After one landmark eatery at Kala Ghoda shut down, and another almost did, a new cafe in the heritage art district makes you smile. What's On tells you why it's worth hunting for Ropewalk Lane
After one landmark eatery at Kala Ghoda shut down, and another almost did, a new cafe in the heritage art district makes you smile. What's On tells you why it's worth hunting for Ropewalk Lane
It's a coffee shop the size of a garage, that was once a stable. Perhaps, it's this pastiche of reality that makes Kala Ghoda Cafe a bit more fascinating than it actually is. Wedged between hardware shops and warehouses in a tiny alley that's earned a place on Mumbai's culinary map thanks to firangs-love-it seafood eatery Trishna, the cafe fits 5 tables that can seat 15-odd people. A few more can lounge on a quaint wooden mezzanine that houses a comfy couch, bathed in sunlight streaming in through a sloping sun-roof. You make your way there up a ladder, so, the osteoporotic and non-nimble footed can stick to ground-level revelry.
Curiosity got us wandering past the whitewashed walls that held up black-and-white portraits of Dadabhai Naoroji and Pherozeshah Mehta, leading us to the realisation that this might make a fitting venue to play out Alice in Wonderland. A tiny door behind a counter that holds a coffee bean grinder, glass cookie jars and a billing machine, takes you to a cosy cove where a few arm chairs wait to be occupied.
To sip on: Tea drinkers can settle for Pot Mint Tea, but we suggest you try the coffee Americano, Cappuccino, Latte, Espresso. We sipped on the Soya Macchiato for Rs 75 (that's espresso with soya milk foam), and loved it for the caffeine kick subtly softened by milky lather.
To munch on: The menu is frugal, but most of the stuff on it is worth trying. Veggies can go for the Mediterranean Sandwich (lettuce and aubergine on hummus-smeared multigrain bread, for Rs 135). The Egg-Mayo Sandwich for Rs 80 had crunchy sprouted moong; an innovative protein-packed add-on. Sandwiches are served in single and double helpings.
They have salads too. The menu changes every month, said Clement, the genial restaurant manager. They serve Lagan-nu-Custard (Rs 65); the sweet note that every Bawa wedding ends on. It's not on the menu, so, you'll have to ask for it. Carrot Cake for Rs 75 (served with sinful fresh cream that we suspect is a Parsi Dairy Farm import), Ginger Cake (Rs 85) and Chocolate Cake (all moist, cut into generous slices) are your other options.
At: 10, Ropewalk Lane, Kala Ghoda Cafe, opposite Trishna
restaurant. They accept only cash. Call: 22633866.
Kala Ghoda cafe didn't know we were there. What's On reviews anonymously and pays for meals
They serve you a sliver of dark chocolate, free with coffee. If you like it, you can buy it for Rs 15 a piece
