“Sorry, at the moment we have standing room only”.
This is what we got to hear at Neuma's door on Saturday night when we showed up for an impulsive cocktail with a couple of friends. It was the first weekend of business for Colaba's wildly exciting new opening; the space was kinetic. Every seat in its many rooms was taken, with people dining, drinking, and dancing.
Indeed there are rooms aplenty here. Neuma is where landmark restaurant Indigo used to be, in the achingly beautiful, high-ceilinged, turn-of-the-19th-century bungalow called Garden Chalet, on 4 Mandlik Road. It has been four years since the chalet has lain vacant. Even so, when an illustration announcing an imminent opening went up a week ago, people recognised the building immediately. WhatsApp groups pinged incessantly, enthusiastically, about the new place in a fond, familiar location.
This keen curiosity around Neuma, and the thrill of having the spot – long made iconic by Indigo – open up again, is no surprise. A few generations of patrons have partaken, partied, even proposed in these rooms. Going by the crowds on the weekend, it's likely the trend will be revived.
Entering Garden Chalet is bittersweet for those who miss and long for its previous avatar. Even so, it's only fair to look at its new occupant with fresh eyes.
Neuma is beautiful. The dappled, white-gravelled Garden Cafe is a lovely place to get breakfast in nice weather, under fronds, alongside flower boxes, and a fountain which is a rather large startled-looking head by Claymen. Just inside, is an oakwood-and-white Sun Porch. (Yes, the rooms each have names.) Here, under long slanted skylights, is where we sat for a leisurely tasting in the days leading up to the opening.
On that day, executive chef Abhinav Sharma and his team were in the process of refining and editing a cuisine-agnostic menu of contemporary comfort foods served in hearty portions. There's a lamb shank marinated in red wine, served on saffron risotto. The meat, served in a pool of rich red wine-infused jus, slides off the bone like warm butter. Silky poached salmon is glazed with a seafoam green sauce of lime leaf and coconut and served on edamame black rice with a pleasant bite to it. This plate is a delicious study in textural contrasts. Chargrilled chicken, glazed with honey barbecue, is offset with chilli granola and pickled walnuts.
For Neuma's vegan plates, Rishim Sachdeva, who delighted us with his treatment of vegetables at Olive before moving to London, has been brought in as a consultant chef. So there is also a small hill of chargrilled squash on a tostada, a whole head of cauliflower glistening with harissa, and potatoes boulangère, among others. A finale of vodka milk panna cotta with berry sorbet and lemon shortbread, or an orange creme brûlée with a heady orange mousse and a glossy, melting ball of dark chocolate sorbet, will keep sweet teeth well honeyed.
When dining at Neuma for the first time, the important thing to do is to take a break for a leisurely stroll. Architect Ashiesh Shah's eclectic influences and treatment of the space make sure that there is a lot to see, and many details to discover. The frilly tops of potted fishtail palms and areca palms brush against the ceiling of The Courtyard inside, hanging over a striking black and white floor and rattan chairs. Blanc, the room to the west has Naga dolls on the walls and a glass showcase with figurines depicting historic occupations akin to the ones at Bhau Daji Lad. It feels like the dining room in the home of a collector. Alongside, Verde, a decagonal cool green intimate private dining room with lush leaves outside the windows, has walls with corseted facets.
Each of the 220 seats in Neuma has a view. At the base of the stairs leading to the Bawa terrace (which has nothing to do with Parsis, but is a nod to Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa's tropical modernism) is an irreverent, dark, Pikachu-piled bust by artist Siddharth Kararwal. Over the last year and a half, Shah has sourced pieces of art, sculpture, and collectibles from all over – Goa, Pondicherry, Nagaland, Manipur, Delhi, Mumbai and more – to populate Neuma with these points of interest. “At some stage I became the owner of this house,” says Shah. “I imagined this as a holiday home I would build for myself. I thought about where I would entertain my friends, about how the staff will move.”
Alongside the terrace, Nautica has vintage model ships on shelves and is ideal for small parties. Stairs alongside lead down to the Safari Room, where under the cool cover of treetops, areca palms, and gentle outdoor fans, daybed-style seating, sisal mats, and framed beasts, evoke a luxury camp in the wild.
Even wilder is The Rose Bar, in every sense of the word. It's where cocktails like Pistols at Dawn (sweet and stiff with tequila, Campari, Attikan estate coffee, Demerara sugar, sweet vermouth, bitter orange liqueur) rapidly exit a bar under a massive red leatherette light sculpture. The ceiling beams have a ruby glow, it’s just enough to notice the real (unfired) bullet pushed into the side of the caffeinated dram of Pistols in your hand. The front of the bar has bookshelves strewn with fresh red roses. More tightly packed blooms fill the window boxes. Another pour, Dinner with Francesca, is as potent but savoury – in it olive oil meets dry gin, vermouth, capers, and olives. Just don't drop your drink in the jostle.
“The space makes you behave a certain way,” says Shah. “The red room makes you want to party. Other places are calmer and make you want to chill. If a space evokes emotion, it does what art is supposed to.”
Neuma is co-founded by filmmaker Karan Johar, Delhi-based hospitality conglomerate True Palate Cafe Pvt Ltd, and Dharma Cornerstone's CEO Bunty Sajdeh. Designer Kanika Goyal has taken on the role of branding and communications manager. Her spouse, restaurateur Ankit Tayal, is one of the founders of True Palate. According to them, Neuma the restaurant, is step one of building a lifestyle brand from India that can be taken to the world, like Bagatelle or Zuma.
“Sometimes things just happen,” says Tayal about finding Garden Chalet. “We were looking to do something in Mumbai, and we came across this bungalow and fell in love. People passing by say 'this is where we spent so much of our time'; there is so much love for the space.” Mumbai diners will concur. (This) location is everything.
12:30 pm to 1:30 am, Tuesday to Sunday; Mondays closed. Dinner seatings at 7pm and 10:30pm. 4, Mandlik Road, Apollo Bunder, Colaba, Mumbai. A meal for two with a drink each is approximately Rs 5,000.