Rachna Srivastava

Mumbai’s opinions about food are never not strong ones, and so, trust is expensive. It says something that the city has taken to omakase, of all things: a Japanese dining format built entirely on surrender. No menu or ‘can I swap the fish for chicken’. Omakase translates loosely to ‘I leave it up to you’, and in a city that treats restaurant reservations like a relay race, handing over control has never felt this worth it. These are the five places in Mumbai doing it best right now.

When you’re at a local joint and you get a waft of the pungent, earthy aroma of truffle, have you ever stopped to think why it only costs a measly ₹300? I mean. Sure you have. The truffle’s arguably the world’s most famous fungus. Something everyone knows you’re supposed to be paying through your nose for, because it’s only really foraged in the temperate forests of Europe – mainly Italy, Spain, and France – and maybe some parts of America and Australia. There’s low chances, then, that you could be tasting the real deal atop your fries at an all-day diner in Andheri. Wait, what am I tasting, then? What you’re probably tasting is 2,4-dithiapentane: a lab-made chemical compound that recreates the aroma and plays on the associated memory of how a truffle should smell. It’s certainly not the same as a freshly shaved seasonal truffle over a dish. Because that aroma crescendos. ‘Most commercial truffle oils aren’t infused with large amounts of real truffle, but are instead flavoured using aromatic compounds that recreate the signature earthy aroma, which is what makes them far more affordable and consistent year-round,’ says Manuel Olveira, chef & owner at La Loca Maria. The oil’s engineered for a better shelf-life, adds Harsh Shodhan, chef and founder of the Gourmet Kitchen & Studio, which does catering for the Kotak family, corporate events, HNI parties and large-scale elite weddings. ‘Authenticity’s not what’s at play here. And in Mumbai, real truffles are used in particular sea

If you’ve lived through even two humidity-filled summers in Mumbai, you’ll know that weekend getaways are a boon. They’re far more manageable than planning a full week’s vacation to somewhere far off, for one, but they’re also more economical (no flight or train required) and, most importantly, don’t need you to take days off work to be able to catch a break.  Several places near Mumbai, though, aren’t just an excuse to escape the heat. They’re culture-rich areas that have several things on offer for the folks that don’t enjoy just sitting around in a fancy hotel. This guide’s got all the best spots, with a full itinerary and tips on where to stay. No planning needed!

In 2004, ‘Iron Chef’ Masaharu Morimoto came to India and introduced Indians to possibly the best Japanese fare in the country. Two decades later, Wasabi by Morimoto at the Taj Mahal Palace is still a top-ranked contemporary Japanese restaurant.  Once in, red is everywhere: cherry blossom installations, a live sushi counter and a teppanyaki kitchen draw your eyes across the room. There’s a cosy eight-seater Tatami room, which features a miso-soup-bowl-lookalike round table with an oversized pendant dome light above. When closed, it almost looks like a giant ball in the middle of the room. Occasionally, you see the Arabian Sea and Gateway of India out the window. It’s quite the mix of visuals. You’ll find Wasabi’s name on almost every pricey Indian restaurant list. That’s partially because produce, including wasabi root and seafood, is flown in from the Toyosu Fish Market inTokyo each week. We’re talking Bluefin tuna, hirame (white fish), unagi (freshwater eel), Chilean sea bass, ebi (sweet shrimp), uni (sea urchin), ika (squid), and more. A meal here comes with a lot of table frills and drama: live wasabi grating for your sushi, sashimi and rolls; a matcha tea ceremony; a sake and cocktail trolley; live truffle shaving on select dishes, and more. Dishes like yellowtail jalapeño carpaccio, black cod miso, salmon robatayaki, truffle lilibud, vegetable beggar's purse, toro tartare, and more are the most ordered here.  Chef Morimoto makes yearly visits to keep the team up-to-date

