Trishna

Iconic Sea Food in SoBo

 
It’s easy to look at a hugely successful restaurant like Trishna, and think ‘What an obvious idea. Fresh luxury sea food, cooked to perfection, served in sumptuous portions. In Bombay. It’s bound to succeed’. Hold that thought.  

In the 1940s, when Independence was around the corner, but still unsure, the Matrubhoomi Hindu Lunch Home (MHLM) started in the Kala Ghoda area. It was a rice plate joint, a thali of chicken curry, or small “inexpensive” fish, with unlimited gravy and rice. Affordable food for officegoers in the Fort area, and dock workers at Lion’s Gate. It was strictly a lunch place, there were very few dinner guests. People would stand in line, get their food coupons punched and eat a simple meal.

SV Anchan moved from Mangalore to Bombay in search of work. He joined MHLH. He slogged, he saved, till he could buy the restaurant over. He didn’t change the winning formula.

And it kept chugging along, till 1991. The restaurant shut down for a year, while the building was redeveloped. His son Ravi Anchan had a new vision. He made a clean break from the past. Out with the Hindu Lunch Home, in with Trishna. The word 'trushna' in Sanskrit means thirst, longing, craving.

A high-end seafood restaurant, with “rich fish”, lobster, crab, pomfret, jumbo prawns, all freshly caught and cooked to perfection. He knew that the old clientele could not afford his new menu. So, he had to build a fresh new audience. Talk about a gutsy move.

There were many debates between Ravi and his father. ‘How can we give up what we have built? What a risk we are taking’.

Ravi recalls the early days, when an air-conditioned restaurant was a novelty. "The doorman probably made guests feel it was too expensive a place. The first six months were very hard. There was no more morning business, it only started by lunch time. It took time for the dinner crowd to build up, because Kala Ghoda was a deserted area at night." But Ravi believed that the market was ready for Trishna. And boy, did it pay off.

What did he offer? A modern Indian take on seafood. He even threw in a Western twist. Butter Pepper Garlic Crab, lobster, prawn, pomfret, squid… call it Western, or desi, it’s killingly delicious. Even in those days, he offered 10 different sauce options, which have ballooned to 21 today. There was a Mughlai offering, later he added Chinese food to the menu.

I asked Ruchit Anchan, Ravi’s son who is deeply immersed in the business, what is most popular on the menu. "Seafood, in all categories of preparation amounts to 70%. Chinese 20% and Mughlai 10%. People come here to eat SEAFOOD." Trishna emerged as a restaurant that attracted a lunch and dinner crowd, not just any crowd, but the A-listers of the city. "Our signature dishes have been on the menu for the last 20-25 years. Guests come in, knowing what they want to have."

Michael Fernandes, their long-time manager, talks with great pride in his low-key, gracious manner. "Mr Behram (Busybee) Contractor wrote about us in Afternoon. After that, we got a lot of reviews. That was the turning point. Indian and international cricketers, movie stars, top industrialists, public figures are among our regulars. The President of Greece has dined with us. We also have out-of-towners and NRIs, who must come to Trishna any time they are in Bombay."

Padma Lakshmi, host of Top Chef, had some US contestants who spoke of having visited Bombay. She had one question, ‘Where did you eat?’ They only passed if they said Trishna.  

Vatsala Mamgain, India’s most talented food writer, talks fondly about her Lintas days and Trishna nights, nursing a quarter of whisky, slurping down crab, and heading back home sated.

"How is your seafood always so fresh, even in the monsoons?"

"We don’t buy from any middlemen, our guys are at the fish auctions early in the morning at Sassoon Dock, and Crawford Market, making sure we get the best quality. Our most popular dishes are all west coast fish, so we source from our own coast line. We use mud crabs; the monsoons don’t affect our supply. If we are not happy with any fish, we don’t offer it on that day."

Which are the three most popular dishes?

"Butter Pepper Garlic Crab and lobster. Pomfret BBQ Hyderabadi/Hariyali-style, Prawn Chettinad with thick coconut- based masala."

He adds these words of wisdom, borne from experience: "The more liquid the curry, the better it tastes with rice. The thicker curries need uttapam or neer dosa."

"We’ve kept up with the times. Our wait staff takes orders on tablets, our alcobev choices are much better. We now get 15% of sales from home delivery."

Ruchit is young and has a clear long-term vision for Trishna. "Our first priority is to maintain and build on our Fort space. I would love for us to expand to other cities, especially Delhi and Bangalore. It’s also a dream to open in Dubai. We will always be true to our roots – the finest seafood, offered in huge portions, loaded with taste and flavour. We are not too worried about presentation, our décor, plates, cutlery and so on. They are good and functional, but the food is always the hero."

I agree. I think all of Bombay agrees.
 

Next to Commerce House, Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai 400001