Where to eat this September… in Mumbai

September kicks off in Bandra as usual, where a French-toast bar, a sandwich diner, and a sizzler spot have all opened close to each other. There’s a dinner-to-drinks spot serving MediterrAsian food. Yes, that means duck shawarma gyoza and ramen cacio e pepe with Afro-jazz in the background. The sandwicherie puts fried chicken in a doughnut. And another carb carousel has French toast all over its menu. Elsewhere, a pasta bar gives you more reason to line up outside with its Itameshi menu, and a favourite Japanese place has a new ramen alley. A Bali bar pops up in the ONGC lane for one night, and a new Irani cafe gives the neighbourhood a shot.

From Bandra, we spread out into Lower Parel, Andheri, Churchgate, Worli, and more. There’s a new barbecue place in Kamala Mills that smokes buff brisket for 12 hours, and a Delhi pizzeria that has planted its flag in the next mill compound. In Andheri, Maharashtra’s monsoon produce gets a tasting-menu treatment. Marine Drive’s Louisiana-style dining room has a punchy new menu with po’ boys and honey toast, and in Worli there is an invitation to drink under a lightning storm.

Which is all to say, there’s no shortage of places to eat in Mumbai this month. The hardest part is choosing where to start.

Openings and launches

The Powder Room, Bandra

The Powder Room, which opened in Bandra last week, is a new dinner-and-cocktail club that brings “MediterrAsian” food, cocktails, and Afro-jazz together in the same room. Chef Sahil Singh’s sharing menu moves through cold Nikkei-style plates, tapas, ensalada, robata, flammkuchen, pasta, and plancha, with combinations such as duck shawarma gyoza and ramen cacio e pepe that make the cross-cultural brief pretty literal, and detours along South America. The bar comes from Anonymous Food Labs, the team behind Lair and AABBCC, while the African-inspired interiors and Afro-jazz soundtrack are designed so dinner turns into drinks and maybe some dancing.

Tbsp., Lower Parel

Delhi’s Tbsp. (Tablespoon) has opened at Phoenix Palladium with an all-day pizzeria and pastaria featuring fluffy-edged, hand-stretched Neapolitan pizzas and handmade pasta. The 12-inch pizzas range from a classic margherita to the now-ubiquitous spicy honey pepperoni, all baked in a wood-fired oven in an open kitchen. You can also build your own pizza or pasta, try DIY waffles and soft serve, and pick up house-flavoured sodas.

Even Steven, Bandra

Chef Chris Fernandes’s 25-seater Bandra spot puts fried chicken in a doughnut, while the Pain Suisse smash has a double-buff patty, black garlic aioli, charred onions, and cheddar. Even Steven is not the spot for a light meal. The bread is baked in-house, and there are less-carnivorous options, including grilled halloumi and a caprese sando. For coffee, skip the usual and try Coca-Cola espresso, tiramisu iced coffee, or Island Pineapple coffee.

Border Bean Barbecue, Kamala Mills

Border Bean Barbecue which began as a rustic BBQ counter in Bandra, moved to Kamala Mills in 2025 and has now finally found its feet in central Mumbai as a full-fledged 60-seater restaurant and bar. The new beverage programme has gotten a big upgrade, with smoke- and char-ready drinks like kokum picante, charred pineapple tequila, and bacon bourbon, as well as soju cocktails. Another adaptation for the new neighbourhood is an extensive vegetarian and Jain menu. When it first moved into the compound, B3 had only a wood-fired smoker. The latest piece in their kitchen is an electric smoker that uses both charcoal and wood chips for maximum flavour. The 12-hour smoked water buffalo brisket and six-hour smoked pork ribs showcase their barbecue skills, while smoked lamb birria tacos and chicken jollof rice show it’s not just about Texas barbecue. Vegetarians can go for the kimchi paneer tacos, the jerk mushroom burger, and much more.

Rost, Bandra

Rost is a French-toast and coffee bar in Bandra where brioche is the star. Their sweet French toasts, such as Bombay Cutting Chai French Toast and matcha berry shortcake, are indulgent confections, while savoury options like butter chicken French toast, Bandra Benedict, Tokyo Bay, Truffle Royale, and The Rost Stack make for fun lunches.

Gola Sizzlers, Bandra

Does Mumbai still have an appetite for sizzlers? The new Gola Sizzlers in Bandra believes so. They offer classic versions of the theatrical hot-plate meal, such as chicken and paneer shashlik, along with new options like Thai curry, katsu curry, and Mexican sizzlers. If you want something less dramatic, try rigatoni alla vodka with burrata, spaghetti frutti di mare, or the popular hot honey pepperoni pizza.

