bpb Review: Bespoke Café

So this is where they keep all the light: that’s the first thought we had as we entered the brand new and cheerily sunny Bespoke Café, tucked away into a corner of the otherwise windowless, oppressively opulent Palladium at Phoenix Mills. But the pretty view – freshly-graphitised glimpses of Tulsi Pipe Road looked even more colourful through the restaurant’s stain glass windows – is not all Bespoke has to offer.

Fancy Brews

Sink into a buttery leather chair (and we mean that literally – the seats are so plush that one of us Secret Scouters could barely see over the table) and pick through the moderate non-alcoholic beverage menu made up of the usual suspects - coffee from Kenya, Columbia and Malabar; a range of herbal teas; and pathetically watered-down hot chocolate – or move on to the more interesting wine list. A number of international labels are featured here, including a Cabernet Sauvignon from the Colchagua Valley in Chile that we especially liked.

Time for a Break(fast)

The food menu at Bespoke seems designed for shoppers taking a break and the corporates that work around Lower Parel. Averaging Rs 100 a dish, the all-day breakfast is a good bet (although they don’t open until 11 am), as is the creamy spinach dip, perfectly accompanied by crunchy strips of lavash. We also enjoyed the black bean burger, garnished with tomatoes and what has become a must-add on hip menus across the city: wasabi mayo. Finish off with a peanut butter torte, whose sugar boost will make the prospect of returning to the crazy fray of Phoenix Mills a little more bearable.

Coffee and Tees

Bespoke is part of The Collective, a high-end men’s chain that dominates one side of the Palladium, and a clever addition to the luxurious shopping experience the store aims to provide (a Jean Claude Biguine salon and spa is also housed here). Lulled by the wine and food, we were easily tempted by hard-to-find inventory of John Varvatos and Rock and Republic, as well as an utterly irresistible (and at Rs 6,000 for a razor, ridiculously expensive) line of products from Art of Shaving.

Just as, we suspect, was intended by the crafty cats at Collective. So when you find yourself standing at the cash counter, basking in the afterglow of a nice Australian red and handing over your credit card for a pair of Ferragamos that you don’t need, just remember this: you had been warned.

Getting there: The Collective, Palladium, Phoenix Mills, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel