Floor-to-ceiling glass lays bare the scene inside — a tiny espresso bar by Boojee Cafe on the left and a gallery façade adorned with pop-coloured art. Hands jutting out of a bright-yellow frame hold a disconcertingly realistic red brain.
Concealed behind this is a soon-to-open 11-seater intimate chef’s table. At the far end of the gallery, past a wall-mounted steel sculpture by Valay Shende, a black-and-white cartoon screaming the word ‘patience’ is stuck at an angle on the wall. Give the wall a push, and it swings open to reveal a minimalistic dining room flanked by an angular bar on the right.
Conceptualised by Pooja Raheja of the boutique culinary and design studio Eat Drink Design, Bare is a hybrid hospitality space and collaborative kitchen where the menu will evolve every three months.
Located at Raheja Altimus in Worli, Bare’s stripped-down aesthetic is a counterpoint to Mumbai’s fast pace and sensory overload. Drawing from Bauhaus principles, restraint becomes a form of expression for interior designer Niketa Raheja, who deploys a material palette grounded in warm woods, textured surfaces, matte finishes, and limestone-inspired tones. Lighting is layered to create mood and intimacy, changing colour as time progresses.
The 700 sq. ft. gallery façade functions as a rotating exhibition space showcasing contemporary art, sculpture, digital installations, and design-led experiences. The inaugural exhibit was curated by A&H Colab, founded by Amrita Kilachand and Hina Oomer Ahmed.
This collaborative approach is evident on the menu, which is designed by the resident executive chef, Aman Singhal, with acclaimed pastry chef Prateek Bhaktiani of Ether Atelier Chocolat crafting the dessert menu. What's unique about Bare is that every three months, guest chefs and restaurants will be invited to co-create menus alongside the in-house team. For the restaurant's debut, Chef Singhal has come up with a cuisine-agnostic menu that features globally inspired small plates with a limited selection of mains.
The focus on art and design carries forward on the plate; case in point, the too-pretty-to-eat crisps & dips, which is a bowl of tempura leaves accompanied by an artistic palette of colourful dips with interesting flavour combinations like sea buckthorn and ginger, cabbage and coconut, and tomato with rhubarb. The delightfully savoury goat cheese and pistachio madeleines come with lemon butter cream and fermented hot honey, while the moreish nori kulcha are served with scallion thecha butter, avocado coconut tartare, and pickled seaweed.
The surprisingly meaty (but vegetarian) lion’s mane shawarma is accompanied by finger-lickingly delicious koji khubuz, mutabal, qizha, and corn hot sauce. There seems to be a lot going on with the tuna tarte tatin with beetroot, ajo blanco, and pistachio fennel salad, but the almost austere scallop with rava crumb is inventive in its simplicity.
Mains feature hearty dishes like dan dan noodles, where chewy, thick noodles are drizzled with timur jhol and chilli oil, and come with mushroom jerky and cured egg; it’s comfort in a beautifully presented bowl. The grilled fish is dressed up in two different sauces — chilli kaffir lime winning over tamarind curry leaves — with a mound of coconutty ambemohar rice on the side. Chef Bhaktiani’s desserts celebrate timeless classics through a refined, contemporary lens, so you have Eton mess with mascarpone shards and the soufflé with oud wood and burnt honey. But it’s the off-menu chocolate terrine that really steals the show in all its decadent glory.
Food is ably complemented by the beverage programme, which features a limited selection of 10 signature cocktails that are not named but merely numbered, and have flavour notes to guide your choice. Try the citrusy, marine-forward No. 8 with shiso gin and Prosecco or the No. 7, which is an inspired take on the Negroni with smoked chipotle Campari. There are five zero-proof drinks on offer, as well as classic cocktails and a wine and spirit selection.
Bare’s constantly changing collaborations, coupled with its synergy between art, food, and design, ensure that no two visits feel quite the same. Add to that a sharp cocktail programme and an atmosphere that balances polish with ease, and Bare makes a compelling case for repeat evenings out. While the cafe and art gallery are open throughout the day, the restaurant is open only for dinner.