I’ve been thinking a lot about why I enjoyed my meal at @across.bombay so much. I’ve realised it wasn’t just the food and the cocktails – both are fabulous and this was unquestionably amongst my best meals of 2024. I’ve unhesitatingly recommended the restaurant to everyone I’ve met.
More than the food, it’s @chefviraf and @giftofthegrub approach to Himalayan cuisine that I find exciting and hopeful. Technology has been replaced by technique, cleverness by creativity; there’s a respect for tradition and ingredients (Viraf explained a lot of time is spent on sourcing since there isn’t an established supply chain) without being restricted by either.
There’s also a respect for the expectations and limitations of their diners. At Across they’re not pretending the food is genuine Nepali, Bhutanese or Tibetan; they’re honest in stating it has been adapted to make it relevant to a contemporary urban Mumbai audience. An audience that that may not be familiar with the flavours and textures and who probably wouldn’t accept it in its original form.
For me, Across bridges the gap between the desperate need to stay true to an imagined traditional cuisine and the belief that when reimagined it needs to showcase a multiplicity of influences and processes. At Across they have recreated local cuisines in a simple, enjoyable form without the drama and theatrics.
I’d go back in a heartbeat and I’d make sure to keep space for that ethereal Cremeschnitte.
#mumbai #mumbairestaurants #restaurantsofmumbai #southmumbai #himalayan Less