Through his first ever menu for Mumbai diners, Chef Rishim Sachdeva (ex Oak Room Marco Pierre White and Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck) is making the case that less is more. About 70% of Olive’s classic Mediterranean fare has been switched out for even healthier choices filled with everything seasonal that the chef could lay his hands on. Expect humble veggies like carrots, beetroot and cauliflower transformed into earthy, exotic versions of themselves, through fermentation, chargrilling or broth-ing. He let us try shot glasses of a most divine tomato consommé—he has tasty plans for it in the future.
Local, farm-fresh ingredients will be the star of Chef Sachdeva’s unostentatious menu of simply named dishes, like Pork and Apple, Hummus and Falafel and Crispy Chicken. Only, when it arrives at your table, the richly glazed pork accompanied with the tangy fermented carrot and green apple slaw betray the sorcery that conjured up such a light dish out of pork belly. Another clear winner on the new menu is the Asparagus and Crispy Egg, a satisfying salad served with smoked cheese and roasted sunflower seeds. The whole menu—with the exception of the sinful peanut brownie and star anise chocolate brownie—is similarly light and delicate. And to make sure there’s always an element of surprise, the chef will be innovating furiously in the kitchen. Currently, he’s wrestling with the challenge of creating dessert from bone marrow.
Going by what he’s managed so far at Olive, we’re not knocking it till we try it.
Also new at Olive: 1 Tippling Point, a speakeasy-style bar from Philadelphia, will man a pop-up cocktail counter for three weeks starting March 14, 2016. They specialise in classic American cocktails, mainly originating from New Orleans of the 1920s. Ask bartender Myles Carroll for the Lavender 75 (champagne, gin, lavender) and the Penicillin (scotch, ginger, lemon, honey) — both refreshing and potent.
Dinner for two is Rs 3,800 (excluding taxes, alcohol). Olive Bar & Kitchen, 14, Union Park, Khar (W), Mumbai. Tel: 022 43408229
Flip through for a look at the new menu at Olive
