Unique Restaurants near Hotel Marine Plaza in Mumbai

[warrenmi]

Hi Everyone,

Wife & I will be touring both North and South India for four weeks in March and plan on eating regional specialties wherever we are. We end up in Mumbai for our last two nights and are staying at the Hotel Marine Plaza. Any recs for unique restaurants in the vicinity.

Even though we may be a bit tired of Indian food by then, I think we want to stay with that genre (although Thai, Malaysian, etc. would be o.k. too). We also want to stick with stand-alone restaurants that attract mainly locals rather than five star hotel tourist magnets.

Much Thanks!

[ipsit]

Marine Plaza is located on Marine Drive, which is a decent walk/short cab ride from the Churchgate/Fountain area, and you have no shortage of options. Some of my favorites:
Khyber: This has upscale North Indian food, with a few Hyderabadi dishes - its a favorite of both locals and tourists.
Mahesh Lunch Home/Trishna - these are seafood specialty places, and the focus is on fresness as well as regional specialty Maharashtrian/Konkani dishes.
Gaylord - this is one of Mumbai's grand old dames - the menu has not changed much in the past 25 years or so. Their lunch and dinner menus have good north Indian food, but it also has 'continental' dishes. This is more the Indian interpretation of continental food. In the afternoons, they serve a teatime menu on their outdoor verandah - try the Mushrooms on toast of you are there in the afternoon.
Busaba - Mumbai's best South East Asian restaurant (by far) - this is in an old Colaba house - the ground floor is a trendy bar/lounge and upstairs is a a pan-Asian place with Thai/Vietnamese/Burmese/Tibetan menu. The momos are to die for, and the Burmese Khowsuey is my favorite.
Sassanian/Kyani/Bastani - These are all restaurants founded by Mumbai's old Irani community. Try the dhansak or other Parsi dishes...or just a cup or Irani chai and Brun bread with a ton of butter - great for breakfast, and a slice of Old Mumbai
Masala Craft - This is located in the Taj Mahal Hotel - I know this is contrary to your original post, but Im suggesting it anyway - this is 'Modern' Indian cuisine - the service is more akin to a fusion or nouveau Western restaurant. Not too many places do Indian 'fine dining' but Masala Craft has perfected it! Consider this for a last splurge before you fly out - it is not cheap, but there is bang for your buck!
Kamling/Chopsticks - Good Indian-style Chinese food
Cream Center - also on Marine Drive, this is a Mumbai institution - their Chana Batura and sandwiches have been part of the Mumbai food landscape for years. Cream center has recently franchised itself and theres other branches in Mumbai (and even outside Mumbai) - avoid those, but dont skip the original!
Mumbai has a TON of terrific places that serve sub-genres of Indian food, and Mumbai has its own food culture. I could go deep into details and discussion of the virtues of the Mumbai culinary scene - if you can narrow down what kind of food you prefer, spice tolerance, openness to trying Indian street food (terrific, but sometimes a health risk) or have more specific tastes, I can suggest alternatives
Enjoy your trip!