French and Bengali cuisines are similar in more ways than one. They are eaten as multi-course meals and have a dedicated fish course. These cuisines converge at Mustard — both the condiment and Chennai’s new restaurant. The bi-cultural eatery opened its first branch in Goa in 2015 and in Mumbai in 2018.
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Mustard Chennai | Photo Credit: Johan Satyadas
Located by the poolside at the Pharos hotel in Nungambakkam, the decor is lush with greenery and wooden furniture. Inside are sofas with floral and plaid upholstery in shades of mustard, exposed brick walls, reminiscent of a French home and Bengali lithographs that bring the East and West together under one roof.
“Mustard’s menu is curated by Pritha Sen, a food anthropologist and Gregory Bazire from Normandy. “It is 60% Bengali cuisine and 40% French with no fusions,” says Punam Singh, co-founder of the restaurant chain. So we start our meal with tomato tartare which has four kinds of tomatoes placed on a bed of chilled quinoa with a layer of avocado puree in between.
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Varied tastes
Another colourful delight is brought in. The Provencale-style tartine has a mix of veggies on a slice of focaccia.
Provencale Style Tartine | Photo Credit: Johan Satyadas
“It can be a stressful one to plate. With 13 ingredients on it, we work with our tweezers even as the plate is picked up for service,” says Punam.
First to hit is a small slice of lime. Just as the sour begins to dominate, the eggplant caviar comes in. While it is a bright dish, it does not compel us to go in for another slice.
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Fish Fry with Apricot sparkling wine | Photo Credit: Johan Satyadas
The fish fry in tartare sauce is mildly spiced and light. Slices of bhetki or Barramundi fish, are coated in a green chilli paste before being dunked in breadcrumbs and fried.
The Red wine caramelised compressed lamb is rich and falls apart in the mouth.
The palong chhanar kofta is a dish with spinach balls stuffed with paneer sitting in a coconut milk gravy. The kofta is sweet with creamy paneer. The savoury gravy goes well with the soft dal puri which is shallow fried in ghee.
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The cocktail menu has been curated with flavours that complement the meats, spices and aromatics used in both the cuisines. We try the apricot sparkling wine which is sweet and made with inhouse apricot liquor. Yurii Grigorov, the mixologist, explains that the ruby punch on the menu is made with distilled milk. This is often a dealbreaker, but the drink is delightful with notes of cinnamon and citrus. It is also finished with sparkling wine and can be alternated with whiskey.
For dessert we try baked cheesecake with tart passion fruit coulis and raspberry compote to end our shuttle between France and Kolkata in the heart of Chennai.
Mustard is on Sterling Road. A meal for two costs ₹2,000 exclusive of alcoholic beverages