Review: Sahib Room & Kipling Bar, St Regis, Mumbai

Go on a gourmet glamping experience in the urban jungle of Mumbai.

Sahib Room & Kipling Bar at St Regis hotel, since it first opened a little over a decade ago, has been one of the go-to five-star restaurants in Mumbai for Indian flavours. In its new chapter, Chef Paul Kinny, Culinary Director and Chef Taj Sha, Master Chef, have brought to life the flavours and ambience of the royal shikaar.

The restaurant’s entrance resembles a travelling coach from an era bygone. A step inside reveals an elaborate and luxurious tent, replete with oriental forest wallpaper, ornate carpets and leather trunks and a poised panther—Bagheera, bringing to life the adventures of British author, Rudyard Kipling. The otherworldly feeling of mirror-work detailing, tent flaps, and chandeliers, as well as the woodwork. As you settle into a comfy corner of the make-believe tent, a leather bound menu is presented.

The dishes range from decadent and rich to simple and comforting, all depending on whether you’re a guest at the hotel looking for a meal to wind down your day or celebrating an occasion with an elaborate spread. While the meal started with tasting the quintessential vegetarian people pleasers, Dahi Ke Kebab and Tandoori Sunheri Broccoli. But very quickly Chef Taj took the reins, sending dishes as part of Sahib Ka Non Veg Kebab Platter starring Murgh Chaandi Tikka, Gilavat Ke Kebab, Jhinga Dum Nisha and Mahi Gulnaar Tikka. Each of these kebabs represented skilled perfection of
cooking in a tandoor—a skill that we often take for granted. The Indian salmon Mahi Gulnaar Tikka with the distinctive zing of kasundi was a masterclass on doing justice to a delicate protein. The melt-in-the-mouth is worth going back to Sahib Room for.

For the main course, Chef Taj recommended Sahib ki Nihari, slow-cooked overnight with an elaborate spice mix and Jheenge Ka Salan, a Hyderabadi-style spin to generously-sized prawns; both cooked impeccably and full of vibrant flavours. But veering off the course, two dishes that jumped out of the menu were the Dal Moradabadi and Chatpati Bhindi. What was anticipated of the okra dish, akin to the very popular kurkuri bhindi, turned out to be a dish reminiscent of what our mothers make at home—nothing wrong with that, just a little out of place, but perhaps also a good fit for travel-weary guests looking for a comforting bite.

As a land of legumes and lentils, the Dal Moradabadi was nothing less than a revelation and deserves an ode of its own. Harking back to the days of table-side service, the Sahib Room team brings a bubbling pot of thick and mushy moong dal along with a spread of myriad seasonings. In a hot ceramic bowl, he mixes finely chopped onions, tomatoes and green chillies. He ladles in the dal as it sizzles in the hot bowl. He then tops it with saunth—a tamarind and ginger chutney, green coriander chutney and mixes everything. As the final touch, a generous squeeze of lime and finely chopped coriander dress the dal. Is it a dal? Is it a chaat? The jury is still out, but it was bursting with flavour, mopped up with freshly baked sheermal!

Bring the gastronomic adventure to a close with Sahib Ka Kulfi Falooda, with all the toppings, and Agra ka Elaichi Jamun to share on the table. The whole dining experience romanticises a moment in time that could easily compete with Kipling’s words in The Jungle Book.