Restaurant Review: This Bandra eatery offers delicious but pricey food

Vegetable Lasagna

The Village Shop
Food: Healthy
Service: Good
Ambiance: Photo postcard

Vegetable Lasagna

A sunday gala was on in full swing at St Andrew's Church next door, and quaint buildings of Chimbai offered the ideal backdrop for a lovely evening at The Village Shop. This new organic cafe (from the owners of Birdsong) has won half the battle with quaint decor (with a blink-and-you-miss glimpse of the sea) that instantly puts you in relax mode after navigating the chaos of Hill Road.

Kheema Pav

White tiled-walls and a seating area covered by a canopy of trees, The Village Shop has cake offerings lined in a display case, tempting us so much that we called for dessert first. The Vegan Gluten free Chocolate Cake (Rs 225) was absolutely worth the rush; dense and brimming with chocolate. The menu is small, but inclusive - breakfast, salads, sandwiches, burgers and main course dishes too. For beverages, we called for Raw Cacao and Sesame-milk Shake (Rs 250) and Pomegranate and Coconut Water (Rs 150). The shake had no added sugar (natural or otherwise). That made it healthy but unpalatable for us. The second drink was plain coconut water with added pomegranate.

Chicken, Cheese and Onion Toastie

For some chow, we ordered a Kheema Pav (Rs 325) and Chicken, Cheese and Onion Toastie (Rs 350). The cost of the first made it seem like a rip-off; it tasted great though. It wasn't overtly greasy, and had fresh flavours unlike the masala-doused versions you have eaten. The wholegrain pav could have been fluffier. The Toastie, made with in-house baked bread was wonderfully balanced with just enough cheese, mustard for zing and caramelised onions with roast chicken. Thumbs up. If you like their breads, you can also pick up some for home. They offer cookies too.

The Village Shop. Pics/Dhara Vora

Finally, we picked a vegetarian main of Vegetable Lasagna (Rs 450). With layers of fresh veggies like peppers, zucchini and spinach with cheese, the tangy sauce laden lasagna was delightful. The Village Shop paints a beautiful picture for a relaxed afternoon lunch and cosy sunset snacks, but it all comes with the threat of a hole in the pocket.