A singular, half-cut pani puri, made with carrot kanji and black lime, flew onto my plate as I began to prepare myself for the new Degustation Menu at Tresind Mumbai. Born and brought up as a chaat lover through and through, I have—since my time in Delhi—concluded that no one does pani puri (or gol gappe, as North Indians so dearly call it) better than dillwaalon ki Dilli. However, when I put this suspiciously orange-looking pani puri at Trèsind in my mouth, I came very, very close to changing my mind. And that says a lot.
The restaurant’s name is a funny (and accurate) play on words, borrowing ‘tres’ from the French word for ‘very’ and ‘ind’ as a short form for India: being very Indian. As the name aptly suggests, the restaurant celebrates the spirit of Indian cuisine, with its own unique spins and interpretations on the dishes we grew up eating and loving. The best part? This 14-course menu is accompanied by its vegetarian counterpart, ensuring that no one has to miss out. And trust me, it’s worth a try (or two).
Flip through Trèsind Mumbai’s new menu and you’ll immediately get the memo: Chef Sarfaraz Ahmed’s love for India’s wild, wonderful culinary diversity. He pulls from every state, as if it were his personal pantry, experimenting with flavours on plates that feel inventive yet still deeply rooted in the classic. The result? Food that tastes ridiculously good because it celebrates everything Indian cuisine can be. When I asked him what first inspired him to even become a chef, his response was inspiring.
“I have been born and brought up in Shimla, and Shimla has this culture where most men also cook. In the hills, I was always surrounded by many people who cooked, but there was one prominent chef who became like family to me: Chef Akshish Deen. He saw me grow up and was my inspiration behind what a chef looks like and what the profession actually is. He pushed me to choose this as what I wanted to do,” he says. After having spent 15 years in the food and beverage industry, the chef continues to experiment with food and devise new culinary secrets every day.
Tresind finds its roots in Dubai, where it opened in 2014, only to become the city’s go-to for contemporary Indian must-haves. The brand has since expanded to other locations and concepts, including Carnival by Trèsind and Trèsind Studio. Widely loved and revered by the Dubai audience, the restaurant earned three Michelin stars in May of this year. Designed by chef Himanshu Saini, the menu spans the crevices of the many states of India, engaging multiple senses and even emotions.
The Star Dish
One course after the opener, the chicken bharta was truly the star of the show—or in this case, meal—for me. As a baingan ka bharta (smashed eggplant) connoisseur since birth, I have grown up loving bharta more than anything else my mother would cook. Never did I ever imagine that a chicken variant would exist, and taste even better. Served in a poppadum tart alongside smoked aioli, I’m not lying when I say that I have never tasted something quite like this before.
What really sets the chicken bharta apart is how well it’s executed. The chicken is slow-cooked until it’s soft enough to blend naturally into the bharta base, which has that familiar smokiness and warmth you’d expect, but with a noticeably deeper flavour. The poppadum tart adds the crunch you didn’t know the dish needed, keeping each bite interesting instead of letting the texture fall flat. The smoked aioli on top brings a mild creaminess that rounds the whole thing out without overpowering the actual bharta.
It’s simple, clever, and genuinely delicious—the kind of dish you immediately want to go back to for a second bite just to make sure you actually tasted what you think you did!
What’s Else Is On The Menu?
Inspired by Chef Sarfaraz Ahmed’s memories, travels, and senses, this new menu traverses the country with each course. Organised into starters and salads, the main course, and of course, the desserts, each dish on the degustation menu nods to a familiar flavour profile but arrives with a twist that makes you pause, take a second look, and then another bite.
Another personal highlight was the tomato and strawberry chaat, made with tomato ragda—a spin on the traditional channa ragda Mumbaikers enjoy—and strawberry shoyu. The absence of tamarind and the addition of strawberry instead works really well—the tartness is just enough and leaves you asking for more. The cherry (or should I say, strawberry?) on top is definitely the way the strawberry chutney crackles in your mouth. I was transported back to the golden days of my childhood, when I used to eat that powdery pink candy that would burst like crackers in my mouth. According to Chef Ahmed, he and his team worked on this chaat for two years before it was good enough to be included in the menu. The missing ingredient that finally made it perfect was when they used strawberries instead of tamarind after trying six to seven variations.
