Bharat Excellensea

There’s no shortage of seafood places in Mumbai. After all, this megalopolis started as a fishing village. Bharat Excellensea is an over three-decades-old spot that trumps all other seafood institutions in Fort. Here, the fish is uber fresh, the service is instantly friendly, and you won’t find their scrape-the-plate-clean prawn curry with unripe mango, onions, tomatoes, and green chillies anywhere else in the city. The dish is the perfect launch to a meal that delivers nothing but piscine hits, like kane ghee roast and gassi with neer dosas and appam. The two-level dining room has an “anything goes” vibe that somehow feels fitting, with murals of blue glass fish and caricatures of commuters jostling on a local train. So give in to the roomy couches and forever fun pop soundtrack, and settle in with a fruity-tart kokumtini, which pairs well with the catch of the day.