The Tavern

The Tavern is the heritage colonial-mansion restaurant on Mussoorie's upper Mall Road - the building dates from the late nineteenth-century British hill station, restored a decade ago with the upper level converted into a rooftop al fresco terrace that catches the most cinematic view of the Garhwal Himalaya from any restaurant on the ridge. The interior dining rooms are the older mansion drawing rooms with carved wood, deep upholstered seating and a heritage fireplace that runs in winter.

The cooking is heritage continental at its most considered. The room runs an international steakhouse and seafood programme - imported and Indian beef on the wood grill, Mussoorie trout from the Aglar river, lamb chops, prawns and lobster on the seasonal menu - plus a serious cheese platter, fresh-baked bread, charcuterie and a small but careful Italian and French main-course list. The cheese and the wine programme are the room's quiet strengths and distinguish the Tavern from any other restaurant on the ridge.

The wine list is the most serious in Mussoorie - approximately 80 references with a confident Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne spine, a useful Italian and Australian programme, and a focused Indian wine selection. The cocktail bar runs a long Negroni, Old Fashioned and Martini card - the Tavern is also the most considered cocktail bar on the ridge. The single-malt cellar handles a serious post-dinner pour.

Service is unfussy but practiced - the room has been running heritage rooftop dinners for the visiting Delhi weekend trade for over a decade and handles a proposal seating with the right discretion. For a Mussoorie engagement, anniversary or milestone birthday, the rooftop two-top with the Garhwal sunset is the most decisive booking on the ridge.

The Tavern is the proposal dinner in Mussoorie. The colonial-era mansion address, the al fresco rooftop seating with the Garhwal mountain panorama, the upscale interior dining with fine wines, steaks, seafood and the heritage cheese platter combine into the most cinematic Mussoorie ridge-line dinner. The combination of heritage architecture and mountain view produces the right setting for an engagement or anniversary.