How Amanda Bhandari Brought the Real Taste of Mumbai to Delhi With Bombay Club
Once Mumbai creeps into your personality, it never leaves you. To Amanda Bhandari, the few years spent in the city after graduation was not only about education, but also falling in love. She was influenced by the culture, food, the sea breeze, and the slow and relaxed South Bombay charm. Her stay there offered her an up-close examination of the magic of the everyday in the city, be it in the chaat stalls and the Irani cafes along with their keema pav and cutting chai.
Amanda had spent close to 10 years in the food and beverage sector and she had the desire to create something of her own. It was natural to carry the soul of Bombay to Delhi. That is the way Bombay Club was born, that is urban cafe that is based on the spirit, taste, and memories of Mumbai.
Bombay Club was not designed as one more trendy cafe where croissants and avocado toast are served. Rather, Amanda concentrated on the actual Indian snacks – meals that are not too tricky, delicious, and cozy. It was a concept of a warm modern interior where friends and families can sit and share keema pav, vada, chaat and appams. It is a place that is urban and traditional at the same time.
Bombay Club has recently shifted to a bigger space within the same compound in which the flagship outlet is located in order to improve the whole experience. The new space can be described as more interactive and welcoming. It has one of the largest attractions in the form of a live chaat station where the guest can physically watch their preferred snacks being made. This minor point makes the dining experience exciting and fresh. It also has a comfortable reading pod that was designed with the assistance of Kunzum. It also invites a visitor to slow down and savor a cutting chai and spend some time reading a book, an activity that is hard to come by these days in a world dominated by the many screens.
The design of the café speaks itself. It has the sense of sun, sand, and sea a little bit of a wink at the beauty of the coast in Mumbai. The large panoramic windows have warm sunlight outside. Cane furniture creates a beach like feeling whereas the touches of soft blues are the reminders that visitors are in a calm endless ocean. The mood is light, airy and nostalgic simultaneously.
The mosaic pillars can be considered as one of the most distinctive design features. Interestingly enough, they are created out of the scrap-tiles that used to be on the floor of the cafe. Parsi motifs are adorned on these pillars. They are also sustainable and creative – they demonstrate that even the simplest design choices can have a connotation. It is the beauty of discovering something beautiful in the existing things.
The secret of the menu is the key. The Parsi population was high in Mumbai and this made Amanda have a feeling that it was essential to introduce Parsi flavours in Bombay Club. The menu has been done with respect and care considering the profound knowledge she had on these culinary traditions and memories of her days at Bombay.
The signature dishes are some of the Keema Pav, Salli Boti, Baida Roti, and the Bombay Raasta Sandwich. The sizzlers, Ragda Pattice, hearty stews served with appams and Malabar parathas, and egg hoppers also make the guests feel the South Indian touch. Every dish is the representation of the rich Mumbai food culture – a city of street food and home cooking.
The thing is that Bombay Club is not only nostalgic but also modern. The dishes are based on memory and delivered in the form of a cafe, which is suitable to the modern audience. Indicatively, the Avocado Egg Hopper provides a gluten-free variant of the common avocado toast trend. Classics such as chilli cheese toast are also receiving a new remodel with a touch of thecha. The sizzlers that are club-style with the signature cold coffee are not new but seem to be. It is all about respecting the old taste and changing according to the new tastes.
The use of books to add the old-school appeal of the café is also significant. The reading pod designed by Kunzum is not merely a design feature; it is a thought. It is a mild mechanism used to entice guests to quit using their phones and get back to books. In conjunction with this, the retail corner also enables the visitors to bring a part of the Bombay Club home. Customers can recreate the Bombay flavors in their kitchens whether it is a spice blend, a condiment or a signature snack.
There have however been challenges that have been faced by Amanda in the F&B industry. Going through building rights, licensing and negotiating with the government may be a challenging task, particularly in areas where women are still underrepresented. It takes a lot of additional effort to be taken seriously. There are still assumptions and prejudices. However, Amanda has managed to overcome these challenges, and she has been patient and persistent in her work instead of getting distracted.
As far as the future is concerned, Bombay Club is actually expanding plans but not its identity. Amanda does not believe in developing alone in a fast way. The cafe is highly embedded in place, nostalgia and community. Any new place, pop-up, or partnership should have the same soul. The concept is not complicated: it is to bring the spirit of Bombay, its coziness, tastes and its beauty to the rest of the world without turning it into a generic brand.
Bombay Club in a city such as Delhi is one such reminder that food is not all about taste. It is concerning memory, culture and emotion. Amanda Bhandari makes some Mumbai come to life one plateful at a time, through all the keema pavs served and all the cup of cutting chai poured.
<p>The post How Amanda Bhandari Brought the Real Taste of Mumbai to Delhi With Bombay Club first appeared on Hello Entrepreneurs.</p>
