Mumbai - Shiro
Spring 2008
Frank's view 
'Not even worth a fleeting visit'
“This is the ultimate in Mumbai cool”, we were told by an ‘in-the-know’ local. “Bombay’s answer to the Buddha Bar in Paris”
Shiro certainly does have a giant Buddha and a pond with lotus plants.
It also has hundreds of pink Christmas tree baubles suspended from the high ceiling and a 70’s sparkly disco ball screwed to the wall by the bar.
As you enter, through the vast wooden door, to the left is a small dining area offering sushi and other Asian snacks. The bar is to the right and offers limited seating. Most people sit on the walls around the Buddha pond.
The drinks aren’t expensive (rps335 for a cocktail and rps170 for a Kingfisher beer), but the seating policy is curious. When we sat by a table we were informed that seating was reserved and yet ethnic locals seemed to meander in and sit where they wished. We were pretty much the only non-locals there.
The entrance policy is selective. We watched as two perfectly presentable men protested that they had been to China White in London, so why were they not permitted to enter Shiro.
The music is also selective; selectively dated.
During our short stay, Buddha rocked to hits from the 80’s…
Irene Cara’s ‘Flashdance’ (what we used to call a 12” remix), Madonna’s ‘La Isla Bonita’, Tina Turner's ‘The Best’, oh, and a slip back to ’76 with The Four Seasons and December '63 (Oh what a night).
Mumbai cool.
Shiro
Pandurang Budhkar Marg
Bombay Dyeing Mill Compound
Mumbai, MH
400025
Phone: +91 22 2438 3008
Shiro certainly does have a giant Buddha and a pond with lotus plants.
It also has hundreds of pink Christmas tree baubles suspended from the high ceiling and a 70’s sparkly disco ball screwed to the wall by the bar.
As you enter, through the vast wooden door, to the left is a small dining area offering sushi and other Asian snacks. The bar is to the right and offers limited seating. Most people sit on the walls around the Buddha pond.
The drinks aren’t expensive (rps335 for a cocktail and rps170 for a Kingfisher beer), but the seating policy is curious. When we sat by a table we were informed that seating was reserved and yet ethnic locals seemed to meander in and sit where they wished. We were pretty much the only non-locals there.
The entrance policy is selective. We watched as two perfectly presentable men protested that they had been to China White in London, so why were they not permitted to enter Shiro.
The music is also selective; selectively dated.
During our short stay, Buddha rocked to hits from the 80’s…
Irene Cara’s ‘Flashdance’ (what we used to call a 12” remix), Madonna’s ‘La Isla Bonita’, Tina Turner's ‘The Best’, oh, and a slip back to ’76 with The Four Seasons and December '63 (Oh what a night).
Mumbai cool.
Shiro
Pandurang Budhkar Marg
Bombay Dyeing Mill Compound
Mumbai, MH
400025
Phone: +91 22 2438 3008
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
