• The Homemade Cafe, a new all-day restaurant, opened in Andheri West on Saturday, Ocotober 17. The 300 square feet restaurant, a venture by TV actors Addite Malik and Simple Kaul and producer Vatsala Rajeev Raj, serves multi-cuisine comfort fare such as Sri Lankan prawn curry with rice; nasi goreng; berry pulao; and spinach and ricotta ravioli. Open daily, from noon to 11.30pm. The Homemade Cafe, Shop No.4, Kaveri Building, near Oshiwara Police Station, Oshiwara Link Road, Andheri (West). Tel: 99103 88803.
• Dadar has got a new all-day eatery called Grandmama’s Cafe, helmed by the husband and wife duo of Abhayraj and Simar Kohli whose family runs the Pritam group of hotels. The 1,800 square feet Grandmama’s Cafe, which shares a fence with Pritam restaurant, serves pizzas, burgers, shawarmas, sandwiches and small selection of ‘Nani’s specials’ which include kheema pao, rajma chawal, khichdi and Punjabi chicken tariwala. The full menu, which will also offer a Continental breakfast, will be available from Monday, November 2, when they will officially open. Open daily, from 9am to midnight. Grandmama’s Cafe, near the Mumbai-Pune bus station, next to Pritam, Dadar (East). Tel: 022 4344 9966.
• Bandra’s The Big Bang Bar and Cafe has closed and been replaced by The Bar Stock Exchange, which is run by the same set of owners. The 6,000 square feet pub is the fourth outpost of the chain, at which the rules of share trading apply to the sale of liquor. When the bar opens for business every day, patrons will be charged MRPs. As demand for certain drinks increases over time, so will their prices.
Unlike the other outlets in Andheri East, Andheri West and Bandra Kurla Complex, the Bandra West branch is garage-themed and serves a new food menu by chef Kshama Prabhu, who has previously worked at The White Owl brewery and The Tasting Room in Lower Parel. The menu lists Kolhapuri chicken quesadillas, tandoori chicken wings and misal fondue. The chain is slated to expand to Colaba and Lower Parel in December. Open daily, from 6pm to 1.30am. The Bar Stock Exchange, Third Floor, Kenilworth Mall, in the same building as KFC and Bonobo, off Linking Road, Bandra (West). Tel: 022 2600 8833.
• On Thursday, October 22, Chembur will be home to a new artisanal patisserie called Toshin named after the chef-owner Toshin Shetty, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in London. Toshin will specialise in artfully crafted pastries, pralines, cookies and macarons. You can choose from salted caramel; saffron and marigold; pistachio; and chocolate flavoured macarons, and pastries such as The Box (a reconstructed tiramisu); Empress (inspired by the pina colada); and Dichotomy (banana mousse, Bavarian cream and sea salt caramel). Open daily, from 10.30am to 11.30pm. Toshin, Ivy Banquets, Amar Mahal, above Shoppers Stop, Chembur. Tel: 022 6798 2298.
• The Chaayos chain of tea-focused cafes from Delhi is slated to open its first outlet in Mumbai in Bandra West on Saturday, October 24. Chaayos will serve its own brand of tea. The menu, which is divided into Indian, specialty and classic preparations, will offer options like Sulemani, aam papad, kulhad, rose cardamom, lemongrass and jasmine chai. Also on offer will be fruit shakes in flavours such as kiwi, strawberry, chikoo and banana, and tea time snacks including bun maska, poha, sandwiches and bun bhujiya. Open daily, from 8am to 10.30pm. Chaayos, opposite Salt Water Cafe, Chapel Road, Bandra (West).
