bpb Review: Noah’s

A plastic menu offering Mushroom Vul-Au-Vent, Corn Florentine with béchamel sauce, and three kinds of brulee (vanilla, coffee, passion fruit); Prawn Provencal served with paper napkins; a whopping lunch bill of Rs 1,000 per head scrawled on crumpled paper – these are the incongruities that characterise Noah’s, a hidden restaurant at Cumballa Hill, which serves cuisine fancy enough for an upscale restaurant (with prices to match), but offers the ambience of your neighbourhood clubhouse.

Of Tip-Offs and Tempura

Tried this little hidden place, great gnocchi, no one knows about it! It was this tip-off from a loyal subscriber that led us to Noah’s, marked by nothing more than a paper flyer taped outside a wooden door. And the gnocchi did turn out to be awesome, as did our starters of warm ratatouille tarts, crunchy bruschetta loaded with olive and cheese, and succulent Moroccan kebabs that came embellished with a plummy tomato sauce good enough to eat by the spoonful. Our prawn tempura could have been crispier, but it made up in looks (curvy, golden and shimmering under honey-chilli sauce) what it lacked in taste.

Mains of the above mentioned gnocchi, and spinach and corn crepes were similarly delish. The crepes, tubes of freshly hand-rolled pasta pregnant with blanched spinach and bright kernels of corn were served on a plate modelled after a garden, decorated with sprigs of olive tapenade. Complementing them was a mound of vegetable ratatouille, fragrant and bursting with flavor. Dessert (see picture) consisted of an absolutely sinful molten chocolate cake with raspberry reduction, delightfully piquant fruit sorbets that made our mouths pucker like we were imli-eating kids, and a strictly okay brownie.

Decorating the Plate, but Not the Wall

The reason why we’re focusing solely on the food rather than talking about the décor or ambience at Noah’s is because the restaurant seems like a work-in-progress. An ambitious project that someone completed halfway (getting the open kitchen, with its high-tech looking stainless steel appliances and the food absolutely right) and then abandoned, without worrying about the décor ( white walls and mismatched wooden furniture).

A Big Bite

One bite of the passion fruit sorbet, however, and you’ll forget about everything else but the food, which is beautiful and complex enough to keep you engaged for your entire meal.But be warned: the bill, shockingly oversized for this tiny eatery in the wall, will bring you right back to your rickety chair.

Getting there: Mohammedbhai Mansion, Kemp’s Corner, Cumballa Hill Hospital Lane, next to Images, call 23896111.