Mumbai bar Tote on the Turf wins design award
Tote beat over 500 bars globally to win the "Best Bar Design" award at the recent Restaurant and Bar Design Awards in London
In under a year since it opened its doors to a sweeping 25,000 square foot restaurant, bar and banquet hall on September 30, Tote on the Turf at Mahalaxmi has picked up an important award. And not for what's being served, or how it's being served, but for the context in which it's all presented.
So Tote beat over 500 bars globally to win the "Best Bar Design" award at the recent Restaurant and Bar Design Awards in London. And all credit goes to cutting-edge architects Kapil Gupta and Chris Lee of Serie Architects for "setting a new standard in design not only for India, but for the rest of the world," touted co-owner Malini Akerkar whose baby Tote is, with husband Rahul. While Kapil Gupta spreads himself between London, Mumbai and Beijing working on architecture and urbanism to much critical acclaim, and is one of India's most evolved minds when it comes to thinking about design.
If you haven't been to Tote yet, imagine a lush canopy of 100-year old rain trees with historic buildings in the backdrop and the green scent of the Mahalaxmi Race Course within nose's reach. It's what you would call a modern, visually appealing space with intricately faceted, polished, teak paneled surfaces embracing a forty-foot, vaulted interior designed to mirror the trees outside.
The awards are new (two years old), independent and judged by a panel of clever looking international journalists from design, hospitality and lifestyle sectors and attract submissions from jet-set designers such as Zaha Hadid, Karim Rashid, Kengo Kuma and David Collins.
But what we really want to tell you about Tote is their new tapas menu, which beats talking about Zaha Hadid at her deconstructionist best. Prune and Gruyere stuffed mushrooms, maple and mustard cottage cheese, asparagus and onion profiteroles, crab wontons, seared scallops, beef tikka and parma ham spring rolls -- while the bar design wins an award the food appears equally ambitious to jump on the India Modern bandwagon.
Tote bar Mahalaxmi Race Course, opposite Gate #5 & 6, Keshva Rao Khadye Marg, Mahalaxmi; Tel. +91 (0) 22 6157 7777
