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Ziya,like other restaurants run by Vineet Bhatia,puts a huge emphasis on presentation and merging different influences. The contemporary Indian restaurant’s décor is predominantly gold,but manages to be elegantly opulent without being garish. The bricks in the show kitchen are gold. “The gold was baked into the bricks,” informs Steven Kalczynski,the amiable new American General Manager of the hotel who promises excellent but less reserved service.

The focus,of course,will always be on the food at Ziya. The food is surprisingly well priced; an average meal should be Rs 2,300 per head (inclusive of tax without alcohol).

Like Messi,the food is creative,often brilliant and at times it simply astonishes you. We tried the masala foie gras served on a bed of mushroom naan. It was delicious,simple yet creative. The smoked tandoori salmon is served with a clear cloche that,when removed,releases some smoke and quickly fills the air with the enticing scent of the Norwegian salmon. Bhatia explains his style,saying,“The first sense you experience is visual. Something that looks nice and unusual sets you back and makes you salivate for more and builds up to the next course.” Our uttapam lasagne,unfortunately,featured layers of uttapam that weren’t fluffy or light,the only glaring flaw.

While all the attention will be on Ziya,Vetro,the Italian restaurant,reminds us of Barcelona player Andrés Iniesta; under-rated but outstanding. Tuomas Heikkinen,the new chef,has worked at Locanda Locatelli in London,and,for the past three years,at Travertino at the Oberoi,New Delhi. The restaurant is exactly the same as it was before the attacks,albeit with subtle gold cloth chairs in place of grey. Instead of the anti-pasti buffet,Heikkinen will feature oysters flown in from France. We thoroughly enjoyed the veal ravioli (tender and succulent,yet not too rich) and the fresh blue crab salad with mango (creamy and sweet with a strong flavour of crab) which was an outstanding combination.

Fenix,the all day dining option has mostly changed in name—barring the beige-and-red colour scheme. The name,a take on the mythical Greek bird phoenix,was chosen from a list of suggestions made by the hotel’s staff. Like Barcelone defender Carles Puyol,the restaurant is boringly dependable and features more sushi (80 varieties) and western comfort food. We recommend the burger,a messy beast that has layers of tomatoes,lettuce,200 grams of beef,cheese,bacon,and egg.

The only disappointment for us is Eau Bar that feels like a half-hearted attempt to be contemporary. “Bayview was a 1970’s club bar with old people smoking cigars and having gin and tonics. Now we expect a younger crowd,” says Liam Lambert,president of the Oberoi group. Eau has creative lighting,including internally-lit orange glass tables. It has colourful glassware and some excellent cocktails,especially the saffron martini that has a smoky flavour imparted by 5ml of Laphroaig single malt. But it still isn’t too far off from Opium Den at the Trident or the old Library Bar at the Taj President. We can’t imagine anyone under 35 frequenting it given the same piano and live jazz music. Like Barcelona striker Thierry Henry,it might have been good enough before,but should now be on the metaphorical bench.

Till then,watch out for Messi.