Mumbai Food: New Khar eatery aims to offer something for every personality type

A Canopy of vines makes for a pathway at the entrance and sprites lounge on the walls mounted with foggy glass cabinets that house more plants in the interiors Together this tries to create a fantastical world at The Looney The Lover amp The Poet a new restaurant where you can embody any of the three characters that make up the nameThe falafel platterThe quirky name is inspired by Shakespearersquos play A Midsummer Nightrsquos Dream and aims to cater to every kind of diner mdash the postwork hassled Mumbaikar the couple in love and the foodie who is crazy to try out new flavours The menu we are told will change frequentlyAlmond Nutella babka French toastHow does one find coherence in such a wide variety we ask coowner Gaurav Dabrai and he tells us that there isnrsquot any All they want to do is concentrate on fresh flavours even the cocktail menu will have specials for the day and not follow a theme The menu has been designed by chefs Harish Devadkar and Sagar Thite And coming soon are custommade mealsRoot vegetables spanakopitaWe start our looney tasting journey with a rather sane but delicious salad kale a day Rs 395 Itrsquos a combination of kale and apple with basil leaves adding some freshness and candied Brazil nuts a touch of sugar all pulled together with a light blue cheese dressing The carrot and baked yoghurt salad Rs 395 has paprikaspiced savoury muesli with slowroasted carrot avocado and a sweet addition of baked yoghurt that holds the dish wellThe naked burger picsshadab khanFor appetisers the falafel platter Rs 375 makes for a colourful clickfriendly dish with three types of hummus made only with tahini mdash pistachio almonds and yellow pepper the last version being our favourite They have also added gnudi Rs 375 in their appetiser section and do a light Asian version with a lemongrass galangal and coconut cream sauce The Levantine aubergine caviar Rs 375 with its smokey aubergine puree stuffed in tomatoes placed on delicate tofu does a good job with the vegetable and a hint of wasabi though we wish for something more to bring all the elements together Almost a detox Rs 425 a kale cocktail made with gin green apple orange ginger and cucumber refreshes our palate We also like the quirky drink and she said to me Rs 475 a mapleinfused bourbon and Martini Rosso concoctionAlmost a detoxFor the mains the restaurant does a root vegetable version of spanakopita Rs 495 topped with a great almondcrusted camembert Keto followers can try the naked burger Rs 450 mdash with mushroom and quinoa patties arugula burrata and flavoursome jalapeno tomato jam We end our meal with an indulgent almond and Nutella babka French toast topped with three scoops of fresh housemade icecream Rs 450 Dark chocolate and coffee are our favourite The madness of the menu works as they pull off the dishes with the right use of varied flavours The prices are on the higher side but you will surely find something interesting to try here regardless of what your taste buds crave forOpens on February 12 630 pm onwards will open for lunch soonAt Ground floor Hotel Shubhangan 21st Road Khar West Call 9820029933Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go