Whenever one is visiting Mumbai, dining with a slice of sea view is a must. And if you get to dine at an iconic restaurant that offers you such fantastic sight then you are indeed fortunate. Mumbai has tons of fine dining places that thrives on its location or view alone but we recommend you to go old school and pick a place that has been an integral part of Mumbai’s history. For us that place would be ‘Sea Lounge’ of The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel at Apollo Bunder. This exquisite café has the prime location in the hotel and gets a stunning view of the Arabian Sea up close. Fishing boats bobbing up and down on the waves makes for a breath-taking sight while you dine. This café has been a meeting ground for the upper crust of Mumbai for over half a century.
The café opens its doors pretty early in the morning and stretches up to midnight so one can drop by for a hearty breakfast or a late night snack. The menu of Sea Lounge is a wonderful mix of Indian and Italian cuisine. Food is light and not full-fledged three course affair. While you are at Sea Lounge give your regular cocktails a miss and concentrate on their lovely selection of coffees and teas. If you are a coffee or tea connoisseur then there is no place better. Sea Lounge offers a collection of gourmet tea blends and coffees along with freshly compressed juices or shakes for your pleasure. You can nibble alongside on, dahi batata puri, fish fingers, egg bhurji toastie, currimbhoy salad, open feta sour-dough bread, turkey & provolone sandwich, shaved salad, dabheli, bhel puri and kheema ghotala toastie.
Take a sip of your delicious tea and tuck into a vast spread of divine desserts to wrap up your visit. Have a slice of, hazelnut & praline torte, victoria’s tea sponge, hot chocolate cake and Sea Lounge’s iconic dessert, Café Viennoise, a decadent concoction of brewed coffee, whipped cream and chocolate topped with wafers. If we had to sum up Sea Lounge in one word then that would be ‘distinguished’. The interiors are elegant and tasteful enough to grace on the cover of any good interior design magazine. Ambience is sophisticated, affluent and stylish. It feels like a well-designed drawing room with carpeted floors and classy furnishings. Expensive but worth it!
- The most prized tables are the two-seaters by the window overlooking the sea. You can't book them so if you are going for lunch, get there early to be sure of securing one of them
- Since the Sixties, The Sea Lounge has had a signature coffee ice-cream called Viennoise which is only available here - the Taj won't even serve it at its other restaurants. It is an integral part of the Sea Lounge experience
- If you see a gaggle of middle-aged people sitting awkwardly at a large table while two young people look intensely embarrassed, there you are witnessing a great Sea Lounge tradition. For over half a century, people believe that if you 'show' a boy to a girl at this location, a happy match is certain to follow
