Mariketty Grana is that badass 54-year-old who has managed to dodge age. Chirpy, full of life and a bundle of energy, she’s dressed in a black, flowy kaftan, her long tresses tied up in a high pony tail, and a thick line of koel that accentuates her warm eyes. She’s in the mood for a party when we meet her. And of course she would be, Goa’s most popular restaurant, Thalassa, which she has nurtured for the past 10 years, has opened for business in Khar as Greek taverna, Thalassa.
The restaurant is a sprawling 4,600 square feet, divided into two outdoor sections, one inside and a basement lounge with blue and white décor, topped with a taverna shack ceiling, “It was about time I came back, and it was something that everybody wanted. Mumbai is full of young people and has a beautiful atmosphere. Goa is more relaxing, as you visit it when you want to holiday,” says the owner and head chef, taking a deep breath to smell the sea. Grana is referring to the time when Thalassa was a pop-up at Olive Mahalaxmi Racecourse two years ago. “I like to be near the sea for its smell and the fresh fish. That’s why Mumbai won over Bengaluru and Delhi. It’s closer too, and I can control it,” she says.
Backpacking in India
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Originally from the island of Corfu in Greece, Grana first came to India as a backpacker around 30 years ago. At a flea market in Goa, she saw the stalls selling pizzas, pastas and falafels. “It hurt me that there were no Greek pita wraps and kebabs. I decided to change that,” she smiles at the memory. But it was not that easy getting used to the flour quality to make the pita dough, she admits. A frequent traveller to India, she put up a stall and experimented at the flea market every time she was in Goa, introducing Greek kebabs to the local populace. “When my son was born, my parents thought I would give up my hippy life and settle in Greece. On the 40th day of his birth, I packed my bags and came to Goa for good, with my infant, Spiro,” she recalls.
Our conversation is interrupted by a couple who have just walked in after seeing the board of Thalassa. “Goa has come to Mumbai and we couldn’t resist coming in,” they tell her, as she welcomes them to join the party. She picks up the thread of our chat — after eight years of cooking Greek food at flea markets, Grana moved into her own space in Small Vagator, Goa, now a must visit on every traveller’s bucket list.
Authentic Greek cuisine
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The Mumbai restaurant will be run by two sous–chefs, Meghshyam Sawal and Mohammed Hisham Patel. And the menu will replicate dishes served at the Goa restaurant. You can expect to tuck into warm pita bread served with tzatziki, grilled lamb kebabs, chicken and prawn souvlakis and moussakas, spicy mushroom saganaki. “I come from a family of chefs and I knew how to cook. I am no chef, who creates a menu and steps back. I cook for the customers how I would at home. My food is made with love, and a lot of Greek olive oil,” says, Grana.
Greek food is all about herbs — oregano, mint, basil, thyme, and parsley; feta cheese, garlic, onion, dill apart from olive oil. “In the beginning, people would tell me my cheese has gone bad, but I would have to explain that it is characteristic of feta. Whenever someone told me my cheese had gone off, my blood pressure would go up!” she laughs.
Star performer
Her 21-year-old son Spiro, is the star dancer at the Greek performances the restaurant conduct on weekends. “I break the plates, and he dances,” says Mariketty, as Spiro joins into the conversation. “I don’t help out in the kitchen,” he grins. Dressed in all white, he sports a man bun and a mala around his neck. Having grown up in Goa, he speaks Konkani fluently, “and he chatters away with the cops, if they ever stop us on the road,” adds Grana.
Spiro is not new to Mumbai, as modelling assignments brought him to the city a few years ago. “Growing up in Goa are the best memories of my life. Goa is freedom and I loved lazing on the beach, playing football and other sports and having a circle of multicultural friends,” says Spiro, who needs his dose of Goan fish, curry rice at least twice a week.
Are there more thalassas in the offing, we ask. “Thalassa is what it is today because I work 20 hours a day and am in the kitchen at 8 a.m. every morning, whether I have had too much wine the night before or not. It has been a long journey my love,” Grana signs off enigmatically.
The author is a freelance writer
Thalassa, 21st Road, Khar West; 9820004018