken for textural crunch and the okra comes as a thecha to add punch and heat. The excellent clam Rockefeller with clam jus and brown butter has a decadent, old world vibe. The much more modern whipped feta, with charred Scallion and 48 hour fermented bread, will make the Bombay chatterati very happy. So will the delicious (and vegetarian) Taco sobo with burnt cheese tortilla, wild mushroom and Serrano salsa, truffle cream and popcorn). 

Taco Sobo

Pork and buff skewer 

The star dish among the small plates was the Chicken paillard with cucumber buree blanc and caviar. With India’s fried chicken obsession this will be a mega seller. Though for me personally, I still think the buff and pork skewer is a better dish, but that’s minimalist choice in a maximalist city. While the barely cooked, glistening, succulent slivers of meat seriously impressed me with the level of skill in the cooking. 

Lobster gumbo 

The heavy hitters lie in the mains section though. They take a classic Lobster gumbo and turn it into a short grain fried rice with gumbo curry reduction, andouille sausage and fried okra. All the joyous comfort of a gumbo but again a lovely reinterpretation to ensure it feels accessible and familiar to Indians. 

Butternut sage ravioli 

My favourite dishes of the night came in the pasta section. A classic penne vodka with nduja sausages. And excellent butternut sage ravioli. And the show stopper, a Cajun dusted soft shell crab linguine. The pasta was cooked to perfection. And I don’t just mean that it was firm and had bite. The separation on every piece of pasta. The way every piece didn’t just carry the flavour of the sauce but the flavours and textures of the entire dish. The cohesiveness and the elevated comfort of the dish. I feel it’s taken a while but we now have at least four restaurants in India that do world class pasta and this dish is one of the best pasta dishes I’ve ever had in the country. Top 5 at the very least.

Chocolate pate

Beignet

The desserts live up to the rest of the meal. There is a dark valrona chocolate pate with burbon whiskey, topped with grated frozen chilli and Creme fraiche, that would normally be the instagram phenomenon. But it’s not because the Beignet stuffed with ginger brûlée and topped with caviar is a bite of such indulgent perfection that you’ll end up ordering it every time. Unless, of course, you’re like me and you hold a candle for the subtle beauty and hidden secrets of the Burrata ice cream with evoo and honey vinaigrette, toasted almonds and maldon salt.

Burrata ice cream 

Congrats again Panchali and chef Sudeep Kashikar. This meal took me back to that sense of excitement I had felt when The Table first opened. No drama. No philosophy. Just world class food done perfectly. 

We ate:

- Sobo bread ( house made Foccacia with chilli glaze and mascaporne butter and fried sage)

- Gamba

- Clam rockefeller ( clam jus and brown butter)

- Whipped feta 

- Chicken paillard

- Taco sobo 

- B&p skewer ( layers of buff and pork cooked on grill with avocado chili mousse and chives)

- Penne vodka ( vodka sauce with nduja sausages)

- Crab linguine ( mecerated chilli, garlic and onion, parmesan cheese and cajun dusted soft shell crab)

- Lobster gumbo fried rice

- Butter nut squash ravioli ( burnt sage and butter, butter nut squash buree blanc)

- Chocolate pate

- Beignet 

- Burrata ice cream 

- Raspberry sherbet ( sprinkled with dehydrated raspberry dust