Salt March

Corniche is the closest thing you’ll find to the sea at Carter Road - literally and aesthetically. The ocean-facing Mediterranean eatery that replaced Molto Bello last weekend, keeps waves of blue cushions and crests of white chairs in its al fresco section, where we bet on some days, you’ll even be able to taste the salt.

If like us you visit on an afternoon, go down to the air conditioned submarine-like section where along with aquatic upholstery, you’ll find filigreed silver leaves embedded on the stairs and on tables, and a pretty tree illustration on the wall. The only thing that doesn’t fit is the hardcore techno music, a felony that many restaurants seem to commit lately. bpb floated the idea of playing The Beach soundtrack, we hope the suggestion is taken.

Walk the Plank

Ordering here requires immense upper body strength for the menus are super heavy and unwieldy, with the potential of knocking drinks over. On these wooden planks you’ll find a big selection of Italian fare, with a few random Lebanese, Mexican, Spanish and Thai dishes thrown in. The drinks range from beer and international wines (many of which are not available) to full blown spirits, shooters and cocktails, one of which, Carter’s Cooler, is dedicated to the street Corniche sits on.

Given that it was a work day, we skipped the booze and started with the vegetarian platter that came with spots of happy and sad. The former group contained yum spinach and corn au gratin rosti and zucchini crostini, and falling in the latter were Caesar’s salad with limp leaves and soggy croutons, dry falafel pockets with barely-there hummus and pickled aubergine. Carnivores will be left more satiated if the fresh chilli garlic prawns are anything to go by. The tender and well-spiced Satay chicken may be their own version of the Thai dish - it’s accompanied strangely not by peanut but Schezwan sauce – but is tasty none the less. They even have a list of sandwiches we plan to try the next evening we’re here.

Sea Serve

For mains, we ordered a thin crust Margherita pizza which arrived on a completely uncooked base and had to be returned to the kitchen. Even another round in the oven failed to make the pie edible. The staff was apologetic and offered to take it off the bill. The mushroom-onion risotto cheered us up - creamy and comforting with a crunch of onions, it tasted like an Italian version of French onion soup. If you feel like a serving from the sea, get the herb crusted fish placed on a bed of potato splashed with lemon butter cream.

Our meal ended with moderately tasty apple pie, which like the pizza, was missing an audible crust.

Everybody Loves Ray

Considering it’s the only restaurant on the Carter Road strip to serve alcohol, Corniche has a clear advantage over its neighbours. To really enjoy the place, we suggest a non-occasion visit that requires minimal planning. Just drop in for a beer and a sandwich, and a little bit of sunset.

Getting there: Corniche, B-15, Gagangiri CHS, Carter Road, Bandra (W), call 26460147, Rs 1,500 for a meal for two (without alcohol).

bpb reviews anonymously and pays for its own meals.