Papa’s Bombay

Just when you think you’ve eaten your fill, chef Hussain Shahzad walks around with a tray of duck biryani offering khurchan—bits of crunchy, toasted rice scraped from the bottom of the pan (like socarrat in a paella). “Being the older sibling, I’d sacrifice it for my brother; now I can make enough for everyone to share,” says the Eleven Madison Park alum who helms the kitchen at the 12-seat chef’s counter Papa’s Bombay. Perched in the attic of a former bakery in Bandra, a hip neighborhood with Portuguese heritage, it became one of the hottest tables in India within a year of opening. The name pays homage to Shahzad’s mentor, the late influential Indian-American chef Floyd Cardoz, fondly nicknamed Papa-ji, while the 13-course tasting menu blends traditional flavors and global techniques with a healthy dose of nostalgia. Highlights include the Bugs Bunny, wild rabbit meat marinated with weaver ants and grilled over charcoal; a rasam, or peppery South Indian broth, flavored with cured trout and watermelon; lamb Wellington cooked korma-style; char siu shaped like modak, a festive local sweet; and samosas stuffed with tuna instead of potatoes. The show of personality continues as Shahzad pours Negroni shots from a hip flask, hands out sun-dried ants to sample in between courses, and plates food while guests pass around metal disentanglement puzzles. Bookings open on the first day of every month at 11 a.m. IST and are snapped up in seconds—its own kind of brain teaser.