Restaurant India News: Soraia Launches at Mahalaxmi Racecourse With Neo-Botanical Dining Concept

A new restaurant, Soraia, has opened within the Mahalaxmi Racecourse precinct in Mumbai, marking a significant addition to the city’s premium dining landscape. Located at the Royal Western India Turf Club, the restaurant occupies the space previously known as The Bombay Club and has been reimagined with a focus on food philosophy, beverage depth, and experiential hospitality rather than scale-led dining.

Founded by Afsana Verma, Amit Verma, and Dhaval Udeshi, Soraia has been developed as a full-service restaurant that integrates cuisine, bar programming, and spatial design into a unified operating concept. The restaurant has been designed by interior designer Gauri Khan, with an emphasis on blending indoor and outdoor seating, natural light, and landscape elements, while retaining the architectural legacy of the original structure.

“Soraia is a deeply personal place for me — a gentle extension of the world I grew up in,” Afsana says, “Nestled beside the Racecourse, it carries the same comfort and nostalgia I’ve felt since childhood. There’s a quiet magic in being so close to nature in the heart of Mumbai; it makes the space feel open, honest, and effortlessly calming. When we envisioned Soraia, the dream was simple: to create a restaurant where good food, warm service, and heartfelt hospitality come together. A place where people can slow down, share conversations, laugh freely, and feel completely at ease. My hope is that, over time, Soraia becomes a beloved corner of Mumbai — the kind of place people return to not just for celebrations, but for ordinary days that deserve a little warmth. A neighbourhood favourite where memories are made, one meal at a time.”

Soraia is anchored in what the team describes as Neo-Botanical Cuisine, a concept focused on seasonality, produce cycles, and ingredient-driven cooking. The kitchen is led by Chef Hitesh Shanbhag, an alumnus of the Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development, with prior experience across Indian fine-dining restaurants and Michelin-starred kitchens in New York. His menu blends Indian and European influences, structured around nature-led progressions rather than conventional course formats.

The menu features dishes that reinterpret familiar flavours through contemporary technique while maintaining restraint in execution. The approach focuses on balance rather than contrast, positioning Soraia within the growing segment of experiential but grounded dining formats in Mumbai.

The beverage programme is led by Beverage Director Fay Barretto and introduces Mumbai’s first Omakase Cocktail Bar. The bar menu is structured around regional Indian landscapes, with cocktails developed using ingredients sourced from different parts of the country. Each regional collection is also linked to women-led charitable initiatives from those regions, integrating social impact into the bar’s operating philosophy. "India isn't one flavour," Fay says. "It's a mosaic — mountains, coasts, forests, deserts — each with its own rhythm." 

The omakase counter allows guests to engage in guided tastings, positioning the bar as an interactive experience rather than a standalone service area. The beverage menu is designed to evolve seasonally, aligned with ingredient availability and sourcing cycles.

On the design front, the redevelopment retains the original structural elements of the former Tote building while softening its modernist framework through curved forms, layered lighting, and tactile materials. The space transitions from enclosed dining areas to alfresco seating, anchored by a central fountain and glasshouse-style architecture.

Dhaval said, "Meals here find their own rhythm. Some linger, some unfold quickly — but each is shaped by everything we've learnt along the way. Years of travelling, tasting, observing, and perfecting the art of hospitality have gone into crafting Soraia. Every experience here is intentional: the way the room breathes, the way a plate arrives, the way light settles on a table. We wanted to create a space where guests don’t just dine — they feel held, understood, and gently immersed. You leave not full, but fulfilled."

With its integrated approach to cuisine, cocktails, and spatial design, Soraia positions itself as a long-term hospitality asset rather than a trend-driven opening, reflecting a broader shift in Mumbai’s premium dining market towards concept-led, experience-focused restaurants.