Mayouchi at The Westin Mumbai Powai Lake is where China and Japan have a meet-cute on your plate, and not in the ‘pan-Asian, oriental’ way.  The 3,681-square-foot space has spatial sectioning nailed to the T. There’s Mayou lounge, a private dining room, and the cocktail kitchen with Powai lake stretching out beyond the large, glass windows. Classy minimalism is on display in its decor, layout and even artwork. The ceiling and the light fixtures compel you to look twice.  Executive Sous Chef Golpin Sianipar is the master curator of Mayouchi’s food menu. Whether you’re starting with dimsums, sushis, or uramakis, you have to try out their salads. I love their Baby Octopus Yaki, which has togarashi and yuzu jelly sourced straight from Japan. In fact, most seafood and ingredients are flown in from Japan.  The drinks menu includes elements from in and around the property in its repertoire. Cindy, the famed Powai Lake crocodile, the mango tree on the compound, Mumbai’s showbiz, and more stories are told through the cocktail program. The visual guide, along with the origin story of each drink’s name, keeps story-seekers nose-deep in the menu. Taste-wise: ten on ten. Of course, they also house Japanese whiskies, sakes and international spirits.  Mayouchi’s beauty is best enjoyed during lunch hours, but that’s not to say the nights are dull. The music, the dim lights, and the views all deliver a night-to-remember experience.  Time Out tip: Chefs at Mayouchi are always open to customisa

Led by Chef Anand Morwani, the philosophy at Gaijin is to pay homage to Japan through an Indian lens. As you enter the main dining area, you are greeted by a seven-tonne stone monument; a nod to the Japanese art of Suiseki. All of the decor’s heavily reminiscent of Japan. Gaijin also boasts of a listening station playing rare Japanese vinyls, a bar, a private dining room, and an omakase counter. There’s also a cosy 20-seater area for group dining, but it’s the back alley (or side street, in this case) that gets the most adulation. Steel shutters, neon colours, graffiti, and signage. It reads (when translated) as Kirana Katsu, Lalaji & Samurai, Gulab & Gyoza, Chowpatty to Shibuya.  Gunkan (a type of sushi), makis, and rolls make frequent appearances on the menu (and the tables next to you). The gyoza, tostadas, and udon noodles are excellent. The plating is precise and playful. Chef Anand takes utmost care in curating each dish.  The first honest thought I had when I saw the drinks menu was to steal it, it’s illustrated beautifully. Once you overcome that impulse, you can indulge in cocktails that have bold flavours, including koji, pickles, and bacon. This is a top-notch place for just drinks and snacks too. Gaijin’s team likes to call it reverence with rebellion, and I think that stands true. Where else would you see a painted samurai serving pani puri?

Spread across roughly 10,000 sq ft on the ground floor and basement of the same building as Broadway, Foodstories is where gourmet dreams collide with grocery runs. Started by Avni and Ashni Biyani, this store’s got smart spatial planning, dedicated lanes, and curated aisles, making the Bandra outpost feel effortlessly cohesive, and its strongest play yet is on the F&B front. Split into three concepts, That Grocery Cafe, That Bev Bar, and That Bake Shop, all sit on the ground floor, working in tandem to win over shoppers, snackers, and serious diners alike. The F&B zone seats around 20-22 across a scatter of low tables, a high table, and a window counter, so heads up: big groups eyeing the communal table might have to wait it out. At That Grocery Cafe, Bandra's cafe culture meets artisanal retail, with ingredients pulled straight off the store shelves and into the kitchen. This is easily the most ingredient-forward, globally-inspired menu of the year in the city so far. Nothing feels over-engineered; instead, the food leans into the natural character of each ingredient while playing with unexpected pairings. The spread moves from breakfast and eggs to salads, bowls, handhelds, small plates and mains, each dish tagged with its place of inspiration: American mac & cheese, Texan bbq wings, Scottish stacked pancakes, Turkish eggs, Burmese khao suey, Mexican chipotle, and Indian highway-style bowls, with customisable and kid-friendly options thrown in too. I went straight for the

