Your Favourite SoBo Restaurants Are Celebrating 100 Years Of Art Deco With Nostalgic Menus And A Vibrant Block Party

This month, South Mumbai is stepping into the past and taking its restaurants along for the ride. Art Deco Alive!, founded by Smiti Kanodia along with co-founders Salma Merchant Rahmathulla and Gayatri Hingorani Dewan, is a cross-continental celebration marking 100 years of the Art Deco movement. Born in Paris in 1925, the design style travelled across the world, leaving its imprint on skylines from Miami to Mumbai – two cities that today boast some of the largest surviving clusters of Deco architecture.

The festival (which began on 6 November) brings that legacy into the spotlight with an impressive programme of exhibitions, heritage walks, talks, and cultural activations spread across the city till November 25. The idea is simple yet powerful: to highlight a shared architectural heritage and revive the nostalgia, glamour, and joie de vivre that defined the Deco era.

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And what better way to honour a movement that celebrated modernity and indulgence than through food?

A Block Party With A Deco Heart

As part of Churchgate Street Rewind — a cultural, culinary, and heritage celebration within the larger Art Deco Alive! festival — a vibrant Block Party will bring Veer Nariman Road back to its mid-century heyday. Once the city’s hub for jazz, nightlife, and cosmopolitan dining, the street comes alive again through retro menus, classic cocktails, twinkling lights, and live music.

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Restaurants and hotels along the strip and its surroundings have crafted Deco-inspired menus and experiences exclusively for the festival weekend. Expect throwback dishes, vintage cocktails, themed photo booths, roving musicians, and special deals across some of SoBo’s most iconic establishments.

Here’s what the restaurants are serving:

• Gaylord: A specially curated menu paying homage to timeless continental classics – think Poulet à la Kiev, Lasagne and Paneer Tikka Masala, among others.

• FOO: A limited-edition selection featuring spicy tropical salads, cottage cheese and spicy chicken sushi, Peking and prawn wontons, Asian seabass, and other bold Asian flavours.

• Pizza by the Bay: An old-school cocktail menu with the Gimlet, Negroni, Tequila Sunrise, and other classics, plus special Golden Ticket discounts.

• Mockingbird Café Bar: Retro cocktails including the Old Fashioned Bourbon, Gin Rickey, and French 75, paired with themed photo booths and special breakfast packages.

• Nksha: A nostalgic menu of Chana Dal Pakwan, Roti Pe Boti, Smoked Methi Matar Malai, Smoked Laal Maas, and more rich, robust favourites.

• Mezcalita: A cinematic cocktail journey through the Art Deco eras of Mumbai and Mexico, reimagining landmarks like Eros Cinema and Cine Edificio El Moro through inventive, cross-cultural drinks.

• Café Markiv’s: Continental comforts such as Bagel with Cream Cheese and Vegetables, Chicken Schnitzel, Smoked BBQ Wings, and more.

• Poetry by Love & Cheesecake: A special-edition cheesecake inspired by the aesthetics of the Deco age.

• The InterContinental Mumbai (Dome): A Deco-forward cocktail menu featuring The Deco Drift, Bombay by Night, and The Neon Muse, paired with inventive small plates like Slider × Vada Pav and Cubana × Mumbai Sandwich — a delicious tribute to the twin cities the festival celebrates.

A Weekend of Design, Dining & Deco Dreams

Art Deco Alive! is more than a festival; it’s a revival of a cultural spirit that once shaped Mumbai’s identity. With its retro-inspired food trails and Deco-drenched experiences, this weekend offers the perfect excuse to stroll, snack, sip, and soak in the city’s architectural charm before the festivities wrap up.

If you’re in SoBo, consider this your sign: it’s your last chance to catch these menus. Go for the design, stay for the food, and let Mumbai’s golden age sweep you away.