There's a new restaurant at Mahalaxmi Racecourse, and here's all you need to know about it

Watermelon Guacamole and Warm Brie Hive

Mahalaxmi Racecourse offers the solace of foliage to compensate for the traffic leading to it. This time, we are here for Soraia - a new 200-seater modern Indo-European restaurant by restaurateurs Afsana Verma, Amit Verma, along with Dhaval Udeshi, the force behind Scarlett House and Gigi. It replaces old-timer Neel-Tote on the Turf at the Royal Western India Turf Club.

For its new innings, Gauri Khan lends her vision with her take on a secret European garden, set in Mumbai's green lung. "I've played with the abundant natural light, foliage, and space to create a magical restaurant where the indoors seamlessly flows to the al fresco. In the daytime, the light creates a peaceful and relaxed vibe, while in the evenings, warm chandeliers create reflections, depth and texture. Raw textures of natural wood and white stone, create a great backdrop for the greenery and lush fabrics used," Khan shares about the design philosophy.

Sitafal Tres Leches and Lotus Stem Pinsa

In the al fresco, a flowy water fountain greets us, as it stands surrounded by elegantly lit tables. A glass house in the far corner beckons for an intimate meal. Inside, the wood and white stone offers an inviting ambiance centred around an Omakase cocktail bar. Tufted leather sofas lend a cosy setting under the familiar rain-tree-inspired pillars retained from the earlier avatar. The team defines the food and bar programme as ‘Neo botanical'. Chef Hitesh Shanbhag elaborates that the concept shapes the modern Indian-European culinary language, relying on nature for harmonious direction. The food menu is divided into First Flush, Seed, Light, Fire, Earth, and Air, using roots, leaves, grains, and proteins to serve seasonal flavours from coastlines and lands.

Views of the 200-seater in Mahalaxmi. Pics/Atul Kamble

Shanbhag gives us a sweet welcome with Tomato Halwa (Rs 220) laden with raisins, adding a tangy palate burst with Watermelon Guacamole (Rs 225) on a puri from the First Flush section. The flavours are maintained light in the evening. Seeds offer a Warm Brie Hive (Rs 750) is a take on baklava - sweet apples in a phylo pastry oozing with brie, a lightly spiced chilli nut crunch of granola finishes the bite.

Light unfurls Shanbhag's craft with Black Noir (Rs 950), a liver parfait with black truffle with an inhouse whiskey butter. We slather on house-made milk bread brioche. Fire takes a tandoori and fiery turn with Chicken Olea (Rs 650). Succulent marinated pieces of meat are lifted with a juicy bell pepper-olive tapenade, with a dunk into green garlic aioli.

Fay Barretto prepares a beverage

Lotus Stem Pinsa (Rs 1050), a Roman-style flatbread, has a green chutney base topped with slivers of lotus stem. Crispy fluff of Malabar spinach moss packs in the crunch. Gucchi Silk (Rs 750) is a standout creamy galouti served on morels sheets. From the Earth, we get Churpi and Kandhari Badam Agnolotti (Rs 1100) pasta filled with almonds. Bland on the palate, it misses bringing in a core flavour to tie the dish together.

Omakase cocktail bar

The food is complemented by beverage director Fay Barretto's knack for complex cocktails that had him scouting for ingredients to represent mountains, coasts, forests, desserts. Barretto, who goes by the pronouns him/they, has the pantry full of pine needles, fresh (from Himachal), Choru spice mix, Kashmiri garlic, Lomba (medicinal herb from the North East), Michinga Leaves and Lasoda (glueberry or Indian cherry).

(From left) Plateaus; Smoke Beneath the Snowcap

From the mountains is Smoke Beneath the Snowcap (Rs 1100), a tequila-mezcal highball that has the woodiness of mountain pines. The spirit is infused with brown butter gucchi mushroom, carbonated into a lavender, chives and dried apricot pickle consommé with acids. This comes with a Pahadi raita sitting on a gondhoraj leaf. Too much is going on in the drink for us to catch up.

Hitesh Shanbhag and Gauri Khan. File pic/Nimesh Dave

One that comes together beautifully is Where the Forest Breathes Smoke (Rs 1100) with robust Pandi curry flavours of Coorg (Rs 1100). Notes of the spice mix, Kodagu tomato curry and wild lemon are held together in a fat-washed whiskey. A piece of kithul roti sits on the glass rim as a bite along. Plateaus (Rs 1100) explores the limits of a hot toddy, with dark rum, millet wort, tamarind water, Guntur tincture, toasted millet and madras curry milk, making it a warm pick.

Sunlight on Open Fields. PICS COURTESY/SORAIA

From the Plains, Sunlight on Open Fields (Rs 1100) is a gin-forward drink with iced apple ferment, sugarcane juice, pigeon pea orgeat and glueberry preserve. We relish the savoury finishing notes of amaranth. Baretto's cocktails demand attention to ingredients and techniques. For cocktail nerds, it is a class in complexity.

In the mains, the Jackfruit Berry Pulao (Rs 750) is straight from an Irani restaurant menu; it's juicy, laden with zereshk berries and meaty jackfruit. For dessert, Shanbhag takes inspiration for Tres Leches (Rs 850) from the Sitafal MilkShake at Haji Ali Juice Centre. The three-way milk dessert, a rare feat to find a good version in the city, is rich like a basundi with a milk-soaked cake centre. Cocoa & Sin (Rs 730), on the other hand, satiates our craving for dark chocolate with a sorbet, sea salt olive tapenade and dark chocolate cacao leather.

At: Royal Western India Turf Club, Mahalakshmi Racecourse.
Time: 12 noon to 4 pm and 7 pm to 1 am (First week dinner seating only at 7 pm)
Call: 9004938000, 9004883000