<Review by: Sailesh Ghelani>

Dubai’s Trèsind, the restaurant that excels in modern Indian cuisine with a twist, has come to Mumbai. Tucked away in a surreptitious corner of Bandra Kurla Complex, this ‘very Indian’ (as the name Trèsind suggests) fine eatery has opened and I was invited to sample the tasting menu.

(Pic above: Prawn Rasam)

Private area at Trèsind Mumbai

A rich and glossy interior, designed by Shweta Kaushik, welcomes you, with a serpentine sofa in the centre of the restaurant where a party of four can feel cosily ensconced while also being the centre of attention of the enthusiastic staff. Rose gold and copper mirrors and warm beige marble floors give you a feeling of sophistication.

And what’s this that greets us?

This was a little gimmick that was effective and the perfect way to start a culinary journey of discovery. The refreshing smoke enters the nose, cleansing it for the smells about to waft up from our nine-course chef’s tasting menu.

Corporate Chef Himanshu Saini (of the Passion Group that owns Trèsind) came up to our table to demonstrate some of the courses. He has concocted a menu that has traditional flavours infused with a variety of techniques and served up in innovative ways. He and his staff will informed us about each dish and in some cases utilised the concept of ‘guéridon service’ (where food is cooked, finished or presented to the guest at a table, from a moveable trolley).

Chef Himanshu

The plating of the food and drink makes it all look delectable.

Family Picnic

The non-veg tasting menu – there’s also a vegetarian option – includes dishes like prawn rasam, chicken cafreal, lamb khari, khichdi and mithai. It’s all served with a bit of drama. Their philosophy is ‘less-is-more’ and at first I wasn’t sure if the smaller portions would fill me up, but I was wrong. Each course built up our appetite for more until our tummies and eyes were finally satiated with the flavours and drama of the feast we had been served.

Khichdi

Founder and Managing Director of the Passion Group, Bhupender Nath, says his vision was to “introduce global diners to the exuberance offered by the cuisine of our homeland, while utilising contemporary global trends and techniques of cooking resulting in an avant garde culinary affair that is still quintessentially Indian in nature.”

To accompany the delicious meal, Trèsind Mumbai has an award-winning mixology team that serves from an elaborate list of spirits as well as their own customised beverage menu comprising ‘old fashioned’, ‘petit pour’, ‘hall of fame’ and the ‘teetotaller special’. My first try was the Rich and Smooth, which was delicious.

What was evident about Trèsind, Mumbai was the amount of care and thought that has gone into preparing the menu, selecting ingredients and developing a story around it all. You experience flavours from various parts of India. The flavours aren’t always in the form you’d expect them. There’s a very Gujarati farsan sorbet to cleanse your pallette, for instance. Sometimes it’s a bit disconcerting when the visuals and the flavours you associate with certain things you’ve seen all your life don’t match with what you’re presented with. In that rests the delight for your mind as well as it processes the sights, smells and recollections of these familiar tastes served up in a new form.

I wasn’t too thrilled with the pineapple payasam dessert but I got to steal my dinner companion’s sweet milk cake dish that was wonderful. That was followed up by yet another interesting, if gimmicky, sweet dish to complete the culinary expedition. It had a magnifying lens cover on the bowl to study the ingredients before lifting it up and digging in.

Trèsind Mumbai also has an a la carte menu with dishes like prawn benedict, kosha mangsho, kaju katli and more presented in their unique style.

If you’re looking to truly tantalise your taste buds and get your other senses involved in the dining experience then Trèsind Mumbai should be your next visit.

Address: Ground Floor, INSPIRE BKC, Next to MGL Gas station, G Block, Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), Bandra (E), Mumbai – 400051, Maharashtra Phone: 8928000057 / 59