Malaika Arora’s Sweeney—A Thai-European Flavour Bomb for The Bride & Her Besties

There are restaurants you visit purely for the food and some because they fuel the buzz and chatter amongst friends and family, amidst plates of well-made food. Sweeney—Malaika Arora and restaurateur Dhaval Udeshi’s new eatery, falls into the latter category. It is just the serene antidote that allows you to catch your breath in between all that frenetic wedding energy. And it notches one up on health scales, too!

Décor and ambience

Look for the green door. That’s the most standout feature of Sweeney as you approach it from a distance away. Walk in to find a spacious alfresco area, with natural light making for the best filter that bounces off the wicker chairs and bamboo plants. At the side, an old mango tree, quips: ‘If graced by a falling mango, chef’s special mango jam on the house’. You’re smiling already as the open-air seating ushers you into the indoors where it’s cooler (after all, the rain hasn’t kept its date with Mumbai, yet) and this is instantly relaxing. High ceilings ensconce a lovely room, with comfy seating while sage walls are juxtaposed by a striking black and white flooring.

On a wall ahead, a long wall mural is redolent of the palm-fringed Tapee River in Thailand adding some more unhurried charm. A latticed wooden decorative staircase leads up to the second level with wicker chairs. Traditional? Yes! But also ornate in the contemporary sense—defines this 130-cover eatery.

Food and drinks

The bar is designed as a women-led platform and exchange programme, and that is also the notion that spills into the dining experience—at quite a few nearby tables, ladies are happily into their afternoon meal. From 'home and hearth' seems to be the underlying thought that runs through the menu here—whether it’s in the rediscovered recipes from Southern and Northern Thai homes or the slow, generous cooking of nonnas from Italian households. Since this is a twofold flavour palate, expect overlap, but in the nicest of ways.

Start the adventure with a pass-around of sushi for your gal pals. Here, it gets a Thai influence— Crunchy Avocado meets Ajad (the sweet-spicy Thai cucumber relish), there’s a Tom Yam Crispy Prawn Roll, even a Green Curry Crab Roll. Traditional snack Miang Kham, betel leaf wrapped with chicken or tofu, makes for another appetising start. The mild yet flavoursome Hor Mok Pla steamed fish is well marinated in chilli coconut milk and herbs, and is best earmarked for a rainy day! This is an extensive choice to start with but save your appetite for the mains that are served in hearty proportions.

An absolute stand out here (and the chef informs it is the dining favourite) is the Truffle Honey Feta Parcel. Akin to a large dumpling, it has truffle-infused honey drizzled over it and you break into the phyllo flaky pastry exterior to a mix of nutty feta, toasted pine nuts and cream cheese.

Amid the organic whole wheat pizzas, pad thai noodles and Panang Curries, I decide to go for the piquant Chilli Butter Garlic Prawns, that sit pretty in a spicy base alongside crispy sourdough that packs a rich flavour that stays on the palate. The chef suggests the Pineapple Rice, and it’s a visual delight with sweet and spicy rice with cashews and bell pepper served in a halved pineapple.

The drinks are light and refreshing whether it’s cocktails like the light and refreshing Tropical Daiquiri with papaya and sage, the Tamarind Spritz with tamarind fig reduction. You also won’t go wrong with the Mocktails like the Summer in Normandy with green apple, celery and coconut or the slightly sweet Chiang Mai Garden with kaffir lime leaves, pandan syrup, basil leaves and coconut.

Sweeney seems to emanate from Malaika Arora’s love for travel and we get our answer. Arora, who had earlier notched one up as a restaurateur with Scarlett, does a little ‘this versus that’. “Scarlett was intimate and deeply personal. Travel, on the other hand, has always been my passion, and when I’m away, food becomes my comfort. Sweeney is the taste of that comfort — the flavours I return to wherever I am in the world. Thai and European cuisines have always felt familiar to me, grounding and reassuring in unfamiliar places. Sweeney brings those experiences together — a second home that feels warm, instinctive, and lived-in, where you arrive hungry, stay longer than planned and leave feeling quietly looked after.” 

Desserts

In keeping with the menu, where everything comes from a place of nostalgia and knowing, mango sticky rice makes for an apt meal-ender, minus giving you too much calorie guilt. A little mound of glutinous rice, with coconut milk surrounds oval slices of fresh mango, not too sweet, and in sync with the meal.

Stone bowls and a Market Menu with the fresh catch of the day also stir up the culinary pot here and I learn that they’re also planning a Sunday Brunch with live counters, soon. Sweeney’s sure to have you go back more than once, as you make memories for the wedding with your squad.