Set within the verdant embrace of Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Soraia is a restaurant that feels more discovered than designed. The setting is expansive yet intimate — part European garden, part Indian soul. Indoor and alfresco seating flow together in a quiet whisper of light and air, a space where time loosens its grip and the city exhales.
From its earliest sketches, Soraia carried a singular intention: to become the kind of place a city could be proud of — a landmark shaped not by scale, but by soul; by the strength of its food philosophy, the integrity of its cocktails, and the fullness of its guest experience. That intention is woven into the design as much as the cuisine — a living idea that anchors every detail.
The restaurant is the vision of Afsana Verma, Amit Verma, and Dhaval Udeshi — three minds united in creating a place where design, dining, and detail move in harmony.
Envisioned and brought to life by celebrity interior designer Gauri Khan, this space unfolds like a secret European sanctuary. The design reveals itself in layers—vine-draped pillars rising like living sculptures, a murmuring fountain anchoring the heart of the room, and a glasshouse that gathers light the way a painter collects color. Inside and out blend in flawless dialogue: natural wood, white stone, and lush foliage shape a world where architecture meets emotion, and landscape becomes an extension of the soul. The European aesthetic whispers rather than declares—every curve, every shimmer of sunlight speaks of timeless grace. Nothing competes; everything exhales serenity.
“Soraia is a deeply personal place for me — a gentle extension of the world I grew up in,” Afsana says, “Nestled beside the Racecourse, it carries the same comfort and nostalgia I’ve felt since childhood. There’s a quiet magic in being so close to nature in the heart of Mumbai; it makes the space feel open, honest, and effortlessly calming. When we envisioned Soraia, the dream was simple: to create a restaurant where good food, warm service, and heartfelt hospitality come together. A place where people can slow down, share conversations, laugh freely, and feel completely at ease. My hope is that, over time, Soraia becomes a beloved corner of Mumbai — the kind of place people return to not just for celebrations, but for ordinary days that deserve a little warmth. A neighbourhood favourite where memories are made, one meal at a time.”
Amit adds, “For us, Soraia was always about pioneering new experiences for the guest, We wanted to create something the city hadn’t felt before — a space where ideas could grow as naturally as the ingredients we work with. That’s how Neo-Botanical Cuisine took shape: a philosophy rooted in the cyclical and seasonal nature of produce, where every element on the plate follows the quiet intelligence of the earth. At the same time, we knew the bar needed its own language — something equally thoughtful. The Omakase Cocktail Bar allowed us to explore that, drawing ingredients foraged and sourced from across India’s diverse terrains. Each drink becomes a small journey, a way of tasting the landscapes that shape us.”
That rhythm carries into the kitchen, led by Chef Hitesh Shanbhag, whose philosophy of Neo-Botanical Cuisine guides everything that arrives on the plate. It’s a modern Indian-European culinary language, shaped by the intelligence of nature. Ingredients are treated like living notes — roots, leaves, grains, and proteins composed into harmony rather than contrast.
A graduate of the Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development, Chef Hitesh refined his craft across some of India’s most celebrated restaurants and Michelin-starred kitchens in New York City, where he absorbed the precision and restraint that now define his work. His cooking is grounded in discipline but driven by curiosity — a dialogue between continents, climates and craft.
“For me,” he says, “it’s about letting ingredients travel — not to become something else, but to tell a new story.”
Flavours wander from India’s coastlines to Europe’s countryside, linked by season and instinct. The menu unfolds in elemental chapters — The First Flush, The Seed, Light, Fire, Earth, and Air — each capturing a different stage of nature’s rhythm. A Shiso-Leaf Chaat brings the freshness of the garden to the table; Gucchi Silk rests on a whisper of sattu, capturing comfort with refinement. Honey Nut Brie wraps phyllo pastry around creamy brie with apple coulis and chili maple nut crunch; Forest Mushroom Risotto brings together Indian earthiness and Italian depth with enoki, shimeji, shiitake, and morels, while Sitafal Tres Leches turns a classic soaked cake into a delicate custard apple encore.
It’s food with character but no excess — quietly articulate, deeply satisfying. Every plate carries a sense of balance: spice softened by citrus, cream sharpened by grain, the familiar given a subtle new dimension. Chef Hitesh calls his approach whimsical discipline — refined technique anchored by imagination.
“You’ll see method,” he says, “but what matters is the touch.”
At Soraia, this is how food speaks: fluent in two languages, rooted in many, and always alive to the moment on the plate.
At the bar, Beverage Director Fay Barretto extends the kitchen’s philosophy into liquid form — each pour tracing the flavours of a nation, one landscape at a time. Introducing Mumbai’s first Omakase Cocktail Bar, the beverage programme at Soraia journeys through India’s wild, varied terrains — from the misted mountains of the North to the salt-stung coasts of Kerala. But beyond craft and geography, each drink carries purpose: every regional collection supports women-led charities from those very landscapes, turning every sip into an act of solidarity. It’s cocktails with a cause — where pleasure meets purpose, and storytelling becomes impact.
