Sake sips and elevated Japanese at this new restaurant in Mumbai
With a stellar sake programme, and ‘kozara’ or small plates featuring maki rolls, nigiri, sashimi and shoyu ramen, the traditional izakaya gets a sophisticated update at Otoki
Until recently, if you were in Colaba and had a hankering for Japanese food, you’d have to head over to The Taj Mahal Palace and max out your credit card at Wasabi by Morimoto. Or make do with pan-Asian spots that also serve sushi. Unlike Bandra, where you will trip over a Japanese restaurant every few metres, Colaba seemed inexplicably bereft of options—until the arrival of Otoki earlier this month.
“We realised there was an opportunity for an authentic Japanese restaurant in Colaba. Otoki is born out of our deep admiration for Japanese culinary culture, its simplicity, precision and soulfulness," says co-founder Anurag Katriar. Both Katriar and co-founder Pranav Rungta are veterans in the food and beverage space, running Indigo Deli and Nksha restaurants respectively. In fact, Otoki is housed in the same space where the now-shuttered Indigo Deli Colaba used to be.
The dual-level restaurant designed by Sarah Sham of the Mumbai-based design firm Essajees Atelier, reflects the quintessentially Japanese minimalist ethos. True to its name, which means elegant or classy, Otoki is all about intentional restraint. The earthy palette is muted and natural materials like warm wood and stone abound. A striking light fixture of white metallic ginkgo leaves suspended over the main dining area, is the only ornamentation. Despite its sculptural form, the centrepiece brings softness and movement into the high-ceilinged space.
Also read: Japanese dining in India finds its ikigai
Take your pick between the brightly-lit and buzzy downstairs (which includes a small bar with seating) or the more subdued upstairs with muted lighting. Speaking of the bar, you will find a handful of signature cocktails featuring Japanese spirits and ingredients like umeboshi (pickled plum), yuzu, gari et al. However, you’d be remiss to ignore Otoki’s fantastic sake programme. It’s curated by Maia Laifungbam, a certified Master of Sake and India’s first Japanese sake brewer (her own brand of sake will launch later this year). With more than 30 labels on offer, it is certainly one of the most extensive sake menus in the city.
“You don’t have to commit to a whole bottle; most of our sakes are available by the glass," says Laifungbam as she pours out a glass of Born Gold, a smooth, fruit-forward Junmai Daiginjo (highest grade of sake with no additives). Laifungbam even varies the ochoko (sake glass) as we progress through the evening. We sip the Born Gold from a gold-coloured ochoko that accentuates the sake’s yellowish colour, while the Hakutsuru Toji-Kan (which means Brewer's Pride) sake is served in a ‘janome’ or a white ceramic cup with concentric blue rings that’s generally used by brewers to examine the colour and clarity of sake.
The kitchen is spearheaded by chef Mohit Singh, whose tenures include the three-Michelin-starred Kikunoi Honten in Kyoto, one-starred Inddee in Bangkok and the three-starred Boury in Belgium. Driven by an early fascination with Japanese culture, Singh immersed himself fully by learning the language, earning certifications in traditional kaiseki and fugu (blowfish) processing, and studying advanced Japanese cuisine at the prestigious Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka.
Singh's over technique is evident on the plate, whether it’s the meticulously crafted maki rolls or the wholesome ramen. Like other premium Japanese restaurants, Otoki imports most of its produce from Japan or Thailand, although condiments like soy sauce, wasabi and gari are made in-house. As is the tofu, perhaps the softest and best we have eaten (at least in India). It features in the delicate miso wan (soup) with miso broth and vegetables.
“While we wanted to create an authentic Japanese restaurant, we obviously had to have vegetarian options. So, nearly 40 to 50% of our menu is vegetarian-friendly," explains Katriar. Case in point is the next dish that arrives at our table, a nigiri with 24-hour pickled tomato. It's umami-rich and flavoursome that we order a second round without hesitation. From the sashimi menu, we pick the bluefin tuna otoro (fattiest cut of the fish). It’s a pretty plate with the delicately pink tuna slices contrasted with a bright green shiso leaf and some radish tsuma (thinly shredded garnish). More nigiri arrive at the table, including the extremely fresh hamachi (yellowtail) nigiri that’s amped up with shoga-negi (condiment of ginger and green onion) and the sweet and savoury unagi (eel) nigiri torched with kabayaki sauce.
Katriar recommends we try some of the kozara (small plates), particularly the chicken nanban. The batter-fried chicken doused in nanban vinegar is tender on the inside, and goes perfectly with tartar sauce while the accompanying cabbage and pickled tomato add further crunch and umami. Our other kozara, which is the ebi okonomiyaki, proves to be the only underwhelming dish in an otherwise stellar dinner. The profuse vegetable toppings completely overpower the crispy prawn pancake and the stingy helping of bonito flakes doesn’t help matters either. The maki rolls are well done and vegetarians should definitely order the unusual yuzu miso roll stuffed with kanpyo (dried gourd strips), avocado, asparagus and cream cheese. We barely have any appetite left but it would be a travesty not to sample the ramen so we get the miso chicken one, which feels like a warm hug in a bowl; the six-minute egg in it is the best we've had in the city.
Of the six listed desserts, we pick three. The Japanese cheesecake is more sponge-like than cheesecake, which is disappointing. However, the yuzu ice cream and the picture-perfect warabi mochi in mango and strawberry flavours cheer us up considerably. We leave with over-full bellies and the sense that Otoki hasn’t just filled a gap in Colaba’s dining scene—it has raised the (sake) bar.
Also read: Bengaluru brews India's first homegrown sake
Otoki is currently open for dinner, although lunch service will begin by the end of May.
Prachi Joshi is a Mumbai-based travel and food writer.
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