What I also loved was the pacing of the menu. It was deliberate and slow, beginning with lighter plates that gradually gave way to richer, bolder dishes. Not one dish ran the risk of seeming gimmicky. The experimentation is controlled, thoughtful, and always anchored in something recognisably Indian.
Take the savoury khandvi ice cream paired with pickled green chilli, for instance. Presented as a palate cleanser in the middle of the main course, this quintessentially Gujarati dish was turned into something you would have definitely never had before.
The only dish on the menu that finds its way from Tresind Dubai to Mumbai—the khichdi of India—is served with a show of its own. The dish arrives tableside on a small stove, already filling the air with that unmistakable comfort that only khichdi can give. But the best part comes when a marble map of India is placed beside it, each state represented through one topping, showcasing how differently the country eats the same dish. There’s ghee from Haryana, white butter from Punjab, lasun chutney from Maharashtra, pumpkin from Rajasthan, and over a dozen more. As the server walks you through each state’s pairing, adding them one by one into the pot, the khichdi transforms into a pan-India kaleidoscope of flavours. It’s like tasting a whole country in one humble bowl.
My personal non-vegetarian favourite on the main course was their maas ka soolah made with mutton, served with smoked chilly curry and missi roti. The red meat was soft and charred, cooked perfectly, while the roti added the touch of the North to the dish.
May I Have The Drinks Menu, Please?
The drinks menu at Tresind is transcendent, spanning pages and pages of artisanally crafted cocktails and liqueurs, with choices that fit all, drinkers and non-drinkers alike.
I went for the serendipity first, featuring coconut cream and gin, and the best way to describe it would be to say that it was a less vacation-y version of a piña colada. It had that familiar creaminess and soft coconut sweetness, but without the sugary hit or the beachside kitsch.
The gin cut through with a clean, crisp finish, giving the drink a lighter, more grown-up edge. It was refreshing without trying too hard, smooth without being heavy. My second drink of choice was the raw mango picante (are you sensing a pattern here?), prepared with tequila and lots of spice. It was quite fruity, and yet maintained the flavour of the liquor and the spices quite well.
Vibe Check
In five words: the vibes were on point! Upon entering, I was greeted by the restaurant’s cool, white, and gold interiors, with an impressive teal bar taking centre stage, positioned in the middle of the space. Nothing about the ambience is over the top or overwhelming (not even the music), maintaining a sleek and sophisticated outlook so that diners can focus solely on the main experience at hand. Yes, the food.
Seating is kept deliberately sparse—Trèsind limits its capacity to about 70 even though the space can hold more, making every table feel private and well-considered. The music is soft and ambient, the chatter is lulled, and the aroma is fresh and scrumptious. It’s fine dining at its best. The bonus? There’s even a wine rack toward the back of the restaurant for wine connoisseurs!
As I walked in, the teal blue interiors instantly caught my eye. But my personal favourite part of the meal was the desserts (because the sweet tooth never really dies), and their tradition of gently wafting a fresh aroma around all guests, so that everyone starts their meal anew. Could it get better than this?
There’s Always Room For Dessert!
Nothing could have ended this journey of a meal better than the carefully picked desserts that this menu offers. Among the three desserts on the menu, if pressed for choice, I would pick the pazham pori as my favourite, without a doubt.
Served as the first dessert, this banana-based dessert, inspired by the chef’s time in Kerala, features banana custard in a pie with fritters on top, and is paired with hazelnut and chocolate ice cream. It was desi, and just contemporary enough. While such a dessert is not something I usually go for, I enjoyed the blend of flavours it put up on the plate. If I could, I would definitely ask for a second serving.
The other two included a caramel milk dessert paired with roasted barley ice cream and a rose cookie, and a coffee stone, quite literally—it’s a chocolate shell with a cold coffee liquid inside, served on coffee beans.
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