“India isn’t one flavour,” Fay says. “It’s a mosaic — mountains, coasts, forests, deserts — each with its own rhythm.”
This isn’t mixology for novelty; it’s geography and storytelling in liquid form. Each region is a chapter — The Mountains Roars, The Valley of Voices, The Great Indian Plains, The Plateaus, Coast to Coast, The Deserts, and The Ghats — interpreted through native ingredients, reimagined with modern craft and quiet precision.
The Mountains Roars evoke the chill of Ladakh and the bloom of Uttarakhand, blending chhurpe, plum, and butter tea into mist and memory. The Valley of Voices captures the soul of the East with mountain pepper whisky, wild honey, and mountain mint. The Great Indian Plains celebrate grain and rhythm through rice toddy liqueur, gondhoraj leaf distillate, and toasted makki vermouth. The Plateaus breathe with toasted sorghum millet tequila, ambemohar rice milk, and dagad phool. Coast to Coast unfolds tropical stories with jackfruit custard, cashew feni, pandan syrup, and kudampuli smoke. The Deserts pay tribute to India’s arid grace through toasted poppy seed orgeat, ker-sangri vermouth, and sand-roasted lime gin. And the Ghats celebrate the tropical highlands with wild blackberries, green peppercorns, kachampuli, and Coorg coffee reduction.
Each drink carries the story of its origin — of regions, rituals, and farmers — translated into flavour and feeling. Guests can journey freely through these regions or sit at the omakase counter, where the evening becomes a guided tasting across India’s vast map of flavours. Each pour tells a story; each story leaves an echo. And with every drink, a contribution flows to women-led initiatives across these regions — empowering communities, preserving traditions, and building futures.
The result is not a menu, but a landscape you can drink — and a legacy you can support.
Fay says it best: “We wanted each cocktail to taste like a place — not just its ingredients, but its air, its soil, its silence, and its soul. And now, each drink also gives back to the women who nurture that very soil.”
Soraia emerges as a thoughtful reinterpretation of The Bombay Club’s iconic space at the Royal Western India Turf Club, transforming bold architectural modernism into a sanctuary of slow luxury. The original rain-tree–inspired pillars felt iconic — a piece of architectural memory — and carried a quiet integrity, so the intention was never to overshadow them but to reinterpret their presence with sensitivity, giving them renewed meaning in a softer, more immersive environment. Honouring the heritage of the original Tote, the existing structure was treated as a foundation rather than a constraint, building upon its bones with sensitivity and grace. Drawing inspiration from a European glasshouse at dusk, the redesign leans into curves, depth, and layered comfort, dissolving hard edges into flowing gestures, softer silhouettes, and a more immersive spatial rhythm. Warm espresso tones, soft velvets, woven textures, and tactile upholstery evoke warmth without heaviness, while every material was chosen for its ability to hold emotion as well as patina.
Artisanal touches add depth without overwhelming the architectural envelope — the rain-tree-inspired sculpture was refined for clarity and grace, and mosaic artworks and customized mirror structures introduce hand-crafted soulfulness. Light plays a choreographed role throughout: daylight creates soft washes through glazing, while evenings introduce layers of warm chandeliers, reflections, and shadows that activate rich textures. The bar was designed as an omakase-style counter — open, interactive, and visually liberating — becoming the room’s natural gravity point with its gentle theatricality. The spatial flow extends seamlessly from intimate interiors to a living landscape outdoors, where a glasshouse acts as a transparent threshold and a central fountain transforms the alfresco section into a calm, breathing extension of the dining experience. The result is a harmony where restraint meets warmth, clean lines pair with ornate touches, and modern silhouettes soften with texture — a space shaped by nostalgia, contemporary ease, and a quiet sense of slow luxury.
Soraia takes its name from Sol and Saurya — light and radiance. The name found the team midway through the journey, when they realised every element — its pace, its clarity, its warmth — had quietly been built around that very idea of illumination.
“Meals here find their own rhythm,” Dhaval reflects. “Some linger, some unfold quickly — but each is shaped by everything we’ve learnt along the way. Years of travelling, tasting, observing, and perfecting the art of hospitality have gone into crafting Soraia. Every experience here is intentional: the way the room breathes, the way a plate arrives, the way light settles on a table. We wanted to create a space where guests don’t just dine — they feel held, understood, and gently immersed. You leave not full, but fulfilled.”
Day or night, light does most of the storytelling at Soraia. It slides across stone, filters through leaves, and pools gently over plates. There’s no need for grand gestures — just the steady presence of something beautifully made, welcoming you back at every hour.
