The genuine tastes of Spain come to Mumbai

The idea of food can be baffling, as interpreted from one culture to the next. It is simply impossible for a person who eats meat as a staple to imagine how entire scores of Indian can ever survive let alone enjoy, a meal entirely made up of fruits and vegetables alones. Indians too express similar disbelief and wonderment at French food and its utter blandness. And then, even within a particular cultural composite, people can have stark differences, like the Jains at one end of the spectrum in India and the Kashmiri Pundits at the other. While each cuisine has its own sense of flavour, the problem is of trying to translate it from the commonly accepted form into another where it is considered alien.

Recently, Spanish cuisine landed in India with the opening of Arola, the first ever endeavour by a famed Spanish chef, one who has been lauded already for his tasteful presentations and preparations and has been awarded the coveted Michelin stars for his cooking prowess. Only the culinary powers that be could explain whether it was he who was attracted to India or whether J W Marriott in Mumbai decided to bring in the idea of a Tapas restaurant.

The restaurant has quite a few firsts to it—first Michelin-starred Spanish chef, first true Tapas place in a Mumbai 5-star property, first Gin bar… I could go on. But superlatives aside, what really matters is the experience: does this place work in India?

To understand that, a small idea of Tapas-style eating is important. Spain has an eclectic culture, with outgoing people who work late and love to converge at bars post work to talk and eat. Full-format course-wise may exist but it isn’t what really attracts them. The Spaniards want the food to be more a social ointment and less a focal point of the evening. Also, they love variety and don’t wish to be stuck having just one dish. Tapas are then samplers: portions served in tiny platters which, when shared, barely serve to satiate but are enough to taste. Ordering a few such platters of various mixes of meats and veggies can sum up to a hearty meal. This eating, often comprising salty dishes, is accompanied by local wine, beer, or, as is now a la mode, a basic gin and tonic. This is how a tapas bar works. Arola looks ten times the opulence of a basic Tapas joint but it is, in principle, the same sort of a place. Don’t come here if one main course is what you really desire. Instead, come here if you are bored with such. My recommendations would include PatatasBravas (A Sergio signature dish), the Garlic Prawns (any fresher and they’d be swimming), the Red Snapper (rock-sized chunk of a fresh fish steak), and the traditional 80 per cent cooked rice with seafood (very Paella-like). There are a few dozen other dishes and I assure you that you will be surprised just how many plates you end up ordering. Don’t be shy: this is definitely one of the best tapas places in Spain and the Spanish chef and the hotel have done a great job of preserving this integrity while transporting it here to Juhu.