ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
Phone: 022 50645717
Address: 318, Linking Road, Khar, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Time: 12 Noon – 01:00 AM
Meals for two: Rs.2,100
Cuisines: American, Italian, Beverages
Facilities: Full Bar Available, Valet Parking Available, Live Music, Vegan Options, Brunch, Desserts and Bakes, Indoor Seating, Kid Friendly, Wifi
BlueBop Cafe, Khar, Mumbai: Decor
Pleasing, simple, cozy space with cherry red walls, printed tile floor and a brightly lit wooden bar. Acoustics are the always important in any restaurant, but more so when there is live music. Acoustic consultant Kapil Thirwani has done a great job to ensure perfect sound levels.
BlueBop Cafe, Khar, Mumbai: Food
Take a look at the photo I shot – the unique mozzarella balloon salad, their delicious take on the caprese salad looked unique, as it is painstakingly made with a siphon. But, it was an exception because most of Chef Saurabh Raturi’s food, inspired by New York jazz bars, was a comforting, familiar Italian-American fare with some vegan and gluten-free options, too. Ask for the New York-style pizza, especially the one with the robustly spiced jerk chicken topping. Barley and millet salad sparkled with pomegranate, topped with a swirl of cream cheese is recommended, as are the squishy cheese-stuffed, fleshy mushroom caps and hearty burger with a tasty, moist chicken patty. Go for the unique cocktails, created by mixologist Dinesh Mondkar with homemade syrups. ‘Espresso Martini’, ‘Hibiscus Gimlet’ and ‘Go Bananas’ are recommended. End with the delightfully baked blueberry cheesecake.
Minus Points:
While some of the dishes were delectably presented, plenty others need more fine-tuning. Hard shells of profiteroles and overdone, rubbery grilled chicken are avoidable.
My Point:
Sadly, very few Mumbai restaurants offer live music – Veranda (Bandra) Toast & Tonic (BKC), The Little Door (Andheri), and the newly revamped The Eau Bar (Nariman Point). The BlueBop Cafe opened and set the tempo by being committed to live jazz music on Fridays and Saturday, and sometimes on other days, too, whenever there are visiting bands. It has a crowd pleaser menu (pizza, salads, gluten-free, vegan et al), generous portions, moderate prices (average dish costs Rs. 400), and unique cocktails. It hits all the right notes!
Review [II]: 07/05/2021
Smile! “Hope Exists”. It’s the perfect sunshine message needed in these cloudy, gloomy pandemic times. And we’re celebrating with the very young, brave, resilient Rayna Arya, the living embodiment of this message. We’re celebrating her high school graduation in the most apt of cafes: Bandra’s The BlueBop Cafe, which has a youthful vibe, young chef and a dream team that hits all the right notes with its deliciously satisfying, moderately priced fare.
Hope Exists!
…It’s also the message in gorgeous poet Rayna Arya’s book that she authored at age 17, after being in a five-month coma, post a traumatic accident at age 12. I have tears of joy in my eyes and applaud her strength and inspirational resilience to do years of therapy and reach where she is today. Backing her, is her strong beautiful family, the brilliant architect, Sonica Arya, the mother who believed in never giving up, COO of India’s leading realty fund, coffee connoisseur Gaurav Arya and high school student, artist blogger Myrra Arya, an active fundraiser for the pandemic. Celebrating their golden anniversary and Rayna are her grandparents, Roopak and Dr. Anjani Arya. And yes! All of them are discerning foodies.
Orchestra Of Flavors:
Ask for the New York Style Pizza, especially the one with the robustly-spiced Jerk chicken topping. Truffle Fries were a hit with us and the healthy Burrito Bowl was Sonica’s best dish.
Barley And Millet Salad sparkled with pomegranate, topped with a swirl of cream cheese is recommended as are the squishy Cheese-stuffed Fleshy Mushroom Caps, hearty burger with a tasty moist chicken patty. Go for the unique cocktails, created by mixologist Dinesh Mondkar with home-made syrups. Espresso Martini, Hibiscus Gimlet and Go Bananas are recommended.
The entire menu is home-delivered, except for the unique Mozzarella Balloon Salad, their delicious take on the Caprese Salad. Painstakingly made with a siphon by the young chef, it tasted great and looked unique, but it was an exception because most of 26-year chef Saurabh Raturi’s food, inspired by New York jazz bars, was comforting, familiar Italian-American fare with some vegan and gluten-free options, too. End with the delightfully baked Blueberry Cheesecake or the seven layered cookie, the Arya family and my favourite.
All That Jazz:
Award-winning marketing professional turned restaurateur, the lovely Eesha Sukhi opened The BlueBop Cafe as one committed to live jazz music, but with the pandemic upon us, it is closed for dine-in. Happily, it is open for delivery. In fact, many a reader has voted for BlueBop as their choice for delivery. We all vote in a chorus for its crowdpleaser menu (pizza, salads, gluten-free, vegan et al) generous portions, moderate prices (average dish price Rs. 400) and unique cocktails. It was awarded The prestigious Times Food and Nightlife Award twice in a row. BlueBop hits all the right notes!
