Carom

D&D’s Meza spent 2011 hosting pop-ups of established restaurants including The Modern Pantry & Benares in a bid to find a workable ‘concept’ for the space. Contemporary Indian cuisine finally won the day, since ex-Benares chef Balaji Balachander is now heading the kitchen at newcomer Carom. The dining room stops short of all-out kitsch, although you can expect garish tourism ads, Indian knick-knacks & a fake stuffed tiger in the mix with flimsy chiffon curtains & black furniture. Sharing is the menu’s fun agenda, although early results have been mixed: tender squid fried in crunchy breadcrumbs, heavily marinated, pull-apart lamb cutlets & perfectly steamed salmon parcels have outperformed cumin-heavy tiger prawns & underpowered Goan-spiced beef. Service is good-natured, if a tad tentative for the exuberant media crowd who hang out here.