Coming right out of the pandemic, the team behind The Bombay Canteen and Bombay Sweet Shop collated their kitchen-lockdown efforts into a deli that has, ever since its opening in 2023, become everyone’s go-to. Snagging a seat at Veronica’s Bandra has been (and continues to be) a mighty task, but it's one that Mumbaikars happily take head on. Now, Veronica’s has crossed the sea-link and materialised right next to its sibling, The Bombay Canteen, in Lower Parel. The Kamala Mills outpost is all happy and vibrant – but a much larger space, with 55 seats. It stands where Pop Tate’s used to be, and when the folks at Hunger Inc. learnt that the space next door was available, they jumped at the opportunity and locked in. The outlet still feels like a Veronica’s, just a bit remixed. A yellow-tiled coffee bar, a dynaudio acoustics speaker, the cocktail bar, the yellow-red-coral theme…plus a long community table, diner-style booths (with plug points!), and seats that can be clubbed together for larger parties. This is all designed by Shonan Purie Trehan, founder & principal architect at L.A.B, who did the interiors for the Bandra outlet as well. They’ve also got two merch corners: one by the door and another outside the restrooms. There’s also a fun open-kitchen setup with wraparound seating, encouraging chit-chat between the team and customers. Menu-wise, it’s classics, plus some new additions. Most of the Bandra best-sellers have made it, of course. The sandwiches, artisanal bakes, sa

It’s no small feat to stay culturally relevant in Mumbai – where restaurants open and shut at tidal intervals, practically – since 2000. As bizarre as it feels for ‘00 trends to trickle into the 2020s, dot com boom be damned, it speaks volumes about the consistency of quality at Olive. Founded by restaurateurs AD and Sabina Singh, the Mediterranean-inspired restaurant feels coastal. Clean. Unjumbled and expensive (it is, indeed, expensive). The blue door, the blue-and-white decor, the pebbled courtyard, the biophilic shade – they all have a sort of timeless charm, helped along by the candles they light at dusk. After clocking 25 years in 2026, under the culinary stewardship of Executive Chef Alessandro Piso, the menu refresh has propped up a new set of dishes, but their thin-crust pizzas remain a benchmark for the city, while the delicate gnocchis and risottos continue to draw in crowds. The bar menu mostly sports botanical-forward cocktails that make drinking here feel like being on a holiday. And the wine list here is as exclusive as its clientele.   With its expansion to two more outlets in the city – BKC and Borivali – Olive is now positioned strategically in the golden triangle of Mumbai’s dining scene. Great for every occasion – brunch, date night, anniversary dinner. You name it. 

Once you reach Bandra’s 15th Road, technically Khar: enter through the doors of HOMM Bandra, head to the main dining area, and take the elevator to the basement. There, you’ll find a spanking new intimate cocktail bar: Adam & Eve.  'Intimate' isn’t a buzzword here – like quite a few emerging spots, it only seats 17-18 people at any given time, leaving space for, say, a couple more people to fit in, barring the staff of three.  Snug and dimly lit, the space is decked in jungle-themed Sabyasachi upholstery on the walls with integrated cove lighting. A bar lies bang in the centre, and low-seated, plush sofas are positioned closer to the deep red and brown-toned walls, utilising every square foot of the 400 sq ft room, and every dimmable table lamp. Interestingly, though, the primary source of light is… the ceiling. Its interactive VFX screen with switching graphics by Alien.vision creates the illusion of a much more expansive setting. A custom gorilla sculpture, crafted by a Jaipur artist, sits atop a back-lit wall of liquor bottles, its wings shining when lit. As the night progresses, the lights get dimmer, and the music starts to surround you. Come the last seat, the energy would shift to a high-octane hum to the beats of DJ Manish Khtri. The cocktail-forward bar has a concise menu created by Pankaj Balachandran and is led on the ground by beverage head Ashish Tamta. Ten items, reading like a grocery list, are the heroes, and the spirits come second. The South American botanic

While most restaurants in Mumbai have a shelf life shorter than that of a sourdough starter, The Table remains the city’s undisputed culinary anchor. In 2011, Gauri Devidayal and Jay Yousuf introduced Mumbaikars to the small plates revolution and the farm-to-table movement – long before these two became buzzwords, mind you. The black-and-white chevron floors are instant identification markers, anchored by the 20-foot Burma teak community table. During the day, there’s loads of natural light filtering through, making the place perfect for breakfast, brunch, or lunch.  Under the stewardship of Chef Will Aghajanian, The Table 2.0’s kitchen has found a fresh rhythm: Californian ingredient-led ethos blends seamlessly with global techniques, powered by daily fresh produce from their own one-acre Alibaug farm. Dishes like duck liver mousse, crumpets Kejriwal, cauliflower & cheddar pithivier, sea bass crudo, French onion soup-inspired burgers, and more are crowd-faves. Their hand-rolled pastas and desserts have a loyal clientele. Their beverages are highly talked about, and in particular, it’s hard not to be mighty impressed by their wine programme, which has more than 120+ labels stacked. 

The Daily All Day has been the city’s most stubbornly optimistic outpost since 2013. Dishant Pritamani anchored this Bandra corner with a monochromatic aesthetic and a ‘good news only’ philosophy.  During the day, it’s a bistro. At night, it’s a high-octane evening haunt where partying all night seems to be the vibe. In addition to the stylish interiors, the ceiling is papered with positive news clippings serving as a literal canopy of optimism; this in particular is most suited for a brunch date, I feel. Over the latter part of the last decade, subtle design changes have only accentuated the space further.  The culinary team is now led in-house by Dishant himself. The food can be deemed cuisine-agnostic. While they have had tiny pivots over the years, a couple of near evergreen dishes are still the most ordered. The DFC (Daily Fried Chicken), drunken prawns, charred broccoli, risottos and pizzas are those winners. The bar programme leans into craft cocktails that are balanced, potent, and mercifully devoid of unnecessary frills. Whether you are heading here for a boozy Sunday brunch or a mid-week reset, the hospitality (anchored by the legendary Bablu bhai, Deepak, or really, any one of their staff) ensures a good time.

For those of you who (hypothetically) made a wish à la Obsession's One-Wish-Willow-style for the monsoon to come, how are you doing now? The delay in the onset of the monsoon in Mumbai had been, in previous days, a cause for concern, not only because of the heat, but also because the lakes' water levels (which supply the city's drinking water) were dangerously low.  But on Monday morning, in a span of just four hours, a heavy downpour left key parts of the city submerged.  Which parts got the most rain? The eastern suburbs recorded the highest rainfall: Mankhurd received 123.4 mm, Powai 122 mm, Bhandup 122 mm, Mulund 160 mm, etc. In the western suburbs, Versova got 157 mm, Marol got 108.4 mm, and parts of Andheri East received 104 mm of rain. Townside, the showers were moderate, with Matunga getting 53.4 mm, Worli 53 mm, Dadar 45.6 mm, and Malabar Hill 37.2 mm of rainfall. Which roads were impacted? Monday morning's commute came with its own challenges. Continuous downpour led to waterlogging in various parts of Mumbai. The usual suspect, the Andheri subway, was completely inundated, halting traffic movement. Large stretches of LBS Marg (Mulund side) were also waterlogged, leading to crawling, bumper-to-bumper traffic. At night, King’s Circle was also slightly waterlogged, but traffic movement was not impacted. Bandra and Kurla, too, saw slow traffic movement. Should we brace for more rain? IMD has issued warnings that Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra will continue to get hea

The wait's over! Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is finally going international, with Air India Express (AIX) announcing its first route: Mumbai to Abu Dhabi.  This direct route, which is expected to begin on July 15, is not only the inaugural international leg of Maharashtra’s newest airport, but also part of a much larger expansion plan connecting India and the Gulf countries. Announced by BVJK Sharma, the CEO of the airport, at a conclave in Mumbai, the airport is likely to commence its international passenger flight operations along with cargo freighter services on July 15, 2026. The focus is largely on cargo operations, with a weekly target of about 18 freighter flights. What will be the frequency of passenger flights to Abu Dhabi from NMIA? Operated by Air India Express, Air India’s economy carrier, the direct flights will be available on Wednesdays and Fridays, departing from Abu Dhabi at 5.45am GST and reach Navi Mumbai by 10.20am IST. From Navi Mumbai, the flight will take off at 2.55am IST and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 4.35am GST. By July 29, a Sunday operation will be added to the schedule, taking the frequency to three times a week. Is reaching NMIA difficult? Well, it depends. It's connected to the Atal Setu (MTHL), Sion-Panvel Highway, and Palm Beach Road. It takes about 30 minutes from Vashi, 1 hour 10 minutes from SoBo and eastern suburbs, and about 1 hour 35 minutes from western suburbs to reach the airport. While cabs to and fro persist as an issue, th

Watch out for a cultural exchange of the delicious kind – a new pop-up is coming to Mumbai and Gurgaon. Australian-born Chef Jack Jarrott, who has been trained under Chef Gordon Ramsay at his London restaurants and now works in the UAE, is coming to India with his signature open-fire cooking and Arabian-inspired flavours. Chef Jack heads Sand & Koal, Abu Dhabi’s Michelin Guide-listed open-air beachfront restaurant, which is inside the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental. Known for his open-fire dining concept, Jarrott has also worked at Sucre, The Guild and more award-winning restaurants.  For his second trip to India (after last year’s Bengaluru pop-up), the Ramsay alumnus is doing a four-day-long pop-up! What’s on the menu? On the menu are dishes like charred boneless chicken, saffron rice dolma, dry-spiced seabass, roasted pineapple dessert, and more. Grilled delights and more! Think seasonal, responsibly sourced ingredients with smoky, char-kissed elements and fresh flavours. The Indian curation leans heavily on the chef’s signature Arabian-inspired dishes. Details for Mumbai Where: Fenix, The Oberoi When: June 18-19, for lunch and dinnerFor reservations: +91 22 6632 6205 Details for Gurgaon Where: threesixtyone°, The Oberoi, Gurgaon When: June 26-27, for lunch and dinner Reservations: +91 12 4245 1234 Price Expect to shell out  ₹6,500 plus taxes for a meal for two.

In Japan, there's a beloved after-work ritual called 'nomikai', which literally translates to 'drinking hours' (nomi = drinking/nomu = to drink; kai = hours). It's a cultural cornerstone of how colleagues bond outside the office, bringing together coworkers, friends, or club members. Nomikai loosens workplace hierarchies and gives everyone a chance to unwind together after a long day. At Mumbai's contemporary Japanese dining and bar concept, Supa San, Nomikai is coming in as 90 minutes of fun. What's the big deal? While we're already huge advocates of happy hour, this Japanese concept sounds like a truckload of fun. Every Wednesday to Friday, between 5pm to 8pm, high energy and unpredictability take over at Supa San, BKC. You aren’t just enjoying the drinks, you’re playing for them! Janken rock-paper-scissors, and a power card game that, when won, holds perks like discounts, complimentary stuff, and more. What are we drinking? You have 90 minutes to down bottomless beers like Kingfisher Ultra and Great State Aleworks and cocktails like mid day buzz, flower power, rush hour martini, shiro-tanga, masu no yoru, and more. And what are we eating? Bar bites like tori kari kari, yakimo, edamame shio, etc. They have platters of sushi rolls and robatayaki sets which are totally customisable from the options on the menu. You're the one in charge. That’s not all – they’ve turned paying the bill fun, too! As the bill arrives, they roll a dice to see which table unlocks 50 per cent off th

First came the Kolis, then, much later, came Mumbai. The floating boats and pastel homes behind them that you spot from the Bandra-Worli Sea Link constitute one of the oldest fishing villages of the city – more than eight hundred years old. Efforts to save and restore the historic neighbourhood have been underway for years, and now, houses around the Sonapur Lake, and through the length of Golfa Devi Road till Goda Dapkal Ground, have been repaired and repainted. These’ll make for a great photowalk. What’s new at Koliwada? In the last couple of months, Koliwada's winding streetscape has come alive through vibrant colours. Yellows, blues and other vibrant colours now mirror the hand-painted fishing boats of the locals that buoyantly sway on the waters of the Arabian Sea. You will also spot motifs and murals representing the Koli way of life in the district.  An initiative founded by Radha Goenka has been restoring the precinct and turning it into an art haven: The Heritage Project. Since 2022, under the Worli Koliwada Transformation Project, they’ve been supporting the livelihoods of the Koli community. This time, they've collaborated with Birla Opus Paints to repair and repaint more than 100 homes and four community centres, just in time before the harsh monsoon, which tends to wreak havoc on the village. What else to do in Koliwada? Apart from visiting the 1675-built Worli Fort for fab coastline views and sunsets, you have to savour the seafood fare that they make with uniqu

Where once stood Globus Stores, in Mumbai’s vibrant shopping hub on Hill Road, now stands Broadway. If you don’t know what that is, time to up your shopping game! After Delhi, Hyderabad, and Pune, Broadway is here in Mumbai with a massive 40,000 sq ft store stacked with digital-first and premium labels. Part of the promise is live events, celebrity-led pop-ups and exclusive drops. Their culture-first format is supposed to be sense-tickling, elevating the shopping experience, complete with snaggable new-age brands. They've just opened on June 7 – so you can find out for yourself now! What kinds of brands are there at Broadway? More than two hundred D2C brands and premium labels, for starters. A through-and-through curation across fashion, streetwear, beauty, wellness, and more. Brands we know of so far include Almost Gods, Gully Labs, Culture Circle, Past Modern, Stitch Stories, Contemponari, De Novoo, House of Mae, Style Island, Rare Rabbit, Rareism, PurplFrog, Fuaark, Chapter 2, Beauty of Joseon, Biodance, Celimax, and more. It will also house Rana Daggubati’s signature brand KOW (Kingdom of White). And Parul Gulati’s Nish Hair is launching a physical experience zone within the store!  For grooming and gadgets, they have Winston. And for luggage and accessories, Mokobara and Carrial are worth checking out. Comet will have customisation bars, too, along with limited drops in the near future. Who is Broadway by? Founded by Vivek Biyani and Sankalp Kathuria, Broadway is backed

Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), a premier business district infamous for its peak-hour traffic where you dread every signal, will now see every Friday as a public-transport-only day! Announced by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on World Environment Day, the initiative, called 'BKC Weekly Public Holiday Day', aims to tackle bumper-to-bumper traffic and air pollution in the district by going car-free once every week. This move will impact over two lakh office-goers and employees who move in and out of the gridlock during peak hours. Some spend more than two hours commuting daily. About 52% of the people coming to BKC do so in their own vehicles, auto ricks, and taxis. So what can you take if not your car? Commuters are heavily encouraged to use public transport. The nearest suburban railway stations are Bandra and Kurla. The Metro Line 3 (Aqua Line) has direct connectivity to Aarey JVLR and Cuff Parade. There are also about 100 BEST buses with five to six feeder routes, as well as the usual suspects – autorickshaws, taxis and bike taxis – readily available. The biggest challenge, though, is inadequate last-mile connectivity (a bit of a pain if you're taking the train or bus), as well as a lack of pedestrian-friendly infrastructure with ample shade. Why Fridays? Well, it couldn’t have been Mondays, because how else would people arrive for their all-hands meetings, stand-ups and corporate things-that-can-be emails if not in taxis and private cars

