Ode

Ode is one of the newest spots to hit the city's dining scene, but feels established because it's from Rahul Akerkar, the chef behind the game-changing Indigo, and the father of fun, casual fine dining in Mumbai. The menu is an eclectic mashup: modern European- and American-style food with slivers of desi flavor. Here, that translates to sophisticated, comforting, and straight-up irreverent dishes, like pasta, pizza, and tartare with local ambat-goad (sour-sweet) notes, and the “best damn” tarte tatin (it says so on the menu, and it’s absolutely accurate). The cecamariti cacio e pepe uses local produce with rombay (robiola-style cheese made in the suburbs) and long pepper to glorious effect. Pizzas, like the mushroom-loaded Fungus Among Us, are made with chewy biga dough. And few places in Mumbai make a burger that’s as well crafted as Ode’s—it’s a lamb patty layered with celeriac stew and rosemary jam. This place sits in a shiny new office building right by old mill grounds in Worli, and is where the city's cool crowd gathers to eat and drink under flattering light. 

photo credit: Vikas Munipalle