It’s all pomp and show for Mumbai’s new eatery, Izaya

The restaurant’s menu of Thai and Malaysian, supplemented with Japanese grills, is more in keeping with the city’s culinary zeitgeist, but their pricing is questionable.

Izaya

RATING: ***

WHERE: Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point

WHEN: 7:30 -11:30 pm

COST: Rs 7500 for two with a drink each

CALL: 2282-1212/ 6723-0111

At Izaya, the kitchen takes centre stage. Perhaps inspired by its theatrical location (it’s on the NCPA premises), the tables seem to be arranged to focus attention towards the brightly lit open kitchen at the back of the room. An electric blue wall and a kitchen counter table with baby pink chairs radiate colour and warmth. The star attraction is the three-tiered robata grill. When the cooks rake up the coals, the flying embers add a touch of drama.

The rest of the room is dressed in dark wood and a morbid dull grey. Grey walls, grey flooring and grey felt upholstery. In the night, it’s not a very felicitous setting.

The stir-fried yellow bean morning glory is crunchy and spicy, with a tanginess that gives it an appealing freshness. (Aalok Soni/HT Photo)

Izaya, (which, in Japanese, means the one who watches over the crowd) is, however, a welcome change from Amadeus, the European restaurant that only diners who still think Continental is a real cuisine found exciting. Izaya’s menu of Thai and Malaysian, supplemented with Japanese grills, is more in keeping with the city’s culinary zeitgeist. Pan Asian food has done well in the last few years and there’s a perceptible upsurge in Thai restaurants.

Choosing the first course was easy. Nothing called out to us as much as the baby back grilled pork ribs with Thai coffee and Carnation milk brushed with an Asian barbecue sauce. It is a bit of a let-down. Priced at Rs 1400, I was expecting more than four ribs, and what they lacked in size they did not make up for in flavour. The meat is very tender but it’s a generic sweet-sour flavour of barbecue sauce and cumin that dominates. It’s closer to a Cajun spice rub than anything Asian.

Encased in a gossamer-thin skin, the steamed sa khoo prawn and chive dumplings, topped with a mildly spicy chilli bean sauce and finely sliced garlic, are light and airy as promised. (Aalok Soni/HT Photo)

With the Thai food there are no missteps. Encased in a gossamer-thin skin, the steamed sa khoo prawn and chive dumplings, topped with a mildly spicy chilli bean sauce and finely sliced garlic, are light and airy as promised. The stir-fried yellow bean morning glory is crunchy and spicy, with a tanginess that gives it an appealing freshness. Equally robust and aromatic are the perfectly cooked lamb slivers with kaffir and lemongrass. Izaya’s green curry though is truly exceptional. It’s an intense, but delicate, umami bomb and the spices are so beautifully integrated that it reminds you of a fine blue cheese or a perfectly balanced red Bordeaux.

Though we are enjoying the food, we aren’t enjoying our table next to the open kitchen: the fumes from the grill are making our eyes smart.

The pastel pink tub tim krob panacotta that sits on a pristine white tender coconut ice cream base inside a bright green pastry shell looks like it’s been plucked from Monginis. It is sweet and not much else. (Aalok Soni/HT Photo)

Then comes dessert.

The pastel pink tub tim krob panacotta that sits on a pristine white tender coconut ice cream base inside a bright green pastry shell looks like it’s been plucked from Monginis. It is sweet and not much else.

Unable to take the fumes we move to a table outside and ask for our bill. At this point we smell like boti kebabs.

There’s no question about the quality of the Thai food but Izaya’s pricing is questionable. Most restaurants are trying to keep prices at around Rs 2,000 a head, Izaya’s pricing at almost double that doesn’t make it a value proposition.