Review: Slink & Bardot switch-up their European suave with a new menu

After a 9-month hiatus, Slink & Bardot, Worli sharpened up on their European culinary skills with a fresh menu, we gave it a try and here’s what we thought.

Going ‘Vocal for Local’ became a global perspective, in a deglobalizing world. The lockdown certainly affected many facets of life – The way we meet, dine and travel. Things changed, we changed and so did Slink & Bardot’s menu. Dawning a new era of Euro dining, S&B reopen their doors after 9 long months with a menu entirely dedicated to global small plates but with a ‘Made in India’ twist. With four sections of Wine Bar, Public House, Supper Club and a cute desert section, there’s certainly a plethora of moods they aim to serve here. We booked a table for two at Worli’s celeb-favorite restaurant to inspect how they’ve switched-up their European culinary suave.

Here’s what we think of the new Slink & Badrot menu.

We started off with the Chicken Katsu Sandwiches and the Pork Belly Tacos from the Public House section of their menu. I think the Katsu ‘wiches are meant for those who like a clear-and-simple chicken sandwich, no fuss. While the chicken slices were perfectly tender and I think that’s what makes it great, the brown butter mayo and the tonkatsu sauce provide the subtle flavour it needs. The Tacos on the other hand is a play of flavours and there’s really a lot happening here, so if you’re choosing to go with this, expect a significant punch of flavour.

We paired this with a Dark N’ Stormy and an I’ll Have What She’s Having. The former, is actually for both, ladies and gents who like to indulge in some good ol’ fashion Bacardi Black rum. The tinge of Homebrewed Ginger Beer is an interesting twist. Moving over to the latter, this cocktail screams SoBo and the ladies who live in style. With a base of Chandon, we see a sensible dash of elderflower, orange, vodka, certainly something different.

Moving on to the King Tiger Prawn and the Foie Gras Donuts. From all the dishes we tried that evening, the Foie Gras Donuts remains at the top of our list. Interesting fun fact: The outer crust of this dish is the same as one of their deserts. The actually found a perfect middle ground for the caramel crusted outer between a duck liver parfait and sweet donuts. Something I’d give Slink & Bardot a gold point for. The tiger prawn was massive and I wished it to be a bit more tender. However, the Mathania Chilli XO sauce truly made up for that.

We coupled these two dishes with two cocktail staples, the Mediterranean G n’ T and a Smoked Manhattan. One of most interesting details about the S&B bar is that they brew their own tonic water (I’m secretly hoping they bottle and retail them). Upon reading the ingredients, you may think it busy but they come together just right. The Manhattan, powered by Jim Beam and Martini Rosso, the play of chocolate bitters and maraschino, is actually very prominent. When it comes to the desert section, go for the Crème Brûlée Doughnuts, it’s the right amount of sweet for your sweet tooth.

Our verdict

Slink & Bardot has always been a celeb-favorite spot and for good reason. The different sections and rooms of the joint can match different moods, that’s often why we keep going there. The menu is simply a reshuffle of everything great at S&B but they have certainly sharpened their European skills, Chef Aren Vidit gets some credit there. The menu might seem confusing at first simply because they appear as lists after lists, but then you’ll see that they’re actually different moods. You’ll find yours too and you’ll stick to it just like we did. The Foie Gras Donuts is certainly innovative and unique, try it. I’ll certainly be coming back for that.

Price: Rs 4,000 for two.

Alcohol: Yes

Timings: 7 pm 

Address: 329/A, Thadani House, Opposite Indian Coast Guard, Worli Village, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400030

All images: Courtesy brand