Archive

We are at The Quarter, which, as the name suggests is actually four spaces all located near each other at the iconic Royal Opera House (ROH) in Bombay. Each is differentiated based on the culinary and entertainment option it offers. "It is an iconic project. We will never be able to recreate this. You don’t get the Opera House every day!” says Nico Goghavala, one of the partners who oversees the hospitality of the eateries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A venture between four partners — Goghavala, Ashutosh Phatak, Nakul Toshniwal and Ranjit Barot — The Quarter interestingly weaves in live music, fresh food and a variety of culinary experiences. Dine at The Quarter is the restaurant. Then there is a Jazz club, Live. Cafe at The Quarter is an all-day café and lastly, there is Drink, a grand and elegant bar. Each place has its own direction, menus and vibe. "We wanted to separate the music experience from dining and drinking. So, we decided to create four intimate spaces instead of one large space. Everything follows the same direction of the farm to table philosophy. The stuff that we have is very artisanal (food and beverages made by hand or traditional methods). It is all focused on local stuff. We source ingredients directly from farms. The USP (unique selling proposition) of the Jazz club is music,” he explains. They have a large percentage of the menu of The Quarter but not all of it since they want that area to be primarily a music zone. Hence, they have a lot of snack items but not full-fledged dinner items which would be available at the three other quarters.
His vision for The Quarter is for it to be a real iconic venue. It is also a lot about classicism — right from the décor to the menus. "The idea is that even if you’re here after five years, it is still classic. It does not move as per the trends. The whole experience should be timeless,” he says. The essence goes with the very ethos of the ROH as well.
As he says, "It is a stressful business. But, if you love it you are driven to constantly create more and more.” Ever since he can remember, the realm of hospitality had always beckoned him. "I think what has always driven me towards this field was creating an atmosphere. It is the feeling of creating a vibe. I was always into creating experiences,” he says.
It was his move to London as a student, where he studied business marketing, the extra jobs he did in his free time, that set the ball rolling. "I got a job at a bar as a bar-back! We used to wash glasses and ash trays. That is how I started on the bar scene. I grew into a bartender and then I started promoting bars,” he reminisces.
Born to Mahiyar and Rina Goghavala, Nico studied at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Bombay, then pursued higher education in London. On his return to Bombay, he set up a bar consultancy firm that helped design the cocktail menu for Henry Tham (a high-end Chinese restaurant in Apollo Bunder). He spent some years in Sri Lanka and is now back home. He has a brother, Parhad, who is a fine arts photographer.
"Of course, we had a lot of Parsi food but from a very young age, I was eating all kinds of food at home. It wasn’t like I was exposed to different foods by going to restaurants. But, I was never driven to get into the food industry because of it. I loved eating, just like a Parsi loves eating!” he says.
Nico’s venture into the food business started when he moved to Galle, Sri Lanka, with his wife, Kamal Sidhu and son Niall in 2009. As per the understanding with his partner, a good friend, Nico was to set up the bar and the partner was to set up the kitchens at their new restaurant. "However, as luck would have it, he came back to Bombay a month before the opening, and never came back to Sri Lanka!” The Sri Lanka media and journalists from India were expected for the opening. "I had no chef! I got into the kitchen. At that time, my extensive experience of working in kitchens and bars came handy,” he recalls.
For him, the intuitive habit of putting ingredients together was really useful during this trying time. It was hard at first. He had to train himself and the team. In retrospect, this heralded in a way, his farm to table movement. He would go to the market at 6 a.m. in the morning, see what was available and source fresh food, and then on the way back, based on what he sourced he would enter the menus on his phone. He would then call the kitchen and give the instructions for prepping. He would travel by the local rickshaws or tut-tuts as they are locally called.
"The restaurant was at the beach. We had a lot of tourists. I still have my love for seafood because of this experience. If you see any of my menus here, you will see a lot of seafood. I used to go spearfishing with the guys in front of the restaurant. Then, I’d buy the catch from the fishermen! And, that is what we would serve on the menu,” he says.
Another important lesson he learnt at Galle was improvising. "A lot of stuff was not available. Today, we can just go to Nature’s Basket and get anything. But, we made stuff like basic sauces and so on, all from scratch. That habit continues now, despite having access to different raw materials here! We do not buy bottled sauces, mustard, ketchup and so on,” he states.
After three years of working from early morning to midnight, standing on his feet, he woke up one morning to find that his knee was swollen. He was rushed to the hospital and ended up with a walking stick for a year.
Nico and Kamal had moved to Sri Lanka when their son was a three-month old infant. At the time, they wanted to give him an idyllic childhood. "He learned how to walk on the beach. He was always running on the beach. We had no television. It was all about outdoors. He was snorkeling when he was two-and-a -half! Then, of course, there was pressure to put him in school! He was already four and he had not been through any kind of formal education. Though, I still think it is ridiculous for children that young to go to school! But, then you start worrying about their future. Would he get into a good school if he had not been to kindergarten? So, we applied to a couple of schools in Bombay. My wife and son moved back first, and I joined them. Besides, I had also always wanted to open something in Bombay. This seemed to be the right time to do it,” he states, so they sold the business in Sri Lanka.
Nearly a year later he started Nico Bombay in the Fort area. "It was an idealistic project. I did not look at anything commercial when I did it. Everything was done in the way it could have been done best. We did not compromise. It gave way to another restaurant called Farmer & Sons (F & S), which became a commercial version of Nico Bombay,” he says. Today, both these restaurants have given way to the next project — The Quarter.
However, Farmer & Sons is still a brand that Nico is keen to promote. There are plans to empower farmers through cooperative farming, getting fresh and organic produce, and then offering fresh food based on this produce, an extension of the concept of farm to table.
Besides food and music, sport is another favorite pastime. Nico swims and plays volleyball. He represents Godrej Baug at the All-Parsi volleyball tournaments. Niall is an avid footballer.
"I don’t want to get political about it. I love Parsis. I am one myself. I feel it is a dwindling community which shouldn’t be dwindling (considering) we give so much back to the world! I think we need to be a little lax on who can be considered a Parsi. We are a progressive community. It is a forward-thinking community. We should set an example for everyone else!”
To Nico "All Parsi food is good. I love my dhanshak on a Sunday afternoon! Parsis also need their eggs for breakfast. I may eat cereal in the morning, but an hour later I’ll need my eggs!” he laughs. He cherishes memories of traditional dining at navjotes and greatly admires Tanaz Godiwalla for her catering. "For me, she is the most iconic. I keep asking why she don’t open a restaurant! And then, I also admire Farrokh Khambata. He’s been really consistent over 25 years. You can see the passion in what he does!” says Nico.
Talking of traditional food, Nico believes that the Irani café culture is something that can and could have moved with the times. He cites the example of "Dishoom” cafés in London, that are a growing chain. "They have taken the whole concept of Irani cafes, and turned it into a model that is more compatible with today. The look, feel and vibe is the same. It has the Irani chairs, and all those signboards we used to have...saying ‘no combing’ and so on!” he says.
He has tried in the past to approach Irani cafes with a view to modernize them while retaining their essence. But, is it possible to modernize without losing the essence? Wouldn’t there be a loss in character? Nico begs to differ. "Let me cite the example of SodaBottleOpenerWala. They have taken the same Parsi and Irani recipes, but have made the place a little more presentable. The younger generation are used to a certain way and a certain standard of experience. These may be simple things like the kind of glassware you are using. That’s all you need to do! The look, feel and vibe is authentic, but what you need to do is make it trendy. But, a lot of the times you see that they don’t want to let go of the traditional ways. Things are changing. We need to keep moving with time.”