Cafe Parallel, Bandra

ONGC lane has another new cafe, but Café Parallel is looking back in time rather than chasing Bandra’s latest coffee cycle. Founder Aaliya Ahuja is drawing on the old Irani cafe as a place for everyday food and lingering with a menu that goes straight into Parsi and Bombay staples: kheema pav, akuri, veg cutlet curry, berry pulao, and bun maska with chai. The room has wooden chairs, red-and-white gingham tablecloths, a handwritten chalkboard of house rules, and old Bombay photographs. Ahuja plans to offer the kind of food and neighbourhood hangout that made Irani cafes useful in the first place.

Tavora Smokehouse, Bandra

Chef Nicole Gonsalves brings 26 years of cooking experience, including work in Michelin-starred kitchens such as Gordon Ramsay’s Savoy Grill. Tavora Smokehouse is her first independent restaurant. (It was a cloud kitchen earlier.) The menu draws on the chef’s travels through 27 countries, including Africa nations, making this more than the usual American barbecue spot. There is African fire cooking with traditional smoking techniques, so expect Moroccan beghrir with honey and fruit compote, and an Ugandan Rolex with a tofu omelette and zaalouk. Smoked chicken comes with harissa, peri-peri, Moroccan or Ethiopian berbere flavours. At the same time, the burgers and wraps feature north African chermoula, west African pepper, Libyan hot sauce, and South African braai spices. A 12-hour smoked pork burger, South African braai pork chop, and smoked berbere chicken with jollof rice give the smokehouse its meat-heavy centre, while smoked pumpkin and cottage cheese and a smoked wild mushroom sandwich keep the vegetarians fed too.

New menus and specials

Gaijin’s Alleyway Ramen Shop, Bandra

Gaijin’s new Alleyway Ramen Shop is a refreshing change from the usual big Japanese catchall menus found everywhere in the city. As you’d expect, noodles are the main focus. The outdoor space, surrounded by neon lights and graffiti-covered shutters, offers seven bowls by chef Anand Morwani. Highlights include robata chicken paitan with chicken gyoza, robata chicken thigh and ginger-scallion schmaltz; triple pork tonkotsu with grilled pork, pork katsu belly and smoked mayu lard; and black garlic lamb paitan with pulled lamb neck and lamb shoulder chashu. Among vegetarian options there’s smoked cauliflower miso and truffle, plus karaage, temaki, and the full Gaijin cocktail menu. Inspired by Tokyo’s ramen spots, this shop keeps it simple: sit, order, enjoy. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner, with 90-minute seatings.

Common Time x Café at The St. Regis, Lower Parel

Our Delhi friends are obsessed with the year-old Common Time. Mumbai gets a taste this month too. The cafe’s first outing beyond the capital is a limited-time presence at Café by The St. Regis in Phoenix Palladium. The pop-up focuses on coffee as a modern-day ritual, and the brand’s brews and cafe-style dishes are appearing in Lower Parel for a limited time, including the rare Excelsa coffee made from a Liberica bean with a tart, fruity profile featuring notes like ripe jackfruit and dark berries, until September 12.

Bare 3.0, Worli

Bare, the collaborative dining room in Worli, brings in Finnish chef Toni Toivanen for its third menu, called Bare 3.0. Toivanen has spent 10 years at Noma, including time in the test kitchen. His menu blends Nordic and Japanese influences while keeping a connection to Mumbai in each dish. For example, there is a Shrimp Bikini Toast, mackerel with wasabi and dashi, and Bombay duck made into fish and chips. Mentaiko noodles come with spicy curry, and matcha soufflé is served with milk ice cream.

Night Rooster x Punchline, Bandra

Ubud’s Night Rooster is taking over Punchline for one night, bringing its Indonesian-leaning cocktails and folklore-driven drinks to Bandra on September 10. Led by Raka Ambarawan and Esy, the bar works with local Indonesian fruits, herbs, vegetables, and spices, using house-made preparations and modern techniques. They’re not simply giving familiar cocktails a tropical makeover; folk tales and supernatural stories inspire drinks here. Night Rooster has also been featured in Tatler’s Best Asia 100 Bars. The takeover runs on September 10, 8 pm onwards. 

The Penang Table x Tanjore Tiffin Room, Bandra

Until September 13, The Penang Table and Tanjore Tiffin Room will bring Malaysian and Tamil flavours to the same plate. Both cuisines appreciate coconut, spice, rice, sourness, and a good sambal, so the partnership isn’t just a mashup but has a solid basis. Expect dishes to combine Penang’s street-food style with Tamil home cooking. We loved the jackfruit kari dosa with salna, the Mayandi lamb pepper chops, the kizhi parotta with Madras railway curry, and the meen kolumbu and the Dindigul mutton curry. Most curries are available in vegetarian, chicken, prawn, and mutton versions and come over mini idlis, which is such a brilliant idea. This one is a must-try.

