Bayside Cafe

Location: Regal/Gateway at Colaba.
Indicative prices: Beer 110, pasta 175 to 195, seafood platter 290.

Bayside Cafe has opened this year exactly where Nanking used to stand. In fact, the broken walls of old Nanking are lit up and on show from inside the restaurant. This blends well with the wooden floor and the dado which is coloured to match the wood on the bar and tables. The well-lit interior has less than a dozen tables, and a singer belts out Indipop et alia from a niche below the stairs leading up to the private room upstairs. It might have been an old pub, if it wasn't so obviously a trendy south-Bombay restaurant.

The food is almost-fusion. A few east Asian dishes for vegetarians are sprinkled among the adapted-continental menu. We tried the Fritto Misto for starters. Fresh squid and prawns, but the batter retained too much oil. The accompanying garlic sauce was wonderful.

There is a selection of pasta. We tried the penne, properly al dente, with an oustanding pesto sauce. The spaghetti Marinara was also quite good. The pesto raised our level of expectation. For the main course we tried the house seafood platter and the roast lamb. Both were delightful. The seafood platter had grilled king fish, prawns and squid.

We judged it prudent to stop at that point, but I intend to be back another day for the desserts.