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Last month, a celebrity was witnessed wearing a restaurateur’s hat. This time it is actress Mouni Roy, who is best known for her performance in Brahmastra-Part 1. She has partnered with Bangalore-based V&RO Hospitality to launch a 60-seater restaurant on Andheri Link Road called Badmaash, which is a Bollywood theme.
Although not exactly Bollywood but cinematic enough, one of their drinks called Pushpa 3 will not be served at your table but has to be picked up from the bar. Why are you asking? “Because Pushpa kisi ke saamne jhukta nahin (Pushpa don’t bow down in front of anyone — dialogue from the 2021 movie Pushpa: The Rise),” we laughed when our host told us.
“The spirit of Badmaash is born out of all that is Bollywood and its creativity. We represent our diverse culture and delicious good food from every part of India. Badmaash is about fun, inclusiveness and lightness,” Muni told us via email.
When asked her name, she notes that her husband, businessman Suraj Nambiar who grew up in Bangalore “is from the Badmash family and so are his closest friends who also happen to be the owners of Badmash, who are also from Bangalore”.
We decided to pay a visit. It was early Thursday evening when we entered the 2,500 square foot restaurant. Once inside, we found ourselves transported to another land – dimly lit, with hues of greens and grays elegantly paired with golden metals, woods and tall plants, we were as if in a luxurious setting for wildlife at night.
In the center was a round table, located directly between the bar and the DJ booth, and since the restaurant was rather empty, we parked ourselves there. We later learned that it’s also Roy’s favorite corner of the restaurant. So far, so good!
When it came to food, we got a complimentary bowl of papad – two made with dal and two made with rice – with a bowl of green chutney, a small dollop of red onion and a delicious dip of suspended yogurt mixed with spices.
The menu by Chef Jabneet Singh includes a long list of small plates and we chose a handful of their signature dishes.
The chili and crunchy avocado disappointed us with its lack of flavors and the avocado slice dipped in batter and fried didn’t do any magic either. Soft cheese with thyme herbs came to our rescue, but what provided a real treat for our taste buds was the Aloo Tok. Sindy’s famous snack made of baby potatoes with Cajun seasoning was delicious. Giving the seasoning a good company was the mayonnaise dip. We finished the whole part in less than 10 minutes.
When it comes to larger dishes, the menu has five options for vegetarians – kadhai subz, pindi choley, paneer khatta pyaaz, burnt garlic khumb palak and Rajasthan shikari aloo. Intrigued by the other, we couldn’t help but ask. Each dish comes with bread and an attachment, our dish – dried sabzi of boiled baby potatoes seasoned with mild spices – with two small pieces of butter and masala piyaaz. Sabzi was low on flavours, and the pairing wasn’t very good either.
What also didn’t work for us was that the menu had exactly two items curated by Mounilicious—a drink called Mounilicious, which is a gin-based drink with cucumber, oregano, thyme, and sautéed melago mushroom with crunchy shimeji. The latter is a South Indian style of sautéing mushrooms and peppers. Both were average performers, and we were expecting a little more.
We rounded off the meal with their signature dessert – saffron and biley’s rasmalai, which was a treat. While one could savor Bailey’s dish, it was subtle in nature and did not dominate the dish. If you are here, give it a try. Overall, we were happy with the atmosphere this place offers. We just hope to see them raise their food a notch higher to match what it offered to serve.
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