March has been a busy month for the city that never sleeps, and there’s a lot to eat, drink, and be merry. Here’s sorting your weekends out

Sunday Mill Brunch at 145

Yes, brunches are back, and 145 in Kamala Mills is taking the lead. Their New Zealand chef mate has designed a menu that combines the best of sweet and savoury, complete with a list of cocktails — I pick the gin with litchi, just the right amount of boozy and tasty. If savoury is your thing, try the artichoke-spinach crepes, flavourful and healthy, or the tomato ragout and burrata gnocchi. Pancake lovers must not miss the tiramisu pancakes, fluffy and coffeed up with some chocolate. There’s always a person at the table looking for the perfect smoothie bowl, and that person is me. The açaí bowl here got me drooling, chef’s kiss. Make it a family affair for your Sunday get-togethers, the kids (and the adults) will love the chocolate fountain that you can dunk your waffle chips into. Follow it up with a good Sunday nap.

Noon

If there’s a meal with a soul I’ve had recently, Noon is it. Mumbai loves Sequel, and founder and chef Vanika Choudhary has come up with Noon as a love letter from her childhood through her travels in and around India. Noon, named for the Kashmiri word for salt, has local, seasonal produce as the focus, coming together to create flavour in the most unexpected manner. The purple bean tacos are a great way to commence, and while it came with some hummus, I couldn’t help but nibble the buckwheat and coconut kefir roti by itself. Noon’s craft cocktail program focuses on keeping their bar all natural, no soda, all house-made syrups and bitters, and the Battle Of Oranges, an orange-infused gin mixed with orange liqueur, seed bitters, and topped with orange seltzer makes for poetry on a hot afternoon. There’s also Pineapple Tepache made with house-fermented pineapple, Kashmiri raw honey and tequila. The raw cacao ice cream is the right end to the meal, the texture of which will really not let you stop licking the spoon. Noon makes you want to slow down, sip, bite, and just be.

Tsubaki

Nestled in South Mumbai is Tsubaki, named after a flower, a three-storey Japanese restaurant serving some delicious Japanese fare. Start with the cocktail menu — a gin cocktail that comes with activated charcoal and hits the right notes (is it just me or is activated charcoal becoming quite the cocktail hit?) If I had to pick a dish I could go home with, it’s the pillowy pink and white Philly cheese bird eye gyoza — just a tinge of bird eye hotness with creamy, fresh cheese. I’m picky about my sushi, but the spicy salmon and prawn tempura do the trick — with fresh wasabi nonetheless. Indulge in the Yaki Udon for mains, and you’ll be pretty sorted without feeling too stuffed. Their desserts could do better, given the rest of the menu is quite outstanding. Nonetheless, a meal worth indulging in on date night.

Flash Pizza

NINO Burgers is one of my legit favourites in this city, so despite not really being a ‘let’s go out and eat pizza’ person, I tried their new delivery brand. Flash Pizza by Nino Foods, has a kickass menu peppered with desi flavours. That being said, I’m not a fan of chicken tikka-ing my pizza, and ordered the Pizza Davide — the classic margherita with roasted garlic, soft goat cheese, and some of their signature pesto sauce. Enjoyable on a Saturday afternoon order-in with a new movie, I think.

Canary by The Origin

Mead is becoming big, and with good reason. A random drop into Canary turned into finding a favourite spot in the forever busy lanes of Andheri. A London-inspired mead taproom that showcases modern British pub culture, Canary has Origin’s craft meads that you can taste, and pick, from a wide variety of flavours. The spicy guava mead worked for me. Pub grubs such as toasted nachos and chicken wings are done well, sure, but their bowl meals are also quite delicious if you want to eat well — featuring Britain’s national dish — chicken tikka masala. If you’re looking to hang at a non-fuss place on a Saturday night, head to Canary.

Hakkasan Brunch

For the month of April, Hakkasan is doing a special six-course limited edition Cantonese brunch menu paired with refreshing Monkey 47 gin cocktails. Soups, salads, especially the Hakkasan signature Crispy duck salad with pomelo, pine nut and shallot, followed by small eats from a selection of options like Carrot cake, Spicy jackfruit dumpling, Truffle and carrot dumpling, Crispy tofu in Szechuan peppercorn, Chicken and prawn hibiscus dumpling, Har gau, Crispy prawn with wheat flakes is a cool way to start, before moving on to mains like the Stir-fry pak choi with burnt garlic among others. The best part, though, is getting unlimited pours of Monkey 47 concoctions like Monkey 47 your tonic with gin, berries, citrus, herbs, grapefruit and tonic water; Monkey Standing Tall with gin, lychee juice, jasmine tea, elderflower syrup and lime; Wild Forest with gin, hibiscus tea cordial, pomegranate juice, lime and soda; the fruity Passionately Citrus with gin, citrus cordial, grapefruit and tonic water. Boozy Sunday brunch for everyone.