The hunt for South Indian fine dining across Mumbai

All of us might be in love with Kings Circle icon Cafeacute Madrasrsquo idlis or with dosa options at Versovarsquos Banana Leaf but when it comes to experiencing the same aromas and flavours of this vast cuisine in a fine dine experience options are scarce Letrsquos face it mdash the city is inundated with fine dine restaurants that dish out robust Punjabi fare heady panAsian cuisine and Spanish spreads too but South Indian food seems more or less restricted to humbler establishments The other option is restaurants inside five and sevenstar hotelsA lavish South Indian spread at Dakshin CoastalNothing beyond dosasVijay Malhotra Executive Chef ITC Maratha that houses fine dine South Indian restaurant Dakshin Coastal paints the real picture for us ldquoThe local mindset still thinks of South Indian cuisine hovering around idli dosa sambhar and vada and nothing beyond Therefore probably the entrepreneurs here are less adventurous in testing their hands at running a fine dine South Indian restaurantrdquo He adds that lack of knowledge about the cuisine is a major component of this trendCafeacute Madras remains a favourite for South Indian food at pocketfriendly prices PicSuresh KKHowever this lack of awareness isnrsquot just a trait of patrons and can be credited to the playingsafe attitude of restaurateurs as well according to food blogger Anushruti RK who runs the blog divinetastecom ldquoSouth Indian food is quite varied in nature Each of the four South Indian states have a number of regional variations in terms of the styles of cooking use of spices etc Unfortunately Mumbairsquos restaurateurs havenrsquot represented this diversity They like to stick to popular staples Nobody wants to take a chance by introducing unknown dishes on the menurdquo she elaboratesBanana Leaf that serves as a bridge between an Udupi and a fine dine restaurant is one of the few standalone city eateries to offer Mumbaikars an authentic South Indian experienceNo pinching pocketsA fine dine restaurant works only when customers are willing to pay good money for a lavish spread But with South Indian food most people arenrsquot open to the idea reveals celebrity chef Kunal Kapur He breaks it down for us and elucidates that the money cows in current times are youngsters in the 2540 age bracket who travel a lot around the world and thus are exposed to various cuisines ldquoWhen they return they want the same tastes on their palates and are willing to pay for it Hence cuisines like South Indian food face a beating because people are not willing to pay a substantial amount for those dishesrdquo he informsChef Kapur adds that this is not just the case with South Indian food other regional cuisines also face the brunt of this situation ldquoWhy do you think Mumbai being the heart of Maharashtra hardly offers any fine dine Marathi restaurantsrdquo he questionsMeldan Dcunha owner of Bandrarsquos Soul Fry and The Local at Fort circles the lack of appeal in South Indian food as an important reason for its absence from the fine dine spectrum ldquoSouth Indian cuisine is basically homestyled food and it does not fit in the fine dine setup On the other hand North Indian cuisine with its kebabs and tandoors adapts very well to the wine drinking and suave atmosphere reflected in a fine dining experience South Indian food lacks that appealrdquo he specifiesDinesh Nayak general manager of the Versova branch of Banana Leaf a wellknown South Indian restaurant chain in the city that is frequented by people from all walks of life endorses Dcunharsquos stance and highlights that while people have no problem spending a bit more on International cuisines bars and even North Indian dishes South Indian food loses out in that race ldquoSouth Indian food works in a setup like ours where we donrsquot charge people a lot and give them valueformoney It might not work well in an expensive fine dine spacerdquo he reasons