The 75 Interview with Eqbal Hossain
Chatting with the executive chef of Mumbai Café, a refreshing new 9th arrondissement spot.
Eqbal Hossain was visiting family in Bangladesh when an email landed in his inbox: an offer to open a restaurant. He clicked “delete.” Back in Paris, Bastien Peccoux and Alexis Gracio weren’t so easily deterred. They followed up. That’s when Eqbal realized their message wasn’t spam after all.
An email disregarded as sketchy is the beautiful origin story of Tandoor Club, the partnership that gave rise to the very popular Delhi Bazaar in the 11th, and more recently, Mumbai Café in the 9th—it’s in my hood!
Someone asked me about the best restaurants I’d tried recently. It’s a good question—it’s my job to eat out. It’s also a question I pose to The 75 interviewees. Le Clarence, which I’ll write about soon, was an obvious standout. But aside from bucket-list, break-the-bank restaurants, which had I truly loved? I found myself flipping through a mental scrapbook of meagerly portioned seasonal plates, struggling to land on a winner.
I think I’m suffering from a case of neo-bistro fatigue—when all of the studied, cool, bistros with occasional foreign touches, begin to blur together into a sea of raw wood tables and indigo aprons. Lindsey Tramuta touched on this in her newsletter—on the proliferation of fine but unmemorable dining experiences. Not that I don’t appreciate the thought and effort that goes into these places. Having clocked time in Michelin-star kitchens in Spain and France, I understand on a visceral level—a stabbing-calf-cramps-in-the-middle-of-the-night level—the blood, sweat, and tears (usually while locked inside the walk-in) it takes to make a restaurant tick, day-in, day-out. But these days, I find myself excited about places that offer something beyond the neo-bistro formula. Mumbai Café isn’t my favorite restaurant (because I find that question tedious and impossible to answer), but I’ve been there three times in two months. That’s the kind of review that speaks louder than flowery adjectives.
The interior is sprawling, and the design is inspired by Irani cafés that once abounded in Mumbai. Some quick googling informed me that while there used to be hundreds, more recently they’ve dwindled to dozens, a trajectory not unlike the bouillons of Paris. Mumbai Café is always busy, even on a Monday night. The energy feels kind of London. The food is great, and that’s owing to Eqbal, the executive chef, who draws inspiration from his experience cooking in Bangladesh, London, and Paris. You might find creative mashups like a Scotch Egg with masala ketchup. My personal favorite is his crunchy, messy palak papdi chaat—crispy, deep-fried spinach leaves drizzled in yogurt and chutney. A solid way to consume one of your daily veggie servings. And I’ll never turn down a well-spiced butter chicken. Plates are reasonable enough, in size and price, that you can order a bunch to taste.
Eqbal told me he tends to adjust the spice level for Parisian palates, but hot freaks like me can request that the kitchen kick it up a notch. •ᴗ•
You’ll notice bistronomie touches—seasonal ingredients like broccoli florets that you might not find in a traditional Indian or Bengali restaurant. I asked Eqbal whether he’s noticed any local misconceptions about Indian cuisine. He said people tend to think of it as heavy, oily food, but his cooking is anything but. That’s part of the reason you won’t be surprised to find customers eating at Delhi Bazaar or Mumbai Café on a weekly basis. It’s the kind of place that easily slips into your regular rotation.
The 75 Shouts & Whispers
Paris in May is poppin off.
On May 3, chef Sam Schwarz (formerly of our beloved Soces!) will pop up at Lissit, one of those hot spots that everyone has been raving about and I’ve been meaning to try!!
Also on May 3, Daniel Morgan is joining Esteban Salazar in the kitchen at Finka in the 3rd, prepping dishes like lechona cochona and pescado frito!
ALSOOO, on May 3, my friend Sutanya Dacres of Dinner for One will be making dinner for many! At Comptoir Sur Mer. You’ll find me there, too, chowing down on Jamaican escovitch fish and octopus stew.
19 SAINT ROCH chef Pierre Touitou is collaborating with Le Cornichon chef Bertrand Chauveau on May 11 and 12: a four-hands, nine-course menu I’d deffff attend if I were free. Alas, mom duty. You should go, though!
Not necessarily new, but places I’m trying soon: Bittikesu, Slack (tantuni and Islak burgers), Casa Pregonda, Pétrelle, and God help me if I don’t eat my way through the 13th arrondissement Chinatown this weekend. I’ve never been (to eat, at least), a shameful lapse in my Parisian eating résumé.
In other news, I worked as a producer for a couple of months on the CNN Searching for France show that recently premiered with Eva Longoria. Television is a chaotic beast, where they call you with an offer a week before you’re set to start, and you dive in headfirst, full-time. Those were some whirlwind weeks at the end of 2024. The production team — all women, all Brits except for me — was smart and collaborative. Thank you, Alba, Rebecca, Cecilia, and Shauna, for giving me such a positive first taste of TV. I was happy that many of the places and people I scouted out, like The Cooks Atelier, Château Angélus, Hautes Côtes, and Helixine Bourgogne, a charming Burgundy snail operation run by a snail farmer influenceuse Perrine, made it to the small screen. Have you watched?
