What the Amlani brothers bring to Mumbai’s food circuit

While Rizwan realised his passion early on, Riyaaz tried selling shoes before setting up bowling alleys and go-karting tracks. “It is then that the realisation hit — not everyone bowled or went go-karting, some just met for a cup of coffee and a chutney sandwich,” says Riyaaz. At the time, there was a dearth of such spaces in Mumbai. Thus Mocha was born in 2002. “It was all about coffee and conversations. We offered good coffee, desserts sourced from home chefs and rudimentary sandwiches. We even introduced conversation cookies which had provocative topics to propel conversations,” says Riyaaz.

The brothers share that they also operate from a space of civic pride, to do things for the city that haven’t been done before, including Rizwan’s Mezcalita. Started in partnership with veteran restaurateur Vicky Singh, it opened about a fortnight ago. “Mexican cuisine is second nature to anyone who lives in any major city in the world,” says 36-year-old Rizwan, “When tourists come to Mumbai, not only do they want local cuisine but also international cuisine, and there was a dearth of good quality Mexican food.”

But this understanding came from his early lessons with his restaurant Del Italia while he was in his 20s. “There was a sense of not knowing enough when my chef would throw some names at me and so I decided to educate myself,” says Rizwan. Upon his return in 2015, he joined Riyaaz’s Tasting Room as a chef. “But the monotony got to me. Nobody prepares you about how different the realities are back home. The farm-to-table concept doesn’t work here,” he says. Rizwan found respite in Dope Coffee Roasters, which he co-founded in 2017. “It took me closers to farms, and estates and allowed me to put my learning into practice.”

Rizwan strongly believes that in another six years or so people would be taking culinary trips to India. Through Mezcalita, he attempts to bring Mexico’s cantina culture to Mumbai. He has brought on board Mexico-based historian-cum-chef Pablo Benitez. Starting from a variety of guacamole, burritos and nachos, the menu boasts of a variety of dishes including panuchos (black-bean filled toasted tortilla), alambre (grilled meat topped with vegetables), chilaquiles (lightly fried tortilla chips simmered in brothy sauce).

Reflecting on how the industry has changed over the last two decades, Riyaaz admits that he hid his Byculla identity through the first half of his culinary journey. “In 2000, when we started, everybody was obsessed with the West. If you didn’t speak good English, you were tagged as ‘verni’ (vernacular). The same was reflected in the food. With Mocha and Salt Water Grill, we were sending you to far-off places. But everything that came after was about celebrating the vernacular. With Social, we embraced our bilingual side,” he says. The current scene has also witnessed people either going back to their roots, offering local food, or aiming for international cuisine.

Last week, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant list was released, which saw Masque from Mumbai, Indian Accent from New Delhi, and Avartana from Chennai ranking 16, 19, and 30 respectively. Its 51-100 list includes Mumbai’s The Table, Americano, Ekaa, as well as Bukhara, ITC Maurya, from New Delhi. “There are a lot of Indian restaurants that are not Indian by nature and that’s saying something. Americano is not Indian and neither is The Table. There are international standard restaurants emerging from India,” says Riyaaz, “Even with Mezcalita, Rizwan is not doing that polished Mexican restaurant with cliches, it is more about the cantinas, which are vernacular forms of Mexican restaurants.”

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