Uba Tuba – The Mexican Food Trail in Mumbai

Meet Uba and Tuba – Uba: Loves nature, farming and everything natural, never had a canned juice in his life, prefers everything fresh and organic from salads, breads and juices. Loves keeping traditional food as is and works hard to keep the taste consistent.

Tuba: Loves the beach, the sand and the parties, is bright and energetic and the more talkative of the two, a party starter, loves travelling and new countries (having travelled more than 50 countries), has his own take on all food likes to add a twist; and if you’re wondering where to find them well just drop by in Bandra, Chapel Road of course!

A bunch of friends with a common love for food and travel come together to form a fun Mexican restaurant called Uba Tuba; and we at The Lifestyle Portal are here to share their exciting journey with you.

How did it all begin?

Meet 35-year-olds Kashif Fakih who’s a B.E. and an MBA (NMIMS) has worked in Cisco for 5 years in (USA & India) and left his job to travel the world for a year including Central America and Mitesh Bavdekar, B.E. and MBA (London) who after having spent 10 years in London has come back to India to start Uba Tuba with a close set of friends.

Their travels around the world and more specifically through Central America that’s Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia and their common passion for food and the unavailability of Mexican tex-mex in India prompted them start a fun café in Mumbai.

“We took over six months to conceptualize the idea, did multiple food trials, found local suppliers for all 100+ ingredients that will be used before we launched Uba Tuba in December 2015 ,” recalls Kashif.

In spite of not having any formal training in the restaurant business what got them started was the idea of providing authentic Mexican food to their customers which helped them partner with some renowned chefs who run successful Mexican restaurants to design their menu and source the right ingredients.

“Over the next six months we did several food trials, met local suppliers and a month long trip to Mexico by Kashif to acquaint himself in the Mexican food culture so that he could bring back some valuable information and techniques,” adds Mitesh.

Location in Bandra

According to them, since Uba Tuba represents fresh, healthy, locally sourced food and they felt Bandra would be the perfect place to launch their first outlet since customers there demand fresh and healthy food. Moreover people from all over Mumbai visit Bandra to check out new and exciting places. This way they can reach a wider audience.

Kashif further adds, “Also, we were looking for a place which was a little tucked away and airy to allow our guests lounge and enjoy the atmosphere for as long as they like,” and their outlet on Chapel Road is just the place for people to hang out for a refreshing cold pressed juice and salads on a hot summers day.

Challenges faced

For them sourcing over 120 high quality ingredients on a regular basis and maintaining and constantly improving the Uba Tuba food experience are the key challenges.

What makes Uba Tuba so unique?

If you think we’re biased (and rightly so, since we’ve eaten there a few times and absolutely loved their food – read our review), we asked them what makes Uba Tuba unique and better than the other Mexican joints here’s what they have to say –

Firstly, all the international ingredients are locally sourced from farmers and producers. Mitesh further adds, “Even though there are many Mexican places in the city, we haven’t found the meal sizes found in Mexico. A burrito is meant to be a filling meal. We use big, 11-inch tortillas to wrap our burritos. All our dishes including Mexican mains and Salads are freshly prepared in front of the guest.”

Also, since the Mexican food offered at Uba Tuba is health focused adding salads and juices to the menu was a natural enhancement of our vision. The highlights of our salads are fresh ingredients, filling portions and innovative combinations. For example with our crowd favourite ‘Carlos’ Slim You’ we start with classic combinations like Watermelon, Feta and arugula and enhance it with black olives, couscous and pickled onions and a creamy balsamic dressing,” mentions Mitesh.

Feedback received so far

A majority of their guests have enjoyed the Uba Tuba experience providing encouraging feedback. Adobo chicken burritos, Veracruz Fish Tacos and Fajita Stir Fry Veggies Quesadillas are some their bestselling Mexican dishes, while Pancho’s Punch, Montezuma’s Madrid Mix and Carlos Slim You are salad favourites.

Happy experiences at Uba Tuba

Kashif concludes, “At Uba Tuba we love to listen to our customers and get their feedback. Once we were visited by a group of Mexican tourists. They loved our food and our Aqua Frescas, but kept insisting that we needed to add ‘tamarindo’ which is a refreshing drink made of fresh tamarind and jaggery to our menu. Sure enough after week of trials, we added tamarindo and it has been a customer favourite ever since.”

What’s more, Uba Tuba’s Mexican mains like Burritos, Tortas and Quesadillas come in huge portions, perfect for students or customers with big appetites. If you are not that hungry, share a burrito among two and complement your meal with a cold pressed juice or aqua frescas to wash away the spicy goodness.

If you haven’t yet experienced what this fun place Uba Tuba is all about with its food, salads and coolers, we suggest you drop by for a meal and you will know.

Collaborate with us:

Write to us at tanya@tanyamunshi.com if you’d like to get featured or collaborate with us at The Lifestyle Portal.