Hearth’s new menu, Churchgate

At Hearth, chefs Dhriti and Sabby are taking their fire-based cooking in a direction that includes more vegetables, fruit, and dishes suitable for a retreating monsoon. Examples include smoked aubergine with miso on buckwheat grissini, mushrooms cooked in Maharashtrian hirva masala, and a skewer of zucchini and halloumi with blue cheese, all enhanced with smoke. There are also some out-there plates, like brisket mac and cheese and a Singapore chilli-crab pizza with a poached egg.

Pomodoro’s Itameshi menu, Bandra

The limited Itameshi menu at Pomodoro examines the longstanding local Japanese interpretations of Italian food (in the compound word, ita = Italian, meshi = meal) through European handmade pasta and Asian umami via soy, seaweed, and more. A corn panzanella is dressed with soy-citrus and stracciatella; a gnocchi kaare consists of pan-seared gnocchi served with Japanese curry and furikake; and a miso chilli chittara incorporates miso, chilli, and butter into handmade pasta, with katsu chicken or eggplant as an option. Black sesame panna cotta is dessert, of course. There is more in common between Italian and Japanese cuisine than we think; they both value technique, seasonality, and the conviction that extruded-flour strings solve most problems.

HyLo’s new menu, Kalaghoda

HyLo has a new hyper-local menu that employs ingredients from across India to build some solid regionality and seasonality into its food. Aam aur mircha wings pair Ratnagiri mangoes with Raja mircha; curried dogs turn regional Indian curries into bar snacks; and a Konkan rice lager puts fragrant local rice into the glass. Cocktails follow the same logic: Tiger Tiger combines kala khatta, cranberry, raspberry, and fortified Nashik wine, while Aarey Tribal Story brings together gondhoraj lemon, smoked Naga chilli, and mezcal.

Scarlett House x Indē Wild, Bandra

Scarlett House and beauty brand Indē Wild have turned fragrance into two limited-time cocktails. Solar Skin is a floral, easy-drinking gin number with jasmine cordial, elderflower, white tea, and lime. After Heat takes a more theatrical route: blue-pea-infused vodka, tangerine cordial, vanilla whey, coconut water, and black pepper change colour from deep blue to purple as you drink it, with a little gold glitter thrown in for good measure. The collaboration runs until September 20, with each cocktail priced at ₹850.

Tóa 66’s new menu, Churchgate

Tóa 66’s new seven-course vegetarian Thai tasting menu explores the central and Isan regions of Thailand, with a focus on texture, spice and regional variations. Naem kruk is a crisp rice-ball salad layered with kaffir lime, lemongrass, peanuts, and lollo rosso. Pak mo suki yaki features delicate, handmade rice sheets filled with water chestnut and served with suki sauce. Larb tofu pairs toasted rice powder with a cucumber-and-lime dressing, while Khao Tom is a comforting breakfast-style soup infused with ginger and white peppercorns. Bigger plates have kaeng pa, a jungle curry served with jasmine rice, and phad kee mao, fresh noodles tossed with tofu, chilli, and holy basil. Then there is khanom chan, a traditional layered dessert made with rice flour, coconut malai, and coconut milk, alongside Makrut, with chocolate espuma, kaffir lime, black sesame, and citrus.

Avatara’s Sutras menu, Santacruz

Avatara’s new 15-course ‘Sutras’ menu makes familiar Indian dishes behave differently. There’s malai burrata with mulberries, black rice idli with a yellow chilli ghee roast and podi, a kachori filled with ker sangri and served with fig-tamarind chutney, and an artichoke kulcha paired with jackfruit nihari. The vegetarian Madras Railway Curry has eggplant bharta with an elaichi banana bun, riffing on the Anglo-Indian dish. The menu picks up ingredients from across the country, including black rice from Assam, mulberries from Kashmir, triphala from the Konkan, and ker sangri from Rajasthan. It ends with rose-cardamom sheer khurma and a chocolate version of Kolkata paan. There’s a new drinks programme too, with zero-proof serves, Indian-inspired lemonades, wine cocktails, spritzers, and pours built around things like kokum, masala tea, barley, and Yakult.

