GPS:Apollo Hotel, Brightland Building, Landsown Road , Colaba, - 5
Tring Tring:+91-22-65247070
Click: http://www.5therestaurant.com/ (website of parent restaurant 5)
In & Out: 12:00 noon – 12:00 midnight
Damages: Rs.1500/- for a meal for two without alcohol
Must-Order: Kasundi Marinated Bekti with Lentil Cone Mash & Butter Melt
Umami Quotient: Sweet
The last week of September saw a neat restaurant swap between Colaba and the Andheri. We sent over our favourite trusty Woodside Inn to quench their thirst for ‘coolth’ and they graciously reciprocated with a branch of Restaurant 5, renamed 5 All Day, a modern European restaurant which has been quietly delighting discerning diners for the past 3-4 years. Since Colaba has such few new restaurants we jumped at the bait, glad that the prime location behind Regal had bid adieu to the dodgy-looking nightspot Oba for an affordable dining option.
Bar-O-Meter
As befitting an all-day dining they have a respectable list of cocktails and wines and surprisingly good list of aperitifs which is rare in Bombay outside clubs and five-stars. Since we had gone for the wine-soaked pre-opening brunch we can vouch for the crisp n’ tangy cranberry champagne cocktails though the mojitos were too sugary for Mariam’s liking.
Palate
The list of starters is ambitious and impressive with a variety of interesting options like Pork Bratwurst & Kasundi Flavoured Scrambled Eggs. We scoured the list and opted for the Burger Platter with 3 mini burgers; the chicken burger was alright but the chorizo & ham variant was juicy and delish. The vegetarian corn one though was rather blah and hazy. Portion-wise it’s a perfect share between two people.
The Seafood Stew though was superlative, peppered with generous quantities of fresh fish bits, prawns, squid and scallops. The broth was infused with garlic, basil, lemongrass and Thai yellow paste and delicately fragrant and a delightful accompaniment to my friend Monali and my incessant gossip sessions!
I know chef cum manager Mrinmoy for a while now, from his last stint at Yellow Tree Café and I love his modern ways of introducing elements of Bengali cuisine to European fare. Though he had started the same at YTC, it’s come full bloom at 5AD. The Bengali staple Kasundi (a tangy mustard sauce that usually accompanies bitter gourd preparations) makes repeated appearances in different forms as does Calcutta’s favourite all-purpose fish bekti (much like rawas, firm-fleshed and sparsely boned). The Kasundi Marinated Bekti we had for the main course was superbly fresh with hints of the river sweetness still embedded in the flesh. The tang of the kasundi balanced the freshness out beautifully and I was pleasantly surprised to find another humble Bengali kitchen ingredient make a posh European debut, the bori (dried lentil cones used in different curries as an add-on).
We also had the Roast Leg of Lamb though we substituted the herb rice with grilled veggies. The lamb was a piece de resistance, beautifully tender, marinated to the bone in red wine and flaking at touch. It’s rare that we have a non-Indian mutton preparation that is packed with so much umami!
We were packed to the gills but dessert is a duty towards our palates we have to fulfil so we reached out for the Dark and White Chocolate Parfait and parfait it was! The dark chocolate was a rich mousse studded with maraschino cherries while the white came with a mascarpone mousse. The combination was intensely creamy and rich without being sickeningly oversweet and was more than enough for two people; definitely a dessert meant to be shared!
Crowd v/s Company
The unusual combination of pink n’ green walls with a mirror-mosaic ceiling spread over the bar makes for a curiously cool and clean ambience. The tables are few and spread apart, affording privacy to diners, most unusual of an all-day eatery. The location as we mentioned before is über-prime at the troika of Ling’s Pavilion, All Stir Fry, Indigo Deli, Table & Moshe not to mention the Taj Mahal. In such august company it’s a sin to go wrong but we have a feel 5AD wont! We predict many effortless catch-ups with friends, cozy dates, quick after-work meals and post-shopping coffees in the future!
Comeback Quotient
As long as they remain coolly uncluttered and unpretentiously affordable they can expect us back as lifers!
You can also catch our story on http://www.vogue.in/content/going-places-5-all-day and spread the love to friends and foodies!
You can also catch our story on http://www.vogue.in/content/going-places-5-all-day and spread the love to friends and foodies!