St. Regis is one of the top 5-star hotels in Mumbai. They are known for constantly innovating especially in the restaurant scene. Recently they made an addition right next to their renowned restaurant Seven Kitchens which is known for its unique themed Sunday brunches and extensive breakfast buffets. This restaurant they launched was Sette Mara, a Middle Eastern lounge with some of the most beautiful interiors and specialty dishes. Then more recently in May of 2022, this uber-luxurious 5-star hotel elevated its guest experience even further, by launching the Penthouse. The Penthouse concept was created to provide a one-stop destination for curated experiences, spread across the top 4 floors of the hotel. It hosts the property's latest restaurants, decked-out bars, scenic rooftop event venues, an exclusive private member's lounge and more. One of the restaurants launched in this space is Koishii - a Japanese Peruvian restaurant and lounge (Nikkei cuisine) that made waves across Instagram as soon as it was launched. Pictures of its signature dishes, most famously the Lotus Root on Fire started going viral on Instagram. Soon as expected, the Penthouse became a celebrity hotspot with celebrities like Ranveer Singh, Anil Kapoor, Sachin Tendulkar and more visiting this exquisite space. Being the foodie that I am and since St. Regis is one of my favorite hotels (read my post about it here), I decided that this would be the ideal place to celebrate our 8th anniversary. I made the reservation in advance as I read from reviews that this place fills up quickly.
We arrived at the 37th floor of the hotel and the avant-garde chandelier and the royal carpeted stairs greeted me into a world of luxury. Beyond this foyer was the welcome desk, from where we were escorted by the hostess towards the restaurant and our table. The decor of this space was accentuated with hues of gold and brown. Wooden finish tables with black leather chairs and modern chandelier clusters gave the space a unique vibe. We were seated at a window-facing table from where we could see some beautiful sky-scraper-filled views of the city. We reached at 7 when the restaurant was quiet and empty but by 7:30 the tables started getting full. There were some really unique musical tracks playing in the background which complimented the vibe, from what I Shazamed it was a mix of Afro-House and Amapiano genres.
We were graciously greeted by all the staff we encountered as we walked to our table. Our server also came quickly to take in our drinks and food order. Overall the night started off on a good note, service was excellent. The first thing I would like to mention is that when I tried to order mocktails, they were not listed on the menu. I was verbally provided with only 3 choices by the server out of which I chose one and my husband settled for a diet Pepsi. Coming to the food, I will list below what we ate and give you my feedback on the dishes so that you get a general idea of what to expect when you visit.
Lotus Root On Fire
This was the dish that first attracted me to this restaurant as I saw its viral videos on Instagram. I love lotus root and one of the best elements about lotus root is its fried crispiness. This dish however was very confusing for me as the fire element was basically for dramatic effect and the dish was actually cold. The fire was put out within 2 seconds and really did not add any element to the dish as maybe it was put out too quickly by the server. Coming to the taste it seemed to be a cold preparation of cured lotus root hence it was not crispy at all. The flavor was one-dimensional, mostly sour and a little sweet. Overall this dish was quite underwhelming - it's only good for an Instagram reel.
Corn Ceviche
This dish was one of the stars of the day. It tasted as good as it looks. The rich avocado at the base contrasted well with the crispy and creamy corn on top of it. This dish had loads of flavor and most importantly textural elements as well.
Shiso & Togarashi Sweet Corn
Another decent dish that retained the freshness of the corn and gave a delicate but impactful flavor of burnt butter and togarashi seasoning. It was served in an elegant stone bowl but it was difficult to scoop it out due to the shallow base of the bowl.
Peruvian Asparagus (Robata Grill)
One of the priciest dishes of the day was this grilled asparagus. I did not find any difference in the taste of the Peruvian asparagus, although yes it was much more thicker than the asparagus I have eaten before. I felt that this dish was not properly grilled and had no charred flavor. There was no taste of the charcoal-fired (robata grill) base that this was to be cooked on. The fumes you see in the pic were again more of a dramatic effect and did not transfer much flavor to this dish. It just felt like some fresh lightly heated asparagus with a sweet glaze. The grilled element seemed to be completely missing from this dish.
Slow Roasted Portobello Mushrooms
The dish reads as portobello mushrooms on their menu, but it was a single portobello mushroom cut into two pieces. The quantity was really small. That being said the flavor of this dish was excellent. It had a rich truffle flavor and was quite indulgent. This small portion did pack a flavor punch.
Black Bean Yaki Udon with Assorted Vegetables
Thick udon noodles with a black bean sauce, this dish was one dimensional and only the sour notes were coming through. The umami flavor was lacking, this was not a well-balanced bowl of noodles.
Anniversary Surprise By St. Regis
We were surprised by this beautiful chocolate cake for our anniversary by St. Regis. We were wished by the staff and the manager and made to feel very special. The cake was excellent as was expected because it was prepared by the Seven Kitchens team that handles all the patisserie requirements of the hotel.
Our meal cost us around Rs. 8000 including mocktails and taxes. Pricing I felt was at par as compared to other 5-stars in Mumbai. So overall as per my above experience I would say that I applaud the initiatives by St. Regis to bring new and innovative dining experiences to Mumbaikars. However, there is some improvement required in the quality of their dishes as mentioned above. That being said the ambiance, concept and service were excellent and this place has a lot of potential if it just works on enhancing the flavor of its dishes.
Thank you for reading. ❤️
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