Mumbai has no shortage of restaurants promising something “different”. Border Bean Barbecue actually makes a decent case for it. The new 60-seater in Kamala Mills takes the American smokehouse, throws open the borders and lets Mexico, Korea, West Africa and India join the party. The interiors keep things casual and industrial, with the restaurant sitting in the vicinity of several heavy-hitters.

Chef-founder Shantanu Jagtap started Border Bean as a 15-seater in Bandra. An IHM Aurangabad graduate with postgraduate training at Le Cordon Bleu, Sydney, he has worked in India and Australia. His barbecue education includes plenty of inspiration from American pitmasters such as Aaron Franklin. “I love cooking with meat,” he tells us. But Jagtap isn’t chasing barbecue purity. His philosophy is refreshingly simple: “Barbecue is a technique, not a boundary”. And that’s the charm. Border Bean knows its smoke, respects its meat and isn’t afraid of a little culinary passport-stamping.