The Big Top

Shaded under a giant butter-hued wooden parasol and lushed up by pesto-coloured plants, Le Soleil (French for ‘The Sun’) is a delicious new restaurant in Juhu, enclosed within three glass walls and a white mural painted with silhouettes of grandfather clocks, a spiral staircase, teapots and telephones.  This resto-bakery-cafe sources culinary treats from across the world and borrows chilled vibes from the spa (Sohum Spa) that it shares its compound and owners with. Would you like a rub with that grub?

On Second Broth

At a garden-facing table on a Monday afternoon - a surprisingly large number of seats were occupied - we flipped through the menu that Executive Chef Vinay later told us is largely inspired by flavours and spices from South America. Other contributing countries include Mexico, Italy, Africa, Burma and India.

Tempting as they sounded, we decided that soups (a bell pepper broth) and all-day eggs (poached egg on buttered brioche in white wine béarnaise sauce served with banana chips) would be earmarked for our next visit. We picked instead cheese tortilla Gumbo, penne in plum tomato sauce and lamb wrap (there’s also a whole bunch of sandwiches and bagels, fajitas and baguettes). We almost got basa fish steak in spinach and mustard too, but our waiter suggested that we could be over ordering.

Like most new restaurants in Mumbai, this one too has opened without its liquor licence (they promise to get it in a week), so we picked Pink Champagne mocktail (energy drink with cranberry and lemon) and a lemon iced tea to go with our lunch.

Putting Penne to Paper

The tortilla Gumbo turned out to be Cajun herbed rice with a sensational centre of bell peppers, fried okra, black eyed peas and crunchy tortilla chips slathered with cheese. A potentially-chaotic plate made neat with presentation and ingredients who agreed to behave themselves, this flavourful dish is both, electric and comforting. The pasta was bright, with penne sitting pretty in fresh plum tomato sauce spiced with paprika. Wrapped in cinnamon, garlic and soft cheese, the lamb is as yum as it sounds. The drinks were refreshing, although the iced tea had to be replaced by a less sweet version.

Le Soleil also has a separate dinner menu with more exotic meats, higher prices and some dishes from  the lunch selection; Chef Vinay recommends the spicy Lamb Peri Peri for a the night time treat.

Fruit Lickers

Exotic desserts on the menu aren’t available yet, so we had to make do with off-the-shelf options. Blueberry mousse in a dark chocolate cup is much prettier on the plate than on the palate; mixed fruit crumble with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce is a far yummier choice.

Sun Rise

With a pretty space, good service and barely any teething problems, Le Soleil has the potential to be a culinary star. It may not be the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, but it will definitely have suburban diners revolving around its orbit.

Getting there: Sohum Spa, B-IV, Kapole Co-op, JVPD Scheme, Juhu, call 26100202/0203, Rs 1,200 for a meal for two without alcohol.