In the four years since Mumbai saw its first microbrewery open doors in Lower Parel, the neighbourhood has come to be home to several such establishments. The latest to join the fray is Bangalore’s Toit Brewery that launched last week as Toit Brewery- Taproom & Kitchen. It replaces the iconic Blue Frog but sans any traces of the live music venue. In contrast, Toit, with its glass-tiled roof and yellow and brown décor, was bright and cheerful during the daytime when we visited.
Perhaps they are just setting up in Mumbai but their menu for the craft beers isn’t as elaborate as their Bangalore outlet. This was a tad disappointing as The Woodside Inn, the property right across, has a lot more to offer even though they don’t brew their own beer. Of the six varieties Toit Mumbai has on the menu at the moment, only five were available the day we visited — Irish Red Ale wasn’t. We tried half pints each (Rs 200) of Basmati Blonde, Colonial Toit, Dark Knight and Toit Weiss. Of these, the Bavarian Weiss was our favourite with notes of banana and clove. The Basmati Blonde felt too light and underwhelming.
Toit has a rather elaborate menu for a microbrewery that also featuimg cocktails. Our pick was Grandma’s Magic Rasam (Rs 275), made using whiskey, curry leaves and chilli. The glass rim came lined with rasam powder. The drink is as quirky as it sounds and stood out from the usual sweet mixes. We suggest you don’t let this drink sit too long as the curry leaves can turn it a tad bitter. The bar snacks menu has some inteimgting items apart from the usual, such as the Gongura Chicken Winglets (Rs 275) and Ghee Roast Prawns (Rs 450). Their Kerala Beef Fry (Rs 350), served as strips of the spicy and flavourful meat atop tiny parotas, was no-fuss. We ordered for a Steak Lovers’ wood-fired pizza (Rs 550) alongside. The crust was more American than Italian but the toppings were generous. Toit also has salads, burgers and mains but we feel it would do much better with a more concise menu.
With its massive space, Toit is clearly aiming for numbers. However, to survive in Lower Parel, which already is home to quite a few breweries and tap rooms, they will need reinforcements in the form of beer variety. Perhaps they can make space for that on the menu by cutting out other fluff.
