At NISABA, Chef Manish Mehrotra Lets 30 Years Of Cooking Speak

Very few chefs today generate genuine excitement around a restaurant launch, not just within F&B circles, but among diners themselves. Chef Manish Mehrotra is firmly one of them. His first solo project under the Manish Mehrotra Culinary Arts (MMCA) banner, Nisaba, named after the ancient Mesopotamian goddess of grain, is set to open in Delhi on January 17. I was among the fortunate few to meet Chef Mehrotra ahead of the launch, preview the menu, and experience the food before the doors officially opened.

Watching him move through the space, there’s an unmistakable nonchalance, one that comes only from someone with nothing left to prove. He knows the food works. He knows the space welcomes. And he treats Nisaba not as a statement, but as something deeply personal, yet made for everybody. There’s also an angle of worship, for food and nourishment. “The restaurant took five months to build, though the menu had been evolving long before that,” he tells me. Nearly 30 years of work, that’s what’s on the plate.

Inside Nisaba

What surprises most, however, is what Nisaba doesn’t offer. There is no tasting menu, a format many chefs lean into at this stage of their careers. “I didn’t want this to be an intimidating space,” Chef Mehrotra explains. “The food here is comforting, soulful, and homely. That’s why I chose à la carte. I want people to eat the way they want to.” The space reflects that philosophy. You enter to find the bar right in front, easing you into the restaurant. There’s a striking sculpture by Dhananjay Singh, an upside-down, deconstructed man with strong roots. To me, it symbolises being so deeply grounded in cuisine that you’re finally free to deconstruct it, perhaps a reflection of Chef Manish himself. A large open room follows, lined with bookshelves filled with cookbooks and food writing, curios scattered thoughtfully, and enough seating to feel lively without being overwhelming. Dividers with open window-like squares appear throughout, almost like small glimpses into the many layers of Chef Manish’s cuisine.

I sit down, and here’s a glimpse into the magic.

The Cocktails

You hear the vigorous shaking from the bar as soon as you enter, the fragrance lingering as you walk from the entrance to your table. Naturally, drinks first.

The drinks menu is small, tight, and inventive. A thyme paani mocktail that somehow tastes exactly like thyme and water, making you realise water has a taste. A pickled pear cocktail with agave and chamoy, unapologetically pickly, balanced beautifully between sweet and sour. A spirit-forward tea fermentation cocktail with back notes of strawberry and kombucha. The drinks aren’t performative in presentation; Nisaba keeps things simple. It’s the flavour that elevates the experience.

The Food

The food menu mirrors this clarity. Two pages, clearly laid out—vegetarian and non-vegetarian, each split into starters and mains. No clutter. No confusion.

One look at the starters and I knew—blindfolded—I was in a Manish Mehrotra restaurant. Mutton Seekh Kebab, Blue Cheese Butter, Baked Naan. Blue cheese naan is classic Chef Manish (known since his Indian Accent days), and here he reconstructs it, embellishes it, and overdelivers. The kebab is drowned in butter, with blue cheese crumbled generously throughout. This is a hands-first dish; you break into the baked naan (almost shirmal-like), scoop up butter, meat, and cheese. Buttery, meaty, sharp.

The Paneer Pakora follows—layered, spicy, with the pungent hit of coriander seeds, paired with pickled onions and green chutney. Tandoori Bacon Prawns with Thecha Yogurt arrive next: prawns cooked perfectly, bacon wrapped snugly, the yoghurt tying it all together. There’s an impressive variety here, nearly ten vegetarian and ten non-vegetarian starters to choose from.

For mains, familiar signatures return—“my signature pao bhaji” (of Comorin fame), raan, black dal, paneer butter masala. I ask him about keeping these classics, and he laughs. “If you go to a Michael Jackson concert and he only sings new songs—no classics—would you really enjoy it?” Hard to argue with that.

Standouts include the Chilli Tomato Crab Ghotala with Butter Buns—minced, thread-like crab with tomato and onion dominating, showing how seafood can shine with simple, homely masalas. The Baby Back Ribs, Bacon Tikka, Sour Plum Korma with Boiled Rice tastes almost like a vindaloo, while the Clay Pot Motihari Mutton, Stewed Garlic, Hing Sattu Kachori is a clear nod to the chef’s Bihari roots. There’s plenty more—Amritsari sole, saag with jammy eggs, chicken reshmi—food that balances fine-dining finesse with deep comfort. Mains, too, offer an ample choice, with a strong selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Service at Nisaba deserves its own mention—warm, intuitive, and genuinely friendly. The team understands both food and drink deeply and guides you effortlessly through the menu. Special shoutout to Rohit Thakur—a gem—who nudged me gently (and wisely) toward dessert.

The dessert menu is small again—five options to choose from—but each one sounds good enough to make the decision genuinely hard. I was dining with two other people, so we ordered two desserts, but I’d recommend getting one of each if you’re in a larger group, given how good they were. The Treacle Tart, Gurgaon Doda, and Pecan Ice Cream arrive like a yin and yang. Inspired, I’m told, by Gurgaon’s Om Sweets doda barfi, it comes piping hot, paired with chilled pecan ice cream, perfectly balanced in both form and temperature. Playing with temperature like this requires mastery, and Chef Manish has it. Words don’t quite do justice here. Just try it. The Jaipur Saffron Pheni, Chocolate, Nisaba Pistachio Kulfi is equally compelling, with Middle Eastern textures meeting Rajasthani flavours, and a crunch from the pheni, complemented by the creaminess of the kulfi.

ELLE Gourmet’s Verdict

There are meals to be had when one is feeling extra special—ten courses, wine pairings, amuse-bouches, and whatnot. This is not one with such spectacle. This is a restaurant that takes simple, homely food and makes it special, adding unique twists here and there, paired with fine-dining–style dishes. Flavour is king, and that’s what one should come here for. There’s crab on the menu, a proper showcase of raan, pork ribs—and yet, there’s also a simple black dal andtawa chicken. Chef Manish Mehrotra is clear about his vision: this is for people who want to travel and experience cities and culture through food. Perhaps a Zaveri dal if you’re feeling Bombay-esque, a Motihari mutton if you want to travel east, or a berry pulao if you want to be Parsi for an evening, there’s perfection in the blend of the simple and the complex. Not an easy feat. Thirty years of effort, sweat, labour, and experience, gathered across multiple cities and kitchens, show on the plate.

All said and done, there’s a reason one of the epithets associated with Nisaba translates to “the opener of the mouth of the great gods”—because even the divine, one imagines, would abandon restraint when served food like this.

I’m going again—and you should too.