La Panthera is a familiar name. When Chef Manuel Olveira and his wife and partner Mickee Tuljapurkar opened the first outpost in BKC in 2024, its opulent interiors were hard to miss, and many likened it to a living room in a European manor.Its second outpost, just launched in the heritage precinct of Eros Cinema in South Bombay, is a deliberate departure. Here, La Panthera is warmer and more restrained, with Art Deco elements that pay homage to the building it occupies. The drama is in the details rather than the excess — a conscious exercise in understatement.Interior designer Gowri Adappa of A Design Co was given a simple brief: small glimpses of Art Deco, not a costume. It lives in the light fixtures, the clean vertical lines and custom mouldings. The terrazzo flooring was made to order in South India, while much of the art and every book in the library foyer came from Mickee’s own home. The result feels like a stylish South Bombay house of around 4,600 sq ft, with a private dining room for ten and a balcony overlooking Churchgate Station. La Panthera’s menu features Spanish-inspired dishes including pintxos, patatas bravas, gambas and Jamón Ibérico.The space, Mickee says, “came from the sky.” A close friend mentioned that the building’s owners would love to have them, and with a real estate background of her own, her “hair stood up”. They had to take it up. They own the business with Mickee’s brother Rahul Tuljapurkar, whom they call “the handler.”The 1,200 sq ft kitchen and the bar sit at eye level, so guests can see everything. Mickee recalls a night when Manuel tasted a dish at the pass and sent it back. Diners who saw it felt oddly special — something that never happens behind a closed kitchen door.Manuel says the menu is 95 per cent different from BKC outpost, with only four dishes carried over, among them the gambas and the Bloody Mary ceviche.Also Read | Around Town: From 500 sq ft cold drink house to 15,000 sq ft empire, inside Mohammad Ali Road’s ShalimarStory continues below this adIt begins with pintxos. Expect patatas bravas, ham and cauliflower croquettes, pan con tomate, txangurro and a Gilda skewer with white anchovies sourced directly from Spain. “Every table orders something from here, for sure,” shared chef Olveira.Chef Olveira once told us about packing two whole legs of Jamón Ibérico (Iberian ham), weighing nine kilograms each and cured for up to four years, safely tucked inside his suitcase. Now, there are more ingredients they want from Spain and elsewhere in Europe. To save themselves the trouble, the couple now holds their own import licence for Jamón Ibérico, Arbequina olive oil, manchego among other ingredients. Chef Manuel Olveira, the culinary force behind La Panthera, brings his Spanish-inspired cooking to the restaurant’s new South Bombay outpost.Then the plates arrive. Browned cauliflower with leeks, butter and cream is crusted in breadcrumbs and, in his signature style, generously topped with shaved manchego and black truffle. A burrata salad pairs heirloom tomato and tomato granita with gazpacho poured around it, tangy and creamy at once. The shio koji pork belly, on nearly every table, plays on the classic pairing of pork, apple and mustard. Roasted apple purée and Pommery mustard sit alongside charred cabbage, while a savoury coffee jus cuts through the richness. Crunchy green beans with poached pears over a nutty cashew emulsion are a quiet surprise.The pizzas, made with 48-hour-fermented dough in a gleaming oven, come out beautifully charred. The scamorza rosso carries roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and Kalamata olives, with garlic crisps adding another layer of flavour. To finish off the crusts, there are dips of jalapeño queso or garlic and herbs. The baked sea bass is the lighter turn, resting on enoki and cherry tomatoes with a fennel salad and seafood bisque, over pan-fried gnocchi that soaks up the bisque. The black bean stew with onion chimichurri, topped with corn fritters and whipped ricotta, is a substantial vegetarian option.Story continues below this ad La Panthera’s menu features baked sea bass, burrata salad and shio koji pork belly, combining Spanish influences with Manuel Olveira’s contemporary approach.The bar is just as playful. The Sake-tini, with Junmai sake, bianco vermouth and hazelnut, starts quietly and grows on you. “Tiramisu but drunk” is dessert and nightcap in one, with espresso liqueur, dark rum, mascarpone and a coffee meringue. Teetotallers get teas and proper zero-proof cocktails, including a refreshing picante built on charred pineapple.Among the desserts, their Apple Tarte Tatin deserves a special mention. Three-hour-baked apples sit on filo pastry with a little caramel, served alongside Calvados vanilla ice cream. The apple is so well done that you polish it off. Their Tiramisu, built on a ladyfinger base with a very well-done coffee ice cream beneath a mascarpone espuma, is just as good. The coffee meringues on the side are delicious — and dangerously addictive. The Apple Tarte Tatin at La Panthera features three-hour-baked apples on filo pastry, served with caramel and Calvados vanilla ice cream.What the team wants most is to change how the neighbourhood dines. “The handle is La Panthera India, not Mumbai, because the flavours are familiar enough to travel, while La Loca Maria which is very close to Manuel’s heart stays a precious flagship,” shared Mickee, adding that here, Aperitivo hour starts at 5.30 pm with a drink and a few pintxos, the full menu begins at 7 pm, and late-night eats run until 1 am. “Or you can just have one drink and one bite.” The couple now hold their own import license for jamón ibérico, olive oil and manchego.Also Read | Around Town: Inside Mumbai’s Cafe Nur, where home-style Mughlai food meets Sufi-inspired design in historic FortStory continues below this adWhat the team wants most is to change how the neighbourhood dines. “The Instagram handle is La Panthera India, not Mumbai, because the flavours are familiar enough to travel, while La Loca Maria remains a precious flagship,” says Mickee. Here, aperitivo hour starts at 5.30 pm with a drink and a few pintxos, the full menu begins at 7 pm, and late-night eats run until 1 am.“We’re not discovering Mars,” Mickee says with a laugh. Within 10 days of opening, the restaurant was already buzzing, with tables filled through the evening. The early response suggests South Bombay is warming up to La Panthera. Whether it will embrace the aperitivo hour — and the idea of Spanish-style dining beyond dinner — “only time will tell.”