Arth, Designed by Gauri Khan, is The New Kid On The Block

This past weekend saw the glitterati of Bollywood descend upon Arth, a Bandra restaurant designed by Gauri Khan. Like expected, all the attention went from the food and chef to the star-studded guest-list. Now that the daze is over, let’s talk about the chic and innovative ‘ingredient-forward’ Indian restaurant. By Pallavi Mehra

The pre-opening night of Arth was a glamorous affair with Shahrukh Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Aalia Bhatt, Karan Johar, Anil Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Manish Malhotra among others in attendance, but the real question on everyone’s mind is – is Arth worth a visit?

If we’re to take from the success of other restaurants in Mumbai like Bastian and One Street Over, by Aalia Hospitality (the same team behind the opening of Arth), we can expect good news in the months to come. There will, of course, be no better PR than Gauri Khan who designed the space. She has furnished the interiors with low hanging grandiose chandeliers, vintage luxurious furniture, a trendy black and white marble floor, a massive bar, and a spiral staircase that leads to the second floor, a total of 5,000-square-feet.

Now about the kitchen: from what we’ve heard, it’s a rustic, gas-free open kitchen, headed by Chef Amninder Sandhu, who brings her experience in Indian cuisine through traditional culinary techniques such as charcoal charring and cooking on wood fire. Arth promises to go beyond North Indian food and serves dishes from Maharashtra, Bihar, Mangalore, Rishikesh, Shillong, Assam among others in an innovative and modern way. We hear the Dum Aloo is unconventional and delicious and the Maharastrian style Pomfret melts in your mouth.

Basically, it’s traditional cooking methods plus contemporary presentation. We’ll take that.

But will Arth live up to its high profile opening night? That only time will tell!