ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
Phone: 022 26532288, 022 26532299
Address: Unit No. 6, Ground Floor, First International Financial Centre, G Block BKC, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051 India
Time: 11 AM – 12 Midnight
Meals for two: Rs. 1,800
Cuisines: Salad, Continental, Healthy Food, Mediterranean, Pizza
Facilities: Home Delivery, Vegetarian Only, Wine, Valet Parking Available, Indoor Seating, Gluten Free Options, Serves Jain Food, Table booking recommended, Vegan Options
It’s serendipity! I’m about to mail my thesis to my mentor professors in Paris and my thesis subject is ‘The rise of vegetarianism’. I’m not only at Mumbai’s latest vegetarian / vegan hotspot ‘Sante Spa Cuisine’ but also dining with most committed vegetarians, who’re into healthy and organic food, and who walk the talk. Gir cows in their home, organic vegetables in their garden, the lovable and creative Harsha Ashok Hinduja redefined “homemade” when, some years ago, she sent me sandesh made from the milk of Gir cows at home. From spearheading Ikebana and Bonsai societies, this fine art connoisseur, trained vocal singer and philanthropist ensures that the finest, most healthy and tasty food graces her table.
Shom Hinduja, the dashing Columbia University graduate and Mumbai’s most eligible bachelor, is leading the group’s foray into the alternative energy sector, next generation digital technologies and sustainability. He’s a great vegetarian gourmet, too. I’m forever grateful to him for taking me to his vegetarian hotspots in NYC. I have a guilt-free, fun-filled dinner with the perfect dining companions.
Sante Spa Cuisine, Bandra Kurla Complex: Decor
Rustic and zen. Bamboo walls and recycled paper lamps. Neem wood plates and copper glasses. This small cozy eatery tucked into the glass and steel BKC office building complex with its white wooden tables and green plants makes for a pleasant change.
Sante Spa Cuisine: Food
Begin by sippin (through the banana leaf straw) the flavorful, chilled activated charcoal lemonade. Great for kickstarting your digestion, too. Follow it up with chilled watermelon gazpacho, soaked chia, wine vinegar with a refreshing chunk of watermelon in it. It’s the robustly spiced quinoa biryani that comes up tops. I ask for a side of Gir cow ghee (my addiction) and drizzle on the biryani and enjoy the jugalbandi. Break the multi-grain khakhra and scoop up the delicious activated charcoal hummus. Ladle the silken Thai curry tastily infused with coconut and Thai herbs on a mound of brown rice. Must ask for the thin crust pizza made crispy and healthy with a ragi base, generously topped with cheese and vegetables. Valrohna chocolate on an oat floor base, gluten-free dark buckwheat slab with almond butter delight as does the creamy coconut and palm jaggery ice cream.
Minus Point
The menu is too ambitious as it attempts to include too many cuisines – from Tibetan to Thai and trips up along the way. Avoid the vegan pizza with its thick, gummy ‘cheese’. Though the concept of tapioca encased vegan dimsum is great, both the stodgy chlorophyll and the carbon dimsum are avoidable. The grain caviar is too sour with pineapple.
Sante Spa Cuisine, BKC, Mumbai: My Point
Can healthy, vegetarian / vegan food be tasty? And out to prove that it can be are many Mumbai eateries which have popped up in the past couple of years. Sequel, Candy & GreenFarmers Cafe, Kitchen Garden by Suzette, to name a few. The trend has attracted Punebased ‘Sante Spa Cuisine’ to open in BKC. Global cuisine dishes are presented in their pure vegetarian and vegan avatars, made of natural and organic ingredients, with healthy cooking techniques of course. Deep frying is a no-no. Ragi, sorghum, foxtail millets, etc. are a yes-yes. The ambitious menu needs to be pruned to include dishes the kitchen aces. Happily, they offer a small collection of wine and extras, too (grana padana cheese, gir cow ghee) underlining the fact they’re not into fanatical low calorie but healthy energy cuisine. They’re open all day, too. Let’s raise a toast to welcome Sante… with activated charcoal lemonade of course!
