Want An Animated Food Experience? Say Hello Guppy!

Set in the plush complexes of Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai, Hello Guppy presents Japanese cuisine in a refreshing twist. You enter to what looks like a bundle of happiness, a sparkling bar counter setup, and quirky indoor lighting, all of which set up a wonderful ambience for a relaxed luncheon in the midst of a chaotic Monday.

We began our appreciation of Hello Guppy with the table mats — they even have a word puzzle on the mat! This was followed by the quirky, extensive menu from which we picked the Mushroom Suimono and the Hello Guppy salad.

The clear mushroom soup, Suimono, is a wonderful way to start the meal, with fresh mushroom strips in clear mushroom broth that is also incredibly light, and the place also happens to get the salt balance right. This is something that we have seen many restaurants falter at, so this was a perfect way to begin with.

In came the salad course, and the Hello Guppy salad was just the right follow up to a light soup. It was crunchy and loaded in karashi mustard dressing that provides just the right balance of flavours with hints of sweet and sour. For non-vegetarians, the seafood salad is also recommendable.

We quickly moved on to the mains, where Hello Guppy once again struck the right chord.

The Tomato and Scamorza Cheese with Balsamic Teriyaki Sauce was my favourite, with grilled tomatoes and scamorza cheese. It was served in a bowl full of steamed rice and assorted vegetables in balsamic teriyaki sauce, and was delicious, with the perfect balance of strong flavours set in medium palate to suit most.

We loved the unique tonkatsu and black pepper sauce in which the crunchy vegetables were tossed in Exotic Mushroom Udon Noodles. This is a perfect meal for one!

We ended our day with Mango & Raspberry Parfait and Blueberry crepe with seasonal fruit flambé. Very rarely do you come across such perfect crepes that melt in your mouth and have the right balance of sweetness, set off perfectly by the very sharp strawberry jam and the acidity of the seasonal fruits. This is a sharp dessert, and fans of sweet dishes would dig this!

The mango parfait was great too, with noticeable mango chunks. We would have loved the parfait to be a bit more solid, but we aren’t complaining — the flavours here were just right! The accompanying crunchy raspberry dessert does justice to the strongly acidic parfait by adding crunchy corn flakes and ample sweetness. There’s a strong hint of MasterChef influence here!

In mocktails, the exemplary Elderflower Forest Pressé perfectly blends the strength of passion fruit with the sweet, strong elderflower extracts, making for a great flavour-powered drink to accompany your meals.

To sum up, Hello Guppy has adorable decor that produces bright vibes, and the food is the perfect balance of flavours and interesting combinations. This is one of the best Japanese restaurants in town right now, and we are loving it!

Address: Unit 4, Ground Floor, Jet Airways, Godrej Building, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai