On a busy, traffic-frenzied evening, Amazonia in Bandra Kurla Complex is a little pocket of solace. Textured shrubbery chic ceiling and glass façade with imitation wildlife suspended from the walls in different shades of sunlight to the velvety — colourful fringed lampshades hanging above low-lit booths to the mezzanine dining space make for laid-back, relaxing interiors amidst glamorous tropical vibe as you browse the pan-Asian menu divided in four — Japanese, Italian, Thai, and Korean - including salads, grills, sushi, bites, fish, and meat.
With a full house even on the weekdays, courtesy of their fresh hand-rolled dumplings, salads, sourdough pizzas and delectable mocktails, we would say this two-month-old 75-seater restaurant is well on its way to becoming one of the city's favourite party and family dining space. The chic décor complementing the carnival spirit like the wild Amazon is a result of the owner Prasuk Jain's travel experiences, we are told. “The focus was on recreating the expanse in design by contrasting it with surprising little exotic elements, open to be found by anyone actually looking for them,” says Prasuk. A huge installation of Giraffe at the centre of the space makes for a stunning selfie point.
Dumplings three times
We were left impressed with the illustrious menu and chose to start with Crispy Veg assorted in the sweet chilly sauce. A huge portion paired with fries was sufficient for two. We paired our starters with a pomegranate blend mocktail which the mixologist specially curated for us to meet our taste.
Next, we sampled California Roll Sushi — avocado, cucumber, cream cheese topped with black sesame seeds, and Asian Vegetable White Peanut Dumplings. Sushi had plenty of seasoning making it flavourful, however, it wasn't very pleasant to our tastes.
On the contrary, the dumplings, which had small pieces of peanuts tasted different. Overall both the dishes were well made. We also sampled Edamame and Truffle Risotto. The mascarpone cheese didn't go down well with our taste. However, we loved the Mozzarella Salad which came with baby mozzarella tossed in basil and served with tomatoes, sweet balsamic and toasted almonds. The salad bowl left us pleasantly surprised.
Other culinary highlights from the menu include Grilled Polenta and Cottage Cheese, Amazonia Chicken Chili Oil Dumplings, Kimchi Yakisoba, Kyui Wakame No Amazu-Ae, and Amazonia Matcha Crème Brulee. Though our drinks were specially curated (you can request the same) their cocktail and mocktail menu brings unique flavour combinations with a focus on cocktails and mocktails with fun fusions like Mexican Little Pamlo, Brazilian Samba, Cuban Pain Curer, Amazonia Siesta, Namakemono, Jhon Rose About Girl, Ovant Ticklet, and rotating classics like Manhattan, Margarita and more.
The meal was filling and satiating leaving us with no space for dessert. We wait for their new menu launch to try the section of delectable desserts.