SoBo 20’s new menu, Marine Drive

SoBo 20, celebrating its second year with a new menu, still pairs New Orleans with Marine Drive. There are Louisiana curry puffs with the crispness of empanadas, served with a chilli-cheese dip. Chilli butter farfallone is served with pecorino and herbs and can include crab if you desire. Chicken fricassée is SoBo 20’s take on the traditional Creole home-style dish, built on a deep-brown roux and topped with mushrooms and sticky rice. The pork belly ‘Couche-Couche’ reimagines a Cajun breakfast as a hearty main: rich pork belly over spiced cornmeal, polenta croutons, and bacon bits. A pulled lamb po’boy is filled with slow-cooked lamb, Creole ketchup, and ginger-scallion butter, all in one hearty sandwich. And a sweet potato po’boy carries on in the same vein, swapping lamb with spud. SoBo 20’s signature chocolate pâté is around, but now you can have it with their version of honey toast: toasted milk bread with vanilla-bean-whipped mascarpone and seasonal fruit.

Call Me Sofia’s new menu, Mumbai

Call Me Sofia’s new menu leans harder into its playful aperitivo spirit, so now drinks go well beyond the usual spritzes. Like the Wild Thing with sourdough, farmer’s jam, and mushroom beer, or the Call Me Picante with tequila, gin, strawberry, spinach, and jalapeño brine. There’s a zero-proof section too, including Soft Launch, made with black rice syrup, black lime, and a Parmesan tuile. Plates are designed to nibble on alongside. Think truffle burrata sammies, fig crostini, and carbonara pizzette. Save room for the chocolate crémeux, with pistachio praline, Maldon salt, and olive oil.

Taftoon’s new bar programme, Mumbai

Taftoon’s new bar and cocktail programme, ‘Adventures on the Grand Trunk Road: Volume 1’, invites you on a spirited journey across the Subcontinent. Inspired by the journal of a lone traveller, the menu traces 11 vibrant stops along the legendary Grand Trunk Road, from Afghanistan and the Khyber Pass to Bengal and Chittagong, each drink capturing the essence and story of its destination. Khanbaba’s Dhaba pairs peated whisky, roasted almond ice cream, Aperol, smoked dry chillies, and Afghan char masala bitters, while (our absolute favourite!) Sun & Gold combines the kick of mustard-oil-washed tequila with a creamy carrot-chilli cordial. Dil ka Darbaar draws on Shahjahanabad with raw mango-tamarind and puri tincture, and Depths of Water takes a tip from Varanasi’s paan culture with lemon gulkand and paan soda.

Luv’s Pavsala menu, Andheri

Luv’s ‘Pavsala: Love Letter to Maharashtra’ is a six-course tasting menu built around the hyperseasonal produce found in Maharashtra’s hills during the monsoon. Chef Akash Deshpande and sous chef Rajesh Katrapandi have worked with heritage recipes and regional spices, layering them with contemporary techniques while keeping the dishes’ original flavours intact. The vegetarian menu moves through arbi, kantola, and alu, with kokum and karvand as palate cleansers, before bharit and peach and plum. The non-vegetarian version includes sukat, kala mutton, and kurli, followed by pandhra rassa with chicken and the same fruit-led dessert. Sula Riesling, The Source Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tropical Rosé are paired across the meal. Every Wednesday, 8 pm to 11:30 pm. A vegetarian meal is priced at ₹6,250++, and non-veg at ₹6,500++.

Varsoo’s faraal menu, Chowpatty

Varsoo’s Shravan-special faraal menu is so much more than sabudana khichdi. There’s sabudana and makhana soup, mirchi sabudana wada, faraali sev puri, and crispy shakarkand coins with peanut dip. There are also saama pumpkin tacos made with barnyard millet flatbreads and pumpkin bharta. Other mains include faraali khichu with peanut curry, kuttu (buckwheat) ka poodla, faraali dal dhokli, and faraali paneer bhurjee with rajgira thepla. How to feast when fasting? Faraal dessert, like parval ki mithai filled with saffron kalakand, and a gluten-free pumpkin puranpoli with an amaranth crust.

Sweeney’s Sunday cookout, Khar

Sweeney’s new Sunday Marketplace Cookout turns part of the restaurant into a mini farmers’ market, where you pick your vegetables, herbs, and protein before handing them over to the kitchen. The main piece is a Make Your Own Thai Curry with zucchini, broccoli, carrots, baby corn, mushrooms, peppers, and bean sprouts, plus silken tofu, cottage cheese, chicken or prawns, and a choice of red, green or Panang curry. There are unlimited cocktails while you wait, and the theme changes every month. The vegetarian menu is ₹1,045 and the non-vegetarian ₹1,125, with unlimited cocktails at ₹2,000++. Every Sunday, noon to 4 pm.