Inside Mumbai’s first self-ordering Japanese izakaya dining restaurant, Sozo  

Experience innovative Japanese cuisine at Mumbai's newest restaurant Sozo, featuring self-ordering kiosks and a modern fast-food twist.

Sozo means innovation in Japanese and there is no dearth of that at this new Japanese restaurant in Mumbai’s bustling Versova. To begin with it is the city’s first self-ordering izakaya restaurant. In Japan izakaya is a bar where people go to unwind with co-workers and friends. Alcoholic drinks are served with affordable snacks and dishes. Sozo takes it a notch further with a self-ordering kiosk where you punch in your order and the food is served promptly within minutes in small plates arranged on a tray. It’s Japanese food, but with the convenience and efficiency of a modern fast-food joint.

But here is the best part — Sozo is helmed by Parvez Khan who spent 15 years at Wasabi by Morimoto (the award-winning Japanese restaurant at Taj Mahal Palace and Hotel, Mumbai) before setting out to dazzle with his own venture Wakai, a Japanese restaurant tucked away in Fort. When Wakai shuttered earlier this year, Mumbai lost a stellar haunt for Japanese cuisine in the city.

Spread across 1,200 square feet, Sozo is sparsely dressed with traditional Japanese noren banners (traditional Japanese fabric dividers hung between rooms) and a shoji-inspired ceiling. A partially open kitchen animated by dancing fire takes centrestage in the dining room. The seating with armless, low back chairs is a nudge to eat and scoot and not linger unnecessarily. There is also a backyard space that has a cool, speakeasy vibe. This is the official smoking area and unofficial chill zone. The menu is simple with nothing that a chowhound needs to Google — think sushi, gyoza, ramen, and rice bowls. 

The best beginnings are in the sushi, especially the maki roll that tightly packs creamy avocado and spicy mayo in a crisp nori. The prawn dynamite sushi spiked with sriracha mayo and crispy fried shrimp is also worthwhile. But it’s the baoger (bao burger) that will truly blow your mind. Two juicy chicken patties, cloaked in hot sauce, topped with cheddar and crisp onions and pressed between two bao buns tastes like the ultimate love child of a burger and a bao!

Parvez’s small plate of chicken nanban (crisp fried chicken) makes big impressions. You will want some gyozas, too: lightly seared, ruffled treasures filled with juicy chicken. There is also a vegetarian version with Philadelphia cream cheese and bird eye chilli. Parvez makes very little effort to dress the food up. It just looks good, the way delicious things tend to. 

As it should be, the restaurant’s strongest feature is its ramen bowl. The quietly marvellous Kyoto tantanmen ramen has a rich, savoury broth, the perfect amount of spice, some pok choy, a few sheets of nori, some slices of fried chicken and a runny egg. Parvez simmers his broth for 12–14 hours and it shows.

My maiden meal at Sozo was not faultless. While beautiful, the much touted rice bowls proved a bit of a snooze at the party. The kimchi rice bowl lacked any discernible punch from the Korean pickle, and the teriyaki bowl too was missing the smoky umami kick of the sticky Japanese sauce. The service is sometimes chaotic but, like a primary school ballet class, always enthusiastic.