Smoke House Deli: Pali Hill, Bandra West, Mumbai

Restaurant Name: Smoke House Deli: Pali Hill, Bandra West, Mumbai
Phone: +912248905984
Address: 320, Madhu Milan, Dr. Ambedkar Road, Pali Hill, Bandra West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051 India
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:30 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 2,500
Cuisines: Mexican, European, Desserts, Beverages
Facilities: Takeaway Available, Smoking Area, Valet Parking Available, Table booking recommended, Indoor Seating, Keto Options

Reinvent, rejuvenate and refresh! I love the trio of these thrilling words. When I had lunch at Pali Hill’s sunshine filled Smoke House Deli 2. 0, I find that the restaurant reinvented itself a year ago and has now expanded and refreshed itself in all aspects of food, menu, ambiance, but its soul remains the same, “handmade with love”. I enjoy a lunch here with my sunshine, forever smiling, long-time foodie, reader Shilpa Chawla, who works full time in an ad agency. She is also a popular, much in demand, social media influencer since the past 19 years and has been into food from even before that. The bubbly Shilpa, who is plugged into the city’s restaurantscape, keeps me informed and is forever ready to pop in, like this time, when I landed in Mumbai and went directly from the airport to SHD 2. 0.

Smoke House Deli: Pali Hill, Bandra West, Mumbai – Decor

The natural light bathed two-storey house has big bay windows. We love its unusual shaped space and whimsical black and white sketches on the walls depicting the location, playful world of food, fauna, and felines and technology. This 90-seater space has comfortable seating with bistro furniture which weaves comfort.

Smoke House Deli: Pali Hill, Bandra West, Mumbai – Food

Their “something for everyone” takes on a new meaning in the modern context of multiple trending diets. Vegan, keto, gluten-free options along with signature breakfasts, handmade pasta, thincrust pizzas and more. Out of a wide array of dishes we sample, it’s the thrilling charge of garlic in the unerringly cooked prawns the flourless chocolate fudge we end with that we particularly recommend If you prefer gluten-free food, the bright and young chefs Rollin Lasrado and group chef Jaideep Mukherjee ensure a huge menu. Ask for their signature Cauliflower Steak’ with hummus and flourless chocolate fudge. If you are vegan, try their plantbased mince nolognese or their plant-based ‘Chicken’ Nuggets. If you follow a Keto diet, try their Cottage Cheese Galettes, bacon wrapped chicken or dairy free pizza, made with vegan mozzarella cheese.

Charcuterie buffs delight in SHD’s in-house charcuterie (chicken, buff and pork sausages, tenderloin pastrami and much more available here).

‘Goodness to Go’, an in-house store offers healthy and fresh fruit juices, shakes, and smoothies. Their all-new SHD Hot Chocolate is made with intense organic dark chocolate from Madikeri. SHD’s cocktails and mocktails sparkle with fresh ingredients, floral, light and familiar ones too. The unique Smoked Pineapple Mojito is a must try.

Minus Points:

As with all menus which try to please all, SHD falters along the way. Soggy avocado toast and ho hum spaghetti. It proudly touts locally sourced produce, but some imports (John Dory, Parmesan Cheese ) still linger on in deference to popular demand. That it sources fresh vegetables from Trikaya and Organic Grains etc from Taru Naturals and uses short grained Assamese for it’s risottos are commendable.

21 Gun Salute:

Several years ago, the most prestigious Times Food and Nightlife Awards honoured Riyaaz Amlani with the “gamechanger” award. At the age of 28 he opened his first restaurant named Mocha at Churchgate in 2002. I still distinctly remember reviewing Mocha, his very first restaurant with Sushama Reddy and Penny Patel and amid that amateur, makeshift setup spotted Riyaaz’s streak of genius of putting his finger on the foodie pulse of Mumbai. This 47-year-old powerhouse of talent is unstoppable. Since then, his 61 restaurants (in 16 cities) spanning the French Souffle to the well-loved urban hangout Social and all-in-between. Their flagship celebrates its twentieth anniversary now and as I write this, I’m told that we can look forward to many exciting new 20th anniversary celebratory nostalgic menus. In SHD 2. 0 too.

My Point:

“SHD promises comfort with a cheeky twist, comfort with a bit of spin and serves up easy going, relaxed comforting times”. This was my initial review of the very first SHD in Phoenix mills. This holds true even with SHD 2. 0, except that it has redefined, “keeping up with the times. ”