Mumbai, India
Palm Beach road gets a new café and Bar, B Desi. The name as it may suggest is not about being Indian but it is more a take on the ‘colloquial’ pronunciation of ‘Videsi’ , thus making it an amalgamation or rather a global cuisine place albeit with a lot of localization around. Be it their earthenware coffee mugs or some Bollywood murals on the wall or menu items inspired by characters from popular daily soaps, of course you will see desi touches in the food and drinks too.
The café is an all day diner whilst the bar opens at in the evening. I picked the café and sat at a high table by the window; it was day lit, spacious and brought about a positive vibe. A perfect brunch place, a lunch time venue or a relaxed dinner destination I thought! The cocktail menu by Flairology is quirky and innovative and the food menu is an encyclopedia of nouvelle cuisine which can satisfy most palates, however one will be spoilt for choice. They serve everything from tandoori to pizzas to ravioli to burgers! I started with a whisky and spice cocktail which came in a mortar and pestle and alongside which was an assortment of Chakna, the Kaffir lime rubbed Chana j
or and chana oil fry tossed in chilli were stars. The Bloody Mary spiked with wasabi came in a cool bamboo glass but was a letdown for me as the spike didn’t go well. I continued with some more amazing food litti chokha, Thai paneer chilli, Cheese tawa pulao arancini and a very comforting misal burger. The next; ‘ Amchi Maati’ a rum-based cocktail was brilliant, it surprised as one could have easily mistook it for a center piece or an eco-friendly souvenir. I ended my evening with a light Mango cheese cake( they could have done with a better crust) and some parting shots, ‘Iclairs’ ‘Maan-pasand’ and ‘Mango tight’, flavours from the 90’s brought an apt end to a ‘B Desi’ evening.
A must visit; this place is easy on the pocket and could easily be the watering hole for Navi Mumbai junta!
P.S: 5 cocktails for Rs 1299 is a good bet …
Indian Gourmand 
What do you think of this article?