Many people think Greek and Mediterranean cuisines are just the same thing and can even be used interchangeably. In fact, Greek is part of Mediterranean cuisine, but Mediterranean cuisine is not always Greek food because it also includes other cuisines like Portugal, Italy, or Turkey.
Mediterranean dishes typically involve more steps when preparing because they use spices such as cumin and turmeric which require extra processing. Meanwhile, Greeks find simple ingredients in their homeland and it is also easier to work with these ingredients.

The reason behind this introduction is to popularize our recent tryst with an amazing Greek menu which we just relished.

WHAT’S HOT IN MUMBAI strongly recommends the all-new GREEK MENU AT BAYROUTE, Cuffe Parade.

For us, Bayroute has been an all-time, treasured go-to fine dining restaurant for years. While diners were zapped with their dynamic Baklava dessert, we savoured almost all their dishes which evoked our Mediterranean food memories during our long sojourn in Dubai.

What struck a stronger bond with Bayroute was that the Chef team never fell short of the consistent taste and flavours. While most restaurants show a dip once the Consultant Chef moves on, BAYROUTE was the dependable shooting star which kept shimmering despite the cheaper imitations which infiltrated the hospitality zone.

THE GREEK MENU has had a soft launch initially at the Cuffe Parade branch and soon it would be hitting their other outlets. The concise menu has the superlative Greek dishes with that elusive glamourous twist (as always) – not only is the food a healthy mix, light on the tummy but surely a dynamite for the taste buds. BAYROUTE has a winner for sure, although we experienced just some of their masterpieces. They have loads more to offer and we would surely experience them soon.

A thundering round of applause to the entire Chef team for conjuring this wonderful menu. The cocktails are a blast, slurpy and memorable. The service by Mr. Dhananjay and his team is superfluous. We are surely returning back with a sequel for all that we left out.

Do browse through what we savoured at your own risk, our choices and review will surely leave a mouth-watering experience and goad you to book your table soon for Bayroute.

Our menu choices:

Salad:

Santorina Beet baked Carpaccio salad

Ingredients - Cinnamon and all spiced, dairy pickled beets, salted and blanched raspberry vinegar with berry spinach, masculine greens, serve cheese and walnut granola.

Review – The first impression is a visual treat. The beauty lies in the colour blend which make this dish tempting. Besides being a visual masterstroke, it is outrageously delicious. This beetroot carpaccio is the perfect appetizer to impress. Sweet, and tangy, soft and crunchy – a description can’t do it justice.

Cocktails:

Do as the Romans Do

Ingredients - Gin & Romans Cider Vinegar Gel with grape juice. Served with edible air and flower.

Review – Dynamic on flowers, perfectly cool and a potent mix. The exotic flavours add the zing for a perfect start to your meals. A must have!

Portokali

Ingredients - White Rum and Bitter sweet Greek oranges shaken with coconut syrup and finished with apple wood smoke.

Review – The drama in the presentation is amazing, you may feel a bit perturbed when you see the small portion which is served. But believe us, it is one of the smokiest, flavourful cocktails of 2022. Kudos to the bartender for this fine curation.

Cold Mezze:

Beetroot moutabbel

Ingredients - Smoked eggplant creamed with strained Greek yoghurt and folded with roasted shreds of beetroot.

Review – The secret to success to this dish is the miraculous transformation of the eggplant which isn’t favoured by many diners. This one was the creamiest moutabbel creation, the spices adding the vital zest to the dish.

Saffron and pumpkin hummus

Ingredients - Nuttier and earthy pumpkin, caramelized on open fire, emulsified with coconut milk, chickpea paste and saffron

Review – Although this dish came as a strong recommendation from our server Mr. Dhananjay, we almost snubbed it off. Later we relented and asked for a small tasting portion. The hospitality streak of the Bayroute team has always been welcoming and we were handed over the entire dish.

This hummus turned out to be light and a perfect artisanal delight. The saffron fragrance is subtle but the crunch nutty bites, the creamy texture is an absolute treat with the pickled salad. Don’t miss out on this one.

Hummus pimento

Ingredients - Smoked red pepper puree folded in whipped chickpea, sesame paste and topped with Greek feta crumble.

Review – A pimento by any other name would still evoke this colourful landscape of a memorable meal. We could bet our last rupee that you would love to have this for lunch and dinner and all over swept clean off the plate. The whipping is perfect, luxurious and you could sense a pillowy texture. Another showstopper!

Labneh Al Bayroute

Ingredients - House signature, Date and pistachio labneh, strained yogurt sprinkled with Sumac.

Review – Quite delectable and one of the classics of the cuisine. A perfect, authentic trail.

*Customary Arabic cold mezze served with Emirati Khamir bread, pickled veggies, smoked olives and fresh herbs.

Mains:

Spanakopita

Ingredients - Greece beloved pie, creamed spinach and feta cheese stuffed in phyllo dough, baked to perfection and sprinkled with fresh dill and sesame duet.

Review – A traditional Greek classic which normally make a light lunch or dinner option. This vegetarian friendly is a take-off to a spinach pie with a Greek touch. The variation which made the flavours quite soothing was the creamed spinach. The feta cheese as usual had a salty flavour which was overpowered with the sesame duet. The shatteringly crisp pasty phyllo covering is impeccable and crusty too. After a high dose of the hummus, these flavours are a welcome change.

Lamb mujadarra

Ingredients - Signature of the Middle East, caramelized onion cups, sated with cumin tempered rice and black lentils. Served with cucumber laban.

Review – Technically, the mujadarra is a beautiful dish layered with lentils and rice at the bottom, followed by caramelized onions (the more, the better), and hopefully a couple of creamy or spicy sauces on the side. Plaudits to the Chef to incorporate and fuse new elements with a twist of excellence. The dish has perfect rounded caramelized onion cups which are perfectly loaded with the rice and small lamb pieces.

The magic this dish creates is the oozing flavour tones which are slurpy and create magical flavour notes. While you crunch on the onion skin, the grandeur seeps in with the soft lamb meat and the perfectly cooked rice. The fluid gravy is just divine. A perfect dish!

Dessert:

Baked Greek yogurt

Ingredients - Strained yogurt custard, baked to perfection and topped with blueberry compote

Review – While we were almost tempted to try the baklava cheesecake, we took a detour. Bayroute has been a trendsetter to serve the most momentous marvel creation with their Baklava. The baked Greek yogurt too has some stunning flavours, the perfection is supreme – the blueberry compote is outstanding too.

BAYROUTE has created a shooting star which will usher a revolution for fine-dining lovers who are constantly on the lookout for something healthy and flavorful.

As a closing statement, our last words are – WE ARE COMING BACK SOON!