Food and fashion fiesta

After constantly delaying launch plans for over a year and with industry celebrities like chef Rakesh Talwar Michelin star chef Vineet Bhatia and Kris Correya the former resident DJ at Zenzi on board F Barrsquos Mumbai outpost seems to be finally ready to open its door to demanding diners In a city crammed for space F Bar has managed to create a swanky allblack lounge spread across two floors and 10000 sq ft complete with two private dining areas an open air smoking deck with a waterfall two bars two dining areas a 360degree television that is most likely to screen F TV and a an exclusive Dom Peacuterignon lounge After calling them as curious customers on three consecutive Monday afternoons and being told every single time that the launch of the lounge was delayed by another week we finally managed to get a table reservation at the F Bar They still hadnrsquot officially opened for public and were offering a limited tasting menu After dodging security guards at One India Bulls Centre in Lower Parel all of whom insisted that F Bar wasnrsquot open we finally managed to get there and were quite impressed with the massive space the architecture the interiors and even the light welldesigned cutlery The tasting menu had a mix of chef Talwarrsquos international cuisine and Indian cuisine with signature Bhatia twists like Prawn Puchkas and Aloo Chat Martinis We ordered Tawa Rawas Tequila Lime Glaze Lamb Tikki Cheese Melt and Goat Cheese Cigar from the appetiser section The Tawa Rawas was too dry and a tad unseasoned for our liking the lamb cheese tikki unlike its deceptive name was fiery but beautifully cooked and seasoned The surprise however was the goat cheese cigar mdash crispy filo pastry stuffed with fine quality goat cheese served in shot glasses with chilly mayonnaise at the bottom and sesame seeds on top It was nongreasy yet crispy on the outside and juicy and succulent on the inside Simplicity served in shot glasses that could potentially turn carnivores into vegetarians For the main course we ordered Fish Marinated with OlivesnCaper cooked en papillote in paper and Methi Saag Aloo with butter roti The fish was what legends are made of simply cooked beautifully dressed with the heavenly combination of olives and capers and served with perfect potato mash The methi saag aloo with a sprinkling of fried garlic didnrsquot go down well with us for which we donrsquot know if we should blame the chef or our traditional Punjabi taste buds For desserts we decided to completely go the Vineet Bhatia way and ordered Mango Rasmalai Lasagna with Blue Curacao rabdi and Coffee Halwa with Oreo cookie ice cream served in a camera lens which was aptly called the Photo Finish The melt in the mouth rasmalais went well with generous helpings of sweet alphonso mango and were perfectly offset by the tangyyet not overpowering Blue Curacao Rabdi The Coffee Halwa which we were told by the staff was made of semolina but what we later realised was made of cracked wheat was stodgy and disappointing Overall the food at F Bar hits the sweet spot between simplicity innovation and sophistication The portions at least during the trials were small but we believe these issues wonrsquot crop up once they open for uncompromising Mumbai customers u00a0