With great ambience and better food, Diablo in Mumbai is unmissable

Located in the commercial hub of Lower Parel, Mumbai, Diablo is a contemporary interpretation of gothic design with modern middle-eastern cuisine.

Walk into Mumbai’s newest restaurant, Diablo – from restaurateurs Abhimanyu Jakhar and Priyank Sukhija, who helms the F&B banner, First Fiddle Restaurants – and you will be instantly struck by its grand interiors, upbeat music and lively ambience. Designed by Bent Chair, a décor company based out of Mumbai, the décor along with an elaborate Middle-Eastern menu sets the tone for a perfect dining experience.

From ancient Greek and Lebanese dishes to Turkish and Egyptian delicacies – the menu – curated by chef Sagar Bajaj – at South Mumbai’s newest outpost has a lot to offer to food enthusiasts.

Ambience

Making its way over from the capital city, Diablo stands out for its Middle Eastern cuisine and gothic design. The lively interiors are sure to catch your attention. The seating area is an ethereal explosion of colours. While the gargoyles, magnificent saddles and peacock sculptures all make for incredible photo-ops for the gram.

The gothic interiors at Diablo

Food

Be it salads, mezze platters or kebabs and grills; there is a lot to choose from at Diablo.We started our meal with their Domates salad, which was a happy marriage of fail-safe ingredients – Roma tomatoes and feta cheese – but also had an offbeat addition: beetroot.

We followed this up with juicy kebabs, starting with Jujeh kebabs that came on a bed of rice and with garlic dip; Koobideh kebab made with minced lamb, onion and black pepper; and Meygoo Souvlaki, which was spicy and well-marinated grilled tiger prawns. Next up, was the mezze platter, which came with an assortment of bread, dips, cottage cheese and corn kebabs. We must add that the pita bread at Diablo is amongst the fluffiest and lightest you can get your hands on in the city.

We washed down our endless rounds of bread and kebabs, with their handcrafted concoctions, such as The Gospel, a whiskey-based cocktail with strawberry puree, mint leaves, lime juice and egg whites, which had a unique flavour and the Devils G&T, which tasted much the same as a regular gin and tonic, only with the additional hints of rose and liquid nitrogen.

Domates Salad

What worked

While you marvel at the interiors, Diablo will ensure you’re also welcomed with their sumptuous delicacies. The Koobideh kebab was melt-in-the-mouth, spicy and flavourful. The Meygoo Souvlaki (tiger prawns) were well cooked and served with dips and a variety of chutney, most notably the lemon chilli olive oil dressing that went perfectly with the seafood.

Koobideh Kebab

What didn’t work

While the food did catch our attention, we were slightly disappointed with the lack of variety in the dessert segment of the menu, which featured only four options. We tried their strawberry cheesecake but felt like the flavours didn't come together. It was grainy and lacklustre in terms of flavour and textures.

Strawberry Cheesecake

Verdict

From a fancy dinner date to a boozy brunch, Diablo checks all the boxes and has the potential to become our next favourite, courtesy its impressive ambience, delicious food and incredible service. So, get ready to head there and try it yourself. We assure you, you won’t be disappointed!