Flurys in Mumbai
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
When a restaurant has been going strong since 1927, you know it has got something special. With its history rooted firmly in confectionery and comfort, Kolkata’s Flurys has served about five generations it’s signature rum balls, chicken sandwiches and peach melba, along with cups of steamy tea.
So I was hardly surprised when the server tells me regretfully that the most sought-after milk bread, the iconic baked beans on toast, and the distinctively moist and boozy rum balls flew off the shelf by early afternoon. It is barely 6pm on the second day of Flurys Mumbai outlet that launched on July 27. The unmistakable bustle inside the small dining room said it all. As I am led to the only empty table on the sea-facing patio I am reminded of the allure of this heritage tearoom from Kolkata’s iconic Park Street.
The vegan breakfast at Flurys
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
A walk down memory lane
Flurys was founded on Park Street in the year 1927 by a Swiss couple ‘Mr and Mrs J Flury’. Within no time, it gained immense popularity to become the favourite tearoom of the prosperous English and the affluent Indian alike. In 1965, the couple sold the tea room to a young Jit Paul, who had by then started Park Hotel across the street. Since then, Flurys has been more than just a café; it is a sanctuary, a refuge from the city’s relentless pace. The menu offers solace in its unchanging familiarity with offerings such as the Flurys omelette, ham filled croissants, chicken mustard sandwich and Viennese coffee. Currently Flurys is run in three formats: kiosk, café and restaurant.
Breakfast with a side of sea
While the Flurys Tearoom in Mumbai lacks the maiden Kolkata outlet’s deliciously languid mood or the generous bay windows that made people watching a sport, it does boast a charming alfresco with unending sea views. Inside is a tightly proportioned space strewn with marble topped tables and cane chairs. Fuchsia lights dangling from the ceiling add a hint of fun to the otherwise beige walls and cream interiors. Jewel toned macaroons and cream pastries wink from the glass cabinet next to a small bar that will be unleashing espresso martinis and Irish coffees very soon. There is also an alley of two seaters ideal for couples or those looking to juggle their laptop with a latte.
Beans on toast with a rose macaron milkshake
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
When nostalgia meets novella
The menu begins with the legendary Flurys English breakfast. Featuring two perfectly cooked sunny-side-up eggs, grilled sausages, sauteed mushrooms, crispy bacon, hash browns and toast with a side of baked beans — it is a breakfast that will haunt your greedy dreams. The egg and mustard sandwich is still generously stuffed, the chicken patty impossibly flaky and the plum cake is still worth the extra minutes on the treadmill. But there is more than nostalgia on this menu. Arshad Shaikh, the head chef at Flurys Tearoom Mumbai has worked hard to serenade the millennials while retaining the fans. The granola bowls, sourdough bread, vegan breakfast, the eggless croissant, mini macarons and the biscoff cheesecake is a nod in that direction.
The star of the new menu is undoubtedly the pasta, particularly the penne with lamb meatballs in a tangy tomato sauce. Among the large plates, the rosemary marinated chicken has depth. It comes beautifully scorched from the grill on a bed of creamy potato mash with a crowning mound of savoury cumin scented jus. What else? Well the mixed mushroom risotto is a rib-squeezing hug of pure comfort and a total showcase for Arshad and his team’s palpable experience. There are burgers and flat breads too.
Chicken patty from the heritage menu
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Desserts include a decadent peach melba where the poached fruit lounges in a shallow bath of raspberry sauce, whipped cream and fast melting ice cream. Just when I was spooning off the last bit of the ice cream, a young couple walked in hand in hand and went straight to the romantic alley with sea views. The grand dame of the confectionary world had cast her spell.
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