Nestled within one of Mumbai’s old textile mills, Masque is an ingredient-driven restaurant  helmed by entrepreneur Aditi Dugar. Led by head chef Varun Totlani, the restaurant’s 10- course tasting menus marry tradition and innovation; as the seasons change, so do the  menus, defined by ingredients from the restaurant’s farm, foraging trips and a network of  local farmers. 

The team’s sustained effort, since opening in 2016, has been to give a platform to local  ingredients and extract maximum flavour from the wealth of Indian produce — a promise  that’s been doubled down on with the addition of the Masque Lab, the restaurant’s R&D  and test kitchen that opened in 2020. 

Here, modern Indian food isn’t about returning to regional recipes and simply plating them  with new tweaks. It demands revisiting traditional cooking and ingredients with purpose,  and discovering ways in which these can build cross-cultural bridges. Local flavours and  age-old practices meet innovation and technique, overcoming an often-homogenised  notion of Indian food to reimagine a new wave of modern Indian cuisine. Masque  reimagines the idea of Indian food for the world’s palate to experience.