Growing in the 1980s and 90s, Juhu was the perfect cradle: Green canopied streets, sea breeze wafting in homes, and playtime at Pushpa Narsee Park. Juhu was also about cycling in its by-lanes, identifying every bungalow from 1st Road to 12th Road, and spotting celebrities. This one time, Amitabh Bachchan’s car halted at a signal, and the superstar rolled down his window and waved back.
Chicken Tacos
Sundays included visits to five-stars like Centaur Hotel (1985), Sun-N-Sand (1962), and Holiday Inn (1976), and Novotel since 2009. This era also saw live music venues like Raspberry Rhinoceros and discotheque J49 emerge; JW Marriott opened in 2002. Novotel had Gadda da Vida, while Sun -N-Sand reinvented itself with Kabab Hut, Aqua, Haochi, and Beachcomber.
Nikkei Tropical Prawns
But times are a changin’. Last month, Bastian Beach Club took over the pool area from Sun-N-Sand, and reimagined it with a St Tropez beach vibe. Ranjit Bindra, founder of Bastian Hospitality, says, “Mumbai is a beach city without any beach club, which is common in other countries. How people step out is evolving — it’s not about selling food and drinks, but an entire experience. Our entry is a huge change for Juhu, because we’ve had Sun-N-Sand since 1962. With time, change will happen; it’s important to adapt to people’s needs. The sundowner is our prime time, and then the music settles after that,” he says.
A view of the familiar facade
Having grown up in the ’hood, we visit with a sling bag full of scepticism. A youngster in the thick of the party scene accompanies us. “We’re drunk in orange light,” she observes, as we settle into our high-chair table by the bar. It is the best spot for people-watching and mood-gazing. The setting is sea-facing, while everything revolves around the pool (access to it is an added cost). There are bed seatings (strategically packed with non-Indians), coconut trees, a shiny bar backdrop, pastel orange and striped plush sofa seating and sandy seating, and quirky sculptures. The indoors are busy, with jute walls, loud prints and dimly-lit corners.
Lima Lemon Sour
We order Chicken Peruvian Tacos, (Rs 900) that come in neat folds holding minced chicken, beans, lettuce drenched in a spicy huancaína salsa. Its tropical flavours are enhanced by fiery spice levels. The Peruvian Picante Hummus (Rs 1400) is milder thanks to a mound of pecan nut mash, with chillies, sweet and sour raspberries, and a pomegranate molasses. We were forewarned by the server that isn’t regular hummus. The texture and flavour pairings are savoured with crackers until the last bite.
Sakura Cloud
The Nikkei Tropical Prawns (Rs 950) give a punch of mustard, cajun spice and tiger milk, a citrusy spice drink, a core feature in Peruvian cooking. For vegetarian fare, we order the Mushroom Salvaje Skewers (Rs 950). King oyster mushrooms are drenched and grilled in as salsa sauce topped with chimichurri. Our cocktail order of Sakura Cloud Martini (Rs 1300) has gin, sake, sweet litchi juice balanced with fresh lemon juice. The jasmine cloud adds the flowery language that wins our palate.
Peruvian Picante Hummus
The Pacific Breeze (Rs 1710) is on the grassy side — lemongrass, ginger, kaffir lime leaves muddled in coconut water and cranberry juice — all showing up for the strong Patron Silver tequila. A unanimous favourite is More Chi Than Fa (Rs 1870), a Lapsang Souchong tea infusion with Malfy Con Limone (an Italian lemon gin) and cherry gin. The liquid is gentle on the palate, making it an easy drink.
The cocktails are in celebration of tropical flavours, manoeuvring a tight rein on the ingredients as if holding each of them accountable on their palate performance. In Silk Route Collins (Rs 1190), we get the same lemon gin infused with lemongrass in the robust company of coconut water and guava as a high ball.
For desserts, we pick the Choco Udon (Rs 800), a decadent dark chocolate cake topped with berries, and layered with milk chocolate mousse, brownie bites and a butterscotch praline. Our spoons fight to the finish. The Lima Limon Sour (Rs 750) has ice cream, lemon vanilla cream cheese, apple, and a dulche crumble that cools the palate after the fiery food.
While the experience lives up to its high-energy beach club vibe, we realise a new soundtrack is rising. Afar into the sunset, the Sea Link extension emerges; the DJ-belted deep house and Afro music echoes back. Juhu sits on a cusp, set to adorn a spiffy new wardrobe. We know that days to drop by, to soak in the sound of crashing waves, are numbered.
Bastian Beach Club
At 39, Sun-n-Sand Juhu Beach, Juhu.
Call 50333555
Changing suburban-scape
While Bastian Beach Club is on the same premise as Sun-N-Sand Hotel, the two function independently. In the coming months, the hotel will see a massive makeover into a Marriott Autograph Collection property.
Vikas Dilawari
Vikas Dilawari, conservation architect, puts the suburban makeover into perspective. “Juhu has always held its own charm. What Chowpatty is for South Bombay, Juhu is for North Bombay. Since its inception, Juhu was known for its iconic elements: Beach walks to spot iconic hotels; Bollywood residents, iconic five-stars, including Sun-N- Sand; Prithvi Theatre that remains a strong cultural hub, and the Theosophical Society.”
He admits that the dynamism of the suburb is changing. “Hotels are getting competitive and need to reinvent. Thanks to the CRZ, and the area coming under the funnel of aviation, it has not exploded vertically. Creativity is required to make this area sustainable and retain its authentic spirit,” suggests Dilawari, adding that the coming generations may never be able to realise old Juhu’s special character. “A good city is one where the past and present are both in proportion, like well-balanced sweet lime juice.” We reached out to the Sun-N-Sand’s team but they were not keen to comment.
