Travel Book Logs

If you are looking for a fine dining experience look no further than Pure at the Taj Lands End, Mumbai. This restaurant usually gets the pass as most would walk right past the entrance to the more brightly lit Masala Bay or the attractive Ming Yang further to the right. Mind you, you wouldn’t do yourself any harm by going to Ming Yang or Masala Bay as they are both great places to eat in their own right. But Pure, located on Level 1 of the lobby is a unique restaurant.

First things first – fine dining is exactly that. Its about dining on fine or choice ingredients prepared with top class care and finesse. Its for people who care about good food and can appreciate the effort that goes into preparing a top flight meal. If you are familiar with the Dining and Wine Section of the New York Times then this is the kind of place you can appreciate for a special evening. The food is 100% organic to start with and made with cutting edge techniques that bring out the best flavors. Its a signature menu topped with one of the best wine lists in the country. For more desi tastes their scotch selection is absolutely the best I have seen.

For a full fledged journey in culinary bliss I recommend the Pure Tour – a seven course meal which comes complete with your personal expert who will guide you through the experience. The Pure Tour even includes an option for scotch aficionados with recommendations on what goes best with some of their great scotch selections. Personally I found their scotch selection one of the best in India and our “guide” was more than generous with a few freebies later on in the evening. The wine selection is as good as it gets and the wine room adjacent to the main entrance is worth a peek. Wine connoisseurs are probably not going to be as impressed but given that in India we are still on the bottom of the wine curve this is a truly a good effort.

You wouldn’t do too badly ordering a la carte either. Appetizers and starters are well selected and the en trees are top notch. The selection of meats covers the spectrum and includes sea food as would be expected. The vegetarian selection tended to be more on the Far Eastern – Thai side with strong flavors of ginger. Ask your personal guide (as they call themselves) for help with your menu. I found the service to be excellent and discrete yet friendly. Exactly as it should be for a place of this standard.

This is a place for a power lunch or that very special date. Do not go here if you are looking for a quick bite. That would simply not do justice to the intent of this restaurant. If you are looking for a top notch meal made with the best one can find in this land then this is one place I can recommend. Bring your wallet with you though – it is expensive. Pure will set you back about Rs 3,500 - 5,000 pro persona with drinks. But it will be among the best meals you will have in a while.