Arth, 15th Road, Khar West, Mumbai
**** Rated
Cuisine and Culture are so impeccably interconnected that it is such delight to indulge in a gastronomic experience because it affords such an insight into one’ own culture or the culture of the place the cuisine originates from. This thought resonates with our dinner experience at this expansive, two storeyed but thinly patronised fine diner located in Khar. Arth boasts of an expansive space, a distinction that few restaurants located in Bandra or Khar can stake claim to. Easy to spot as it right there on the 15th road, the massive door opens to a small foyer flanked by an expansive lounge on the left that was completely empty on a Friday night! The staff guided us to the first floor since “it is easier to service there with the kitchen being on the first floor”. While we appreciate the sincerity, this possibly ought not to be the reason to serve customers on the first floor alone! As one ascends the staircase, the landing takes us to a well stocked bar on the left side with the large restaurant, distinctly marked by four massive pillars somewhat obstructing the view. The glass panes overlooking the road downstairs afford not merely depth of space but an uninterrupted view as well. Alongside this, the tables are large, with comfortable cushioned chairs, placed with much space between each one of them.
As we made our way to the centre of the restaurant, opting to be seated by the glass panes and the view, we noticed that barring a large family of 8 and another table with three people, the restaurant was largely empty and this at a busy night time, 10 pm. Throughout our meal I was constantly assailed by this thought wondering why this place continued to be so bereft of patrons and this was our second visit (we had been here a few months ago for lunch). The place is suitably lit with ornate chandeliers dropping down from the ceiling, but mismatched with the grungy black pipes that are fitted into the ceiling which includes the AC too. Likewise are the, what appears to be a hunters’ trophy laden wall, that was diagonally opposite to us with varying antlers from the spotted deer to its other member of the species. The wall had an ancient, yellowish holding appearance again in sharp dissonance with an ornate look afforded by the furniture and the chandeliers. The one place of harmonious ambience is the ladies’ washroom, done up largely in white with a black granite floor. Delightfully lit, very large, comfortable with way to wall full length mirrors gleefully catering to the vanity in us.
The menu is extensive, exhaustive, pleasurable to read, and also tests the strength of your wrists if you too are like me, on the slender side. It begins with a beautiful description of the style of cooking and explains the role and use of angeeti style in Indian cuisine. By the way, this is the speciality of Arth. It caters to an Indian palette and the entire range of food and drink is the brainchild of chef Amninder Sandhu, and it all spells an unhurried, delectable indulgence with loved ones. The portions are decent and the quality of food is outstanding but the pricing could be more competent considering the amount of competition they have. Their prices along with the 10 percent service charge and the vat can be a tad prohibitive and am guessing this could be one of the reasons for a limited patronage.
If experience and quality are your parameters then I would urge you to visit Arth. We started with a Naga Pork Dry Fry and an Indian styled gin based cocktail entitled, Himalayan G and T that is infused with turmeric, orange fritters, cucumber and thyme. It is refreshing, light and not sweet for sure. Now the Naga Pork Dry Fry caught our fancy as we thought it originated in the northeast and together with bamboo shoot and green chillies the pork belly promised to be interesting. We were delighted to see that pork could so soft, tender and succulent. The portion was enough for the two of us as we lapped it up. For the main course we opted to try the hung curd made, Khameri Roti, the Padoli Wali Dal made of five kinds of pulses and the chef’s speciality, Mutton Deolali. It was an experience to watch the mutton dish brought and served to our table! The alpinia leaf wrapped mutton is set in a skewer interspersed with red chillies and placed inside a bamboo shoot which the waiter patiently unwraps and pours it out along with the gravy. This comes with a portion of the sticky but flavourful jasmine rice, also wrapped in alpinia leaf. One needs to have this to believe how succulent the meat pieces were and so flavourful, coming off a bamboo shoot! As expected the buttered khameri roti was soft indulgence and blended beautifully with the dish. The padoli dal, served in small saucepan like dishes is quite mild, aromatic and easy on the stomach. A word of advice though, it is best to have the jasmine rice when it is hot as it tends to get sticky when cool. The portion ought to suffice for two, if, like us, you are not a heavy eater. Our dinner experience at Arth was pure delight and the waiters were rather helpful. It was sheer greed that led us to opt for the Passion Fruit Ganache and given that we were already quite full, we enjoyed the passion fruit flavoured ice cream and the thick, gooey chocolate cake proved to be too heavy.
We surely intend to return here to try out the other specialities and admire the sheer range that Indian cuisine affords, notwithstanding the price at Arth. My two suggestions would be that they do not shut shop because the last order was at 11.15 although the timings of the restaurant is supposed to be upto 1 am. Considering we were the last of their customers we understand the earlier closing still. Secondly, the establishment needs to possibly work on the pricing and promotion of this place to enlist higher numbers as the two are inter linked. Last, but not the least, the decor of the place surely needs some more thought or an explanation of sorts.
A G K
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