At Bandra Born, the dishes on the menu have quirky names
Much less is extra, reads a slogan on the within door of the now-shut Salt Water Café in Bandra. For Chef Gresham Fernandes, Culinary Director at Impresario Leisure & Hospitality, these will not be simply mere phrases however a philosophy he’s making an attempt to dwell by.
Restraint, he tells us, has attained numerous significance in his life, whether or not within the kitchen or how he runs a restaurant. “After you may have constructed issues up, after some extent, you must begin taking a step again — by way of how the staff is working the kitchen or how the entrance of the home is working. The principle job is to construct the framework and provides everybody the instruments to work inside that framework,” he says.
King Cabbage
Gresham is aware of a factor or two about constructing issues. Together with Riyaaz Amlani, the Managing Director of Impresario Leisure & Hospitality, he has created a few of the hottest eating places and cafes within the metropolis together with SOCIAL, Smoke Home Deli and Salt Water Café. The latter, recognized for its terrific breakfasts and energetic atmosphere, downed its shutters two months in the past after being in existence for 15 years. The rationale was easy, says Gresham, “We would have liked to evolve. Everybody was strait-jacketing the café into an ideal place for sangrias or the All You Can Drink cocktail however that’s not all who we’re. We are able to do extra,” he says.
Grunge, graffiti, and multi-coloured posters outline the interiors
The extra, for now, is Bandra Born — a 12-week pop-up that showcases the chef-restaurateur’s mind-set (the aforementioned restraint) in addition to his creativity. The house remains to be the identical, or is it? The once-quaint and stylish bistro now bears a grunge look with a cool brand and graffiti painted throughout the partitions, multi-coloured posters declaring ‘lacking cat’ or ‘wished housekeeper in Bandra’ amongst others and a staircase bathed in a purple haze with ‘Don’t Fall For Me’ painted on the steps.
“Riyaaz was toying with the thought of how one can change an area with out truly altering an area. Is the house vital or is the emotion within the house vital? Salt Water Café was an emotion in an area; Bandra Born is one other emotion in the identical house. We’re going in opposition to the agenda of what tremendous eating is. For us, so long as the meals is sweet, the drinks are good and there’s nice vitality, that’s it. I’m not working in direction of making this one of the best bar or one of the best place for meals; I’m making an attempt to make this into one of the best place with probably the most constructive vitality if you stroll into it,” states the chef.
East Indian Crab Curry Dip
The proof is within the pudding, as they are saying. The restraint Gresham talked about earlier, may be seen within the fewer substances and the minimal-drama method of plating the dishes. An apt instance can be the sunshine and fluffy goujons, quirkily named Like Fugias, However Not. The dish is served with a pureed corn chutney which matches properly with the tacky goujons.
At Gresham’s dwelling, potato chops are full of sea snails, however the chef wished to maintain the vegetarians glad as properly. So, the potato chop at Bandra Born is a scrumptious mouthful with parsnip, candy potato and reshad (a Goan spice mix also referred to as recheado), all served on a mattress of beetroot ketchup. The Kamina Karpaccio with tenderloin, truffled ponzu with a garnish of salli potatoes and pomegranates makes a case for Gresham’s philosophy of ‘flavour-driven’ versus ‘concept-driven’ dishes.
The drinks pay tribute to Bandra’s landmarks and legends
The quirky names of the dishes — Riyaaz’s mind waves we’re instructed — additionally extends to the cocktails, designed by Pankaj Balachandran, with drinks paying a tribute to Bandra’s landmarks and legends. Pali Hill Paloma is a zesty pick-me-up manufactured from tequila, mezcal and grapefruit whereas Patricia’s Pussycats harks again to the folklore of an Anglo-Indian woman named Patricia who used to take her leopard cubs for walks on the streets of Bandra.
Chef Gresham Fernandes
Ask Gresham what occurs on the finish of 12 weeks and he shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know,” he says poker-faced. As for Salt Water Café, it’s nonetheless not shut, at the least for him. “It’ll come again in some type or one other; we don’t know when or how however it’ll,” he says. On its Instagram web page, the lone submit declares ‘we’ll see you quickly, someway someplace’.
Open for dinner. Meal for 2 prices ₹2,800 with out alcohol and ₹3,900 with alcohol. For reservations, name: 8657738778.
Printed – October 25, 2023 02:29 pm IST
