Bangalore’s Favourite Restaurant Has Brought Its Unique Flavour To Mumbai

Days before a new restaurant is set to grace the city of Mumbai, you can feel it in the air. Plans are made, tables booked, appetites building muster - it’s a fervour trapped in between the humidity and a constant search for something new. And so it was with Toast & Tonic, as Chef Manu Chandra’s latest culinary extravaganza makes it’s way to BKC - a stepping stone into the microcosm that is New York City’s East Village. A voluminous barn-like structure made with timber framework graces your entrance, as an open plan dining-room and grandiose bar set the stage for what’s to come. Perched atop a high table, HG sat across from the Chef de cuisine himself and took a stroll down his gastronomical memory lane.

“I don’t try to restrict myself with any rules. I never have. There is often a certain sensibility that develops when not having being mentored too much. I wasn’t. I was kind of thrown into the deep end” the chef states boldly, and his journey only stands testament to this fact. Enter a Fatty Bao or Monkey Bar or Olive, and you’d know this only too well. Chandra’s keen understanding of his audience is what propelled him towards expanding the spectrum of ‘mid-range dining’ - giving people the chance to explore unique ingredients and modernist cooking techniques within a conservative price range.

Having been part of a large family that indulged heavily in Sunday morning breakfasts, and large family style cooking, Chandra’s foray into the kitchen started at a very young age indeed. Having always been the one to help his grandmother with the shopping and prepping for each meal everyday, he was sure the kitchen was his sanctuary. This was where he truly belonged. “I had guinea pigs ready in the form of grandparents. And then of course the nuances where they realized I was definitely a lot more interested in it. They were happy to invest in, and of course pampering the grandchild is a big thing. They got me a good knife, a good cutting board, a nicer pressure cooker, and a full fledged oven,” he reminisces. Always wanting to go to hotel management school, he decided to make his grandmother’s dream of her grandson attending St.Stephens come true instead, and he went on to study history. When he graduated, his grandmother had passed away and he decided it was finally time to do what he had always wanted to do - go to culinary school.

As serendipity has a way of playing itself out, Chandra happened to chance upon an image of a cake somewhere made by instructors at the Culinary Institute of America, and was simply blown away by it. “This cake that was falling in all directions and yet was holding together. There was a giant teapot on the top which was actually had tea falling out of the spout into a cup which was at an angle, falling into the cup and splashing out. This was a bloody cake. This is unbelievable. This is magic and sorcery and art and food and all together. I need to go to this place.” And go he did. From this point on, there was no stopping the man.

The launch of Toast and Tonic in Mumbai makes it Chandra and partner-in-crime Chetan Rampal’s 11th restaurant in the country, as part of the Olive Group. With Toast & Tonic, we witness a culinary coming of age, so to speak. The restaurant boasts of sausages that have been cured and made in-house to smoked meats, potent mustards, syrups, breads, kimchis and of course, the best gin and tonics in town, made with their own infused tonics. It is a celebration of fresh, local and seasonal produce such as gondhoraj lemons, amaranth leaves, drumstick leaves, noren gur, freshly pressed mustard oil and locally sourced cheese such as smoked Bandel, Burrata, Madras Jack, and feta. Each dish is spiced with innovation and textured with elegance, a manifestation of the genius that is Manu Chandra.

The city itself has a huge influence on Chandra’s curation of the menu when they first introduced soft-shelled crab, they were the first to source from a region in Andhra Pradesh after being approached directly by a local supplier. He discovered the untapped wealth of Indian goat cheese in much the same way, after being approached by a small family-run farm in Bangalore who were making and shipping their product around the country. Though more expensive than its French counterpart, Chandra decided it was well worth the extra. As he says, “If people like me don’t start buying it then who’s promoting it and if I’m always looking at the bottom line then there will never be a change.” Today, at the new restaurant he offers a cheese plate comprised only of local, Mumbai cheese which stands testament to his commitment to sustainable cuisine.

Chef Manu is also very particular about the treatment of his staff and the introduction of a multicultural atmosphere. He laid down some basic ground rules that apply both at the front of the house and in the kitchens. “a) you will all be referred to by your first name unless they are too difficult to pronounce or too long b) if anybody refers to you as a chinki is going to be sacked on the spot. c) most importantly you will tell everyone where you are from, which town, which village not just from the “North East”. These small introductions mean that all of Chef Manu’s establishments have an inclusive family vibe that is hard to find in Inida’s chaos of prejudices.

From the moment you pass through the doors, Toast & Tonic ensures that you’re greeted with nothing but the very best. Their sustainable ethos extends far beyond their food and as you lounge in comfort amidst rustic furnishings and farm animal themed curiousities, you’re reminded that the simple things in life can also be the most luxurious. A visit to here is so much ore than a meal, it’s a full-blown experience. The warm wood interiors usher you in, the bar invites you to stay a while longer and the impeccably created menu ensures that you’ll be back.

Image Credit: Kunal Chandra