The Undercover Review: Mockingbird Café & Bar, Mumbai

Warmly lit and roomy, Mockingbird is as inviting when you step in. And there’s no fear of a random electronica playlist drowning out human voices here. There’s Michael Jackson, Lorde, Maroon 5 – when in doubt, pop is the safest choice. The please-all menu offers a mix of European, Indian and Thai dishes. But it’s also got stone-baked pizzas, sandwiches and an impressive breakfast that could be a big draw. It’s food like the pav bhaji in a Thai twist that sounds the dodgiest, but we tried the Kerala spiced chicken with green coriander pesto chutney (Rs 285), and the chutney was extremely edible with chunky balls of chicken you can tuck in until the mains arrive. But, there was nothing Kerala about the dish, not even a hint, unless of course you eat the bay leaves (always a good idea. We love bay leaves.)

There was nothing Kerala about the spiced Kerala fried chicken although the green coriander pesto chutney it was served with was extremely edible.

From the extensive cocktail menu, we picked The joys from Brazil (Rs 375), which, of course, was a very good caipirinha. The bartender knows what to do when you have limes, sugar and cachaca. We almost wished we had some fried sardines to go along with it, just like they serve in Rio.

We also reluctantly skipped what seemed like the safest bets – Crispy baked potato skins with curried potato and cheddar and baked nachos with spicy salsa – and picked the grilled aubergine rolls with sundried tomato and homemade ricotta (Rs 225). Anybody who gets aubergine right deserves a medal, but then how wrong can you go with cheese? Our hungry eyes watched a generously portioned plate of Cheesy Baked assorted potato poutine and stopped ourselves from lunging across the tables by focussing on the books. Besides books by the brilliant Terry Pratchett and tourist-friendly reads such as Suketu Mehta’s Maximum City, let’s just say that if you took kids along, they might not be impressed if you handed them the Modern School Atlas. We’re hoping that there is a copy of BFG or a Diary Of A Wimpy Kid lying around somewhere.

Our aubergine rolls finally arrived (for some reason, the staff sent both appetisers separately with a cruel waiting time between the two. It would have made sense if they had asked if we were all non-vegetarians at the table). But the wait was worth it – delicate slices of aubergine, shallow fried, but not to a crisp and stuffed with ricotta cheese served with what looked and tasted like a sundried tomato tapenade whetted our appetite for the mains.

The grilled aubergine rolls, which were delicate slices of aubergine stuffed with ricotta cheese, were a hit.

The mushroom risotto with pink peppercorn (Rs 385) got our vote primarily because of the peppercorn, which is smoky and not as fiery as the Indian black peppercorn. Like the Kerala Spiced Fried Chicken, Dhansak-marinated Roast Chicken (Rs 410) has potential, and is a mild, agreeable mains, but certainly not something we’d order again.

The menu said that the flourless chocolate cake would be served with homemade icecream, but the scoop of vanilla icecream that came with our cake was decidedly store bought. The service staff confirmed that it was Baskin Robbins. After a word with the restaurant owner, who assured us it was made by “a lady in Gamdevi” (We’ve only heard of Bina’s homemade icecream in Chowpatty), the waiter returned to tell us that he had made a mistake and it was indeed homemade icecream. While this slip-up is too small to stop us from returning for those lovely potatoes and poutine, we hope it is artisanal icecream on our plates and on the menu the next time around.

Mockingbird has a fair deal of competition from restaurants such as Salt Water Grill, Shiv Sagar, Gay Lord, Not Just Jazz By The Bay and Summer Wines. But the owner, who also managed the running of Tea Centre next door, has cracked a menu that might just beat the rest. And the best part? They have their own little herb garden patch right in front of the restaurant.

Where: Pareekh Mahal, 80 Veer Nariman Road, Churchgate, Mumbai 400020
When: 9 am – 12.30 am
Meal for 2: Rs 3000 (with alcohol) approx
Phone: 022-60226023