#blahvsfood: We need to be talking a LOT more about Across, Mumbai

We need to be talking more about Across.. a LOT more. 

Because this is one hell of a special restaurant. 

And even though it’s a big success, somehow it never gets the hype or buzz or recognition that many lesser places do. 

For me this is one of the best restaurants in the city. I keep this private list of India’s top 50 restaurants and I put this at number 15. That’s how good it is. 

Across serves food from the Himalayas, rooted in Nepal where one of the founders, Chef Prakriti Lama Patel comes from, but traversing the entire range southwards and eastwards. I loved that this wasn’t “Modern Himalayan” but it also wasn’t Yeti. Prakriti and her partner, the legendary Chef Viraf Patel have kept all the traditional flavours and comfort of the original dishes, but they have used technique to add layers of refinement and sophistication in subtle and unexpected ways. 

Buff Shakam Ezay

The Buff Shakam Ezay is typically so chewy you can go at it for hours, like a tough jerky. But both the choice of cut and the treatment of the meat at Across mean that the dish has that fibrous quality without being chewy. 

Himalayan mushrooms 

There is a dish of three kinds of Himalayan mushrooms simply tossed in ghee and then drizzled with mustard oil and some spices, then served with crispy beaten red rice. It brings warmth and joy and textures and comfort.. but without ever losing the inherent umami earthiness of the mushrooms, each of which has a distinct flavour and personality. 

Prakriti told me that “When we set out to use the word "modernist" and "elevated" in what we are doing with the cuisine from the Himalayas it was never an effort to change the DNA of the cuisine in itself at a molecular level or to reinvent the flavor wheel. Our effort is to genuinely, and with as much humility towards tradition and history, to experiment with newer perspectives and techniques in the hopes of creating more unique experiences”.

Ema Datsi

This approach manifests itself in dishes that retain the essence of the dish without feeling the need to be “authentic”. At Across, the goal is to take a traditional dish and make it even better without losing its identity. The ema dhatsi is made lighter by not loading it with processed cheeses and by using the concept of a "kewa dhatsi" (which is cheese and potato) instead of thickening it with flour. The end dish is clearly an ema datsi, an addictive coming together of fiery chillies and soothing cheesiness, with zero loss of textures and flavour. But it is a dish that doesn’t leave you feeling heavy and bloated, modern in thought and philosophy, but not in a way that transforms the dish into something unrecognisable. 

Mustang Black Dal

This thoughtful, respectful and restrained approach to cooking reaches its apogee in the Mustang Black Dal which may be the most extraordinary dal I’ve ever had. The dal is made with a black bean that grows in the Mustang region (where hardly anything else grows). The harsh terrain compacts the flavours of the terrain in each pod, and chefs Prakriti and Viraf have found a way to extract and maximise every little bit of flavour to create a smoky, intense dal that is miles more sophisticated and flavourful than its legendary counterparts from the plains like the Dal Bukhara. 

Jhol Bhat

Pork trotters 

This mastery of flavour comes through in dish after dish. The sharpness of the mustard oil in the Buff Cholia makes me wonder why it has never been fetishised the way wasibi is. By the way, this dish (a chilled tenderloin steak with beaten red rice onion salad, mustard & spice dressing) is one of the best small plates in all of Mumbai. But save space for the Pork Trotters with burnt coriander seeds and chilli, because you’ll feel the need to mop up every last bit of gravy with a really light, fluffy tingmo. Or maybe you can just go in on a rainy afternoon for a plate of Jhol Bhat, cooked in mutton stock, a dish for the soul, a mountain khichdi to hold on to and weep for joy. 

Buff Cholia 

Even the cheese platter (artisanal Himalayan cheeses) or the desserts (a churpi cheese cake, a chocolate mousse and a sponge cake) were elevated and far from ordinary.

Chocolate mousse 

I know I have an emotional and cultural affinity for this food. But my reaction wasn’t about that. Everyone who goes to Across comes back being blown away by the food and thanking me for the recommendation. It’s just that Viraf and Prakriti don’t do the PR and influencer thing so you don’t see it on your reels and social media. But this restaurant is special. It makes me proud as a man from the mountains, and it makes me incredibly happy as someone who loves great food and lives for it. 

Go eat at Across. Order what I’ve suggested. Your mind will be blown. This is one of the very best restaurants in the country. 

I ate: 

• Buff Shakam Ezay: Air Dried Tenderloin salad

• Buff Tartar: A Take on a tartar with onions, mustard oil & spices 

• Pork Trotters with burnt coriander seeds and chilli 

• The mushrooms: pink oyster, golden oyster, shiitake, freckled chestnut & black pearl oyster.

• Buff Choila - chilled tenderloin steak with beaten red rice onion salad, mustard & spice dressing

• House cured duck with timur peppercorn, orange marmalade on a cracker (special)

• Tingmo (steamed bun) with a dalle chili, timur & chive house butter 

• Mustang Black Dal

• Ema Datsi + bhutanese red rice 

• Mutton Jhol Bhat 

• Churpi Cheese Cake 

• Chocolate Mousse 

• Sponge Cake 

• Cheese sampler: Old Sherpa | Kavregiano | Yak Red Cheddar