• Churchgate has a new liquid nitrogen ice cream parlour called Papacream. The store offers innovative preparations such as Thai sushi ice cream (chocolate crepe with coconut and lemongrass ice cream and kiwi and passion fruit jelly); Mexicano (a savoury dish comprising nachos, cheddar cheese, smoked bell peppers and jalapeno ice cream); paani puri sorbet (puris topped with potato mousse and paani flavoured sorbet); masala chaas sorbet; salted caramel popcorn ice cream; and chocolate ginger creme brulee ice cream. They also serve classic flavours such as Belgian chocolate, espresso, peach n nut and mint and choco chip. Open daily, from noon to midnight. Papacream, Shop No.18, same building as Eros cinema, Churchgate. Tel: 022 6517 7272.
• Lower Parel has a new Maharashtrian food restaurant called Aagri Culture Express. The month-old joint focuses on the food of Mumbai’s Aagri community and serves a menu of meat and seafood laden thalis with ukadiche bhakri (rice rotis); bombil chutney; mutton curry; fried ghol; khadiche mutton (dry mutton preparation); tamarind flavoured fish curry; and Aagri vada (made using rice flour). Open daily, from 11.30am to 4pm and from 7pm to 10.30pm. Aagri Culture Express, across the road from the Anita Dongre showroom, opposite Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel. Tel: 84259 02219.
• Pala Fala, a new Parsi restaurant, has opened at Atria Mall in Worli. The restaurant serves community staples like egg chutney pattice; chicken farcha; kheema par eedu; akuri; salli boti; mutton pulao dal; dhun dal fish patio; salli kheema; and patra ni machhi. Open daily, from 11am to 11pm. Pala Fala, Fourth Floor, Atria Mall, Dr. Annie Besant Road, Worli. Tel: 022 6558 6666.
• Atul Kochhar, the chef and owner of Michelin-starred fine-dining Indian restaurant Benares in London, is set to launch his first eatery in Mumbai, in Bandra Kurla Complex in November. According to reports, the 3,000 square feet, 80-seat NRI (Not Really Indian) will serve the food of the Indian diaspora or what Kochhar describes as “food that looks and tastes Indian but is not Indian”. The menu will feature roti canai; Malaysian fish korma; crab kofta with gun powder; Caribbean mutton curry; East African jeera chicken; and South African bunny chow and bobotie (minced meat and egg bake). After NRI, Kochhar will open Lima, a Latin American tapas bar, in BKC.
• By mid-November Lower Parel will be home to the third outlet of Oye Kake, the vegetarian Amritsari joint with branches in Fort and Ghatkopar. The restaurant will have the same menu of Punjabi staples such as rajma chawal; Punjabi kadhi; and chole kulche. Open daily, from 11am to 4pm and from 7pm to 11.30pm. Oye Kake, Ground Floor, Trade View Building, Oasis Complex, Kamala Mills, Lower Parel. Tel: 86004 50189.
• Flavour Pot Food, the company behind the Oye Kake chain of Punjabi restaurants, will launch Cafe Haqq Se, a new all-day, restaurant and bar in Lower Parel, by mid-November. The restaurant will have a pre-Independence themed decor and serve fusion Indian food such as prawn Koliwada with kachhe aam ka salsa; mutton seekh chilli fry; tandoori fruit chaat with spicy blue cheese dip; and naan pizzas and sandwiches. Open daily, from 8am to 12.30am. Cafe Haqq Se, Ground Floor, Trade View Building, Oasis Complex, Kamala Mills, Lower Parel. Tel: 86004 50189.
• New Andheri ice cream salon Where’s My Cone specialises in ice cream sandwiches in addition to classic and ‘premium’ ice creams. The ice cream sandwich selection includes white chocolate almond cookie with strawberry ice cream; double dark chocolate cookie with mint ice cream; and malted milk cookie with masala chai ice cream. Some of the classic flavours are paan; jam shortcake; filter coffee; and cookies and cream. Banana, caramel and walnut; boondi laddoo; blueberry cheesecake; and malted chocolate brownie make up the premium flavours. Open daily, from noon to midnight. Where’s My Cone, 828, Royal Sands, Lokhandwala, Andheri (West). Tel: 99203 54343.