Food review: What you need to know about this new Bandra eatery on Hill Road

The Old School Bakery

On Hill Road, in a beautiful building built in 1914, that houses Bandra's famous Yacht Bar, a unique café has recently opened doors. It's a place to indulge in old-school comfort snacks such as puffs, patties, quiches, bhurji, and kheema pao and journey through time and memories. Nostalgia - The Old School Bakery is the brainchild of Ranji Trophy cricketer and restaurateur Sinan Khader and his uncle Salim Kader, the folk behind The Bandstand Pantry.

As we stepped inside on a grey, drizzling afternoon, we were greeted by large planters with bright yellow sunflowers and other flowering plants - kept outside for sale at nominal rates. Inside, the air is fragrant with the aroma of baked goods and buttery delights. The homely decor, with its café curtains, quaint knick-knacks, retro lamps, antique wooden furniture, and benches, was designed by Neetika Daga Design and Namrata Saigal Design Atelier. Peppered with cassettes and vinyl records, posters of Bollywood classics, collages of favourite TV shows, scattered handwritten scrapbook notes, magazines and vintage artefacts, the café is an
invitation to travel back to carefree days and simpler moments. Oh, and yes, you can write letters and post them outside in the functioning mailbox.

Sinan Khader, with his uncle Salim Kader, started Nostalgia, The Old School Bakery to bring back Bandra's lost charm. Pic/Aditi Haralkar

Sinan greets us with his trademark smile, sharing how he wanted to create a place where people could leave their worries behind and reflect on the best days of their lives. "We want guests to reminisce about their childhood stories, discuss their favourite music and movies, and make new memories while cherishing the old ones. We have a couple of brands that we have started around the café culture, but we have always dreamt of an old-school bakery in Bandra. Luckily, we got this property that we thought was the perfect backdrop for a concept café that can cater to a wider audience."

Speaking of small spaces, Salim says, "Bandