Location
Soho Tapas Bar is located deep into the western suburbs, a 10 minute walk away from Versova Metro Station. I'm seldom in that part of town but on Sunday evening, I was in possession of two tickets for the 6pm show of Dinner With Friends, an award-winning play at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu. So my mother and I ended up at the super stylish Soho Tapas Bar at 9 PM for dinner.
Ambience
It wasn't
easy to find the restaurant but eventually, we made it. And we were
totally wowed. Clean white interiors, refreshing open spaces and only a
smattering of tables, spread out wide enough to afford privacy, greeted
our eyes. The restaurant wasn't as crowded as it should have been on a
Sunday evening, probably because of its out of the way location. But
it's worth making a trip here for the impeccable service and uber
delicious food. It may be a tapas bar but this is definitely fine
dining. The only negative was the volume of the music - quite loud and
combined with chatter from the next table, it made it difficult for us
to hear each other. However, I enjoyed the choice of songs - they were
youthful, peppy and likely to put you in the mood for drinks and a great
time.
Service
The waiters and staff were extremely solicitous and service was speedy. They were also knowledgeable about the menu and asked for our feedback after every dish. Since we are light eaters, we only had a starter and main course. But both exceeded our expectations completely. As far as quantities go, there were five pieces in the starter which is very good, but the main course was quite minuscule and a bigger portion of the rice was warranted.
Starters
'Tapas' refers to Spanish snacks and starters but the menu here has a variety of exotic mains and desserts as well. We had the Stuffed Bhavnagri Chilli even though my mom feared they would be too spicy. They were stuffed with cheese and mushroom and tempered with a creamy, supremely flavourful yoghurt dip. The texture was perfect - succulent but not too soft and the juices of the chili were intact.
Mains
I had already earmarked the Stuffed Cottage Cheese - Chennai Relish & Biryani for mains because I'm a big fan of cottage cheese and it's always important to have more proteins than carbs. The waiter brought us two mounds on a flat serving plate - one of white cottage cheese topped with a thick brown tamarind relish and the other of fragrant, light brown vegetable biryani. One bite and we knew we had made the right choice. The cottage cheese was soft and flaky, reminiscent of Italian ricotta and generously stuffed with paan leaves (beetle) which gave it that sweet and minty taste that I'm so fond of. The Chennai relish took me back to my childhood days when I would gorge on puliyodarai, a sweet and spicy rice and tamarind preparation.
Verdict
I've only deducted half a star for the loud music and tiny quantity of rice in the mains. Otherwise, this is a must-visit restaurant. And the pricing is quite nominal for a beautiful place like this - our bill came to Rs 646 with taxes. I'd love to return another day after a walk on Versova Beach.
Soho Tapas Bar is located deep into the western suburbs, a 10 minute walk away from Versova Metro Station. I'm seldom in that part of town but on Sunday evening, I was in possession of two tickets for the 6pm show of Dinner With Friends, an award-winning play at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu. So my mother and I ended up at the super stylish Soho Tapas Bar at 9 PM for dinner.
Ambience
Service
The waiters and staff were extremely solicitous and service was speedy. They were also knowledgeable about the menu and asked for our feedback after every dish. Since we are light eaters, we only had a starter and main course. But both exceeded our expectations completely. As far as quantities go, there were five pieces in the starter which is very good, but the main course was quite minuscule and a bigger portion of the rice was warranted.
Starters
'Tapas' refers to Spanish snacks and starters but the menu here has a variety of exotic mains and desserts as well. We had the Stuffed Bhavnagri Chilli even though my mom feared they would be too spicy. They were stuffed with cheese and mushroom and tempered with a creamy, supremely flavourful yoghurt dip. The texture was perfect - succulent but not too soft and the juices of the chili were intact.
Mains
I had already earmarked the Stuffed Cottage Cheese - Chennai Relish & Biryani for mains because I'm a big fan of cottage cheese and it's always important to have more proteins than carbs. The waiter brought us two mounds on a flat serving plate - one of white cottage cheese topped with a thick brown tamarind relish and the other of fragrant, light brown vegetable biryani. One bite and we knew we had made the right choice. The cottage cheese was soft and flaky, reminiscent of Italian ricotta and generously stuffed with paan leaves (beetle) which gave it that sweet and minty taste that I'm so fond of. The Chennai relish took me back to my childhood days when I would gorge on puliyodarai, a sweet and spicy rice and tamarind preparation.
Verdict
I've only deducted half a star for the loud music and tiny quantity of rice in the mains. Otherwise, this is a must-visit restaurant. And the pricing is quite nominal for a beautiful place like this - our bill came to Rs 646 with taxes. I'd love to return another day after a walk on Versova Beach.
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