Bandra, Mumbai's unofficial restaurant district, is getting an Italian eatery that celebrates dolce like no other place. CinCin's heading to Bandra West with a new outlet on June 8!  Mansionz One on Linking Road is now seeing so much action that people should simply camp out there. The much-loved haunt that taught Mumbaikars the art of cicchetti (small plates), wining and dining Italian-style, is expanding after eight years of packed tables. If you've been there, you know the drill. If you haven't? Time to change that. What's special about CinCin Bandra? It's sprawled across 4,300 sq ft with 120 seats, perched on the 13th floor with sweeping Bandra views and both indoor and alfresco options. CinCin merges Bandra's social scene with Italian conviviality, making it the perfect spot for coffee runs, leisurely brunches, and sunset aperitivos. Expect soup shots on arrival, a roaming Negroni & Spritz trolley where you're the bartender, and house-made sgroppino sorbet to send you off. The decor is pure Bandra village energy: terracotta warmth, vintage lighting, verandah vibes, and a Tuk Tuk for good measure. Plus, there's a retractable roof in the alfresco section because open-air dining hits different. What's on the menu? Handmade pastas, Napoli pizzas, sharing plates, and meals meant for tables full of friends. Signatures include tajarin, bombette, crostini e zucca, and spaghetti carbonara done right. And with a housemade panna cotta and tiramisu… skip dessert at your own risk. On

May 2026 was the driest month Mumbai's seen in the last three years, but while bidding adieu, it gave Mumbaikars a tease of the long-awaited pre-monsoon showers. Neighbourhoods including BKC, Andheri, Santacruz, Ghatkopar, Powai, Chembur, Mankhurd and other parts received rainfall, taking May’s total average rainfall to 9mm. In light of the rain, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued warnings concerning the pre-monsoon weather activity for all of Maharashtra. When will it rain in Mumbai? As per the IMD's latest forecast, June 1 to June 4 are marked as 'very likely' to see rain showers in many parts of the state. Mumbai and Thane districts may even experience thunderstorms and gusty winds, accompanied by lightning and moderate rainfall. Wind speeds are likely to be far more noticeable in isolated spaces. Should I brace for humidity? May, overall, has been a heat chamber, with relative humidity rising post the pre-monsoon showers. During the pre-monsoon showers, it was up to 81% at Colaba observatory and 86% at Santacruz observatory. The maximum temperature ranged between 34.8°C to 35.8°C. June’s first week is likely to be far more humid. According to Mumbai Rains, an X account which predicts weather patterns more accurately than IMD sometimes, 'moisture levels will be high in the coming days, so once it crosses the humidity saturation point, passing rain showers will come and go for Mumbai.'  That means, yes, it's going to be more sticky, and it will feel sligh

Getting a table at Papa's is a competitive sport. Every first of the month, at 11am sharp, thousands of hopeful diners scramble for one of just 12 seats in this attic hideaway above Veronica's deli in Bandra. Within minutes, most walk away empty-handed. Next month, they’ll be back. If you haven't clocked it yet, Mumbai is having a major micro-restaurant moment. 'We purposely limit the availability to 12 seats so we can give every guest our full attention,' says Hussain Shahzad, executive chef at Hunger Inc. Hospitality. Dietary preferences are noted. Drink pairings considered. 'Fine dining had started to feel solemn, with the white tablecloths, hushed voices, an air of intimidation and what not. At Papa's, we wanted to bring the fun back.' The city has always moved fast, but right now there's a particular buzz around intimate, chef-led spaces where the menu is fixed and the seats are few. Take BARE, for instance: an 11-seater doubling as a cocktail bar, art gallery and espresso bar, it opened recently to the same kind of feverish interest. 'Chef's tables work because they bring dining back to something deeply personal,' says founder and creative director Pooja Raheja, who adds that it’s ‘not just about the food’.    Image courtesy of BAREBARE is an 11-seater chef’s table, a cocktail bar, an art gallery and espresso bar rolled into one But what’s driving it? Two things, I think. The fact that sky-high rents make large spaces a financial gamble, and that Mumbai diners are inc