Fancy a Nutella sandwich in heritage mansion

Head to the cafe at the National Gallery of Modern Art for a spot of chilling right in the middle of Victorian style architecture and flowing fountains

Head to the cafe at the National Gallery of Modern Art for a spot of chilling right in the middle of Victorian style architecture and flowing fountains

The National Gallery of Modern Art in the city is really like an oasis, albeit an imposing one right in the heart of Bengaluru. As you enter don't get taken aback by the imposing and intricately carved gates that sport life size murals. With a sweeping driveway surrounded by lawns that sport the occasional sculpture or two, the most arresting feature of the property are a series of fountains that flow into a pond that reflects the facade of the NGMA.

NGMA Cafe
Food: good
Service: self
Ambience: pretty

Kheema Paou00a0Pics/ Satish Badiger

Walk behind the building and you will come across an open space scattered with bright green chairs and tables, and that is the caf e area known as NGMA or Mayura Anju's Cafe. The menu here is modelled along the lines of those at Ranga Shankara and Alliance Francaise de Bangalore with a few changes here and there, thanks to Anju who runs the cafes at all these venues. The menu for the day written out on a soft board lists all kinds of short eats that you might be tempted to snack on all day. It offers sandwiches, omelettes, along with snacks like Vada Pao, Pao Bhaji, a couple of mains like biryanis and pastas and dessert like brownies and Gajar ka Halwa with ice cream.

Our first order had to be the Hazelnut and Chocolate Sandwich (Rs 40), slices of white bread lavishly spread with a hazelnut flavoured chocolate Nutella spread and cut in four pieces. The sandwich will straight remind you of school when peanut butter (another option available here) and jelly or strawberry jam sandwiches ruled our lunch boxes. We gulped down the thick chocolate coated bread in no time. Since we began on a sweet note it was time to spice up the rest of our meal.

We chose the Kheema Pao (Rs 40) and Aloo Paratha (Rs 30) next. The Kheema Pao was a freshly baked warm pao slit and slathered with mint chutney and stuffed with a spicy kheema mixture and topped with green chillies and raw onions.

The flavours of the chutney came through and add a minty twang to the spicy mutton kheema. Between gulps of the Lemon Iced Tea (Rs 30) that is freshly brewed in-house, we bit into the aloo paratha that was served with curd and a mixed vegetable pickle.

The spiced potato mixture stuffed inside the paratha was liberal and not measley little bits and was fragrant with flecks of fresh coriander, green chillies and tasted exactly like the home-made version. The amchoor (dry mango powder) added to the stuffing along with cumin added the right zing to the paratha.

Cafes attached to cultural spaces hardly get much limelight except for word of mouth recommendations and an occasional visitor who might stray in. But a large part of the charm of the NGMA caf e lies in the fact that its not overcrowded and is a lovely little place to just sit back with a book and a tall glass of iced tea during the oncoming summer months. And it definitely will not tear at your pockets.

At: NGMA, Manikyavelu Mansion, 49, Palace Road
Call: 9900064931/22201027
Meal for two: Rs 200

The NGMA Cafe didn't know we were there. The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals.