A new fine-dine opening in the city is no longer news. Restaurants, hotels and bars open all over Mumbai: testing a model, or just copying a working formula.
Masque cuts through the clutter, for the audacity of its concept, its thoughtfully designed interiors and the food. Opened in the last week of September, Masque serves only ten-, six- and three-course menus, taking guesswork out of your order. The focus on the food and what the chef serves is at odds with Mumbai’s prevalent dining culture, which usually involves customers taking the reins with chefs firing dishes that are often modified by diners.
To top that, everything the restaurant serves — from the chocolate to cheese, morels and sea buckthorn — is sourced from within India. This practice often requires the restaurant to set up a supply chain from scratch for the ingredients. For instance, the food and cocktail menu boasts lobster from the Andaman Islands, and rhododendron and buckwheat from the Himalayan belt.
Aditi Duggar, who spearheads Masque, says, “The restaurant was a result of being inspired by like-minded chefs and their journey. Having travelled the world, and eaten and worked with chefs who share the same thought process and vision [for] an ingredient-driven restaurant, I realised that India is severely lacking this.”
A chance encounter with chef Prateek Sadhu at the Leela Palace Udaipur, led to the two keeping in touch. And when Sadhu moved to the Taj Lands End in Mumbai, they reconnected. Duggar says, “[I] realised we shared a strong mental connection and vision and had to partner together. ”
Sadhu has worked around the world, including Le Cirque Signature at the Leela Palace in Bengaluru, The French Laundry in Napa Valley in California, and The Pierre Hotel in New York. He also spent time at international restaurants such as Copenhagen’s Noma and Chicago’s Alinea.
He says, “We want to take diners through a journey that showcases the year we spent dedicated to research. Dining at Masque is a unique experience that allows the ingredients to shine through. Some of the produce is grown at our farm, while some comes from farmers around the country.”
Masque manages to pull off being austere and yet stunning. Designed by Ashiesh Shah, the restaurant includes natural materials, a private dining area, and a specially commissioned sculpture by Kolkata-based artist Rathin Barman. Inspired by the concept of wabi-sabi (the Japanese idea of the acceptance of transience and imperfection), the restaurant’s interiors sport Pierre Jeanneret chairs and an impressive monolithic table, sculpted from a single block of marble, grounding the hanging lights.
Customised drinks
The bar features cocktails centered round the five elements: fire, water, void, earth and air. Also unique is the gin programme that allows guests to make their own gin infusions, using the botanical substances that bars have on hand. Cocktails, too, can be customised with the bar taking down recipes on a metal card and storing them in files for you to order the next time you visit.
Masque’s philosophy is the excitement for the chef and the diner in “the innovation, freshness and thought behind the food in every season,” says Duggar. “There is minimal processing and maximum flavour.”
Along with the team, she’s placed a premium on traceability and sustainability, working directly with farmers to get products. Even something like olive oil is pressed for the restaurant in Rajasthan. The food on the menu changes regularly, taking into account seasonal availability and freshness of the ingredients being used.
For a restaurant with a name and food drawing cues from Venetian masks and the drama that they convey, Masque seems set to unveil a new direction for Indian fine dining.
The author is a freelance writer
Masque, Gala 3, Laxmi Woollen Mill, Shakti Mills Lane, off Dr. E. Moses Road, Mahalaxmi. Call 24991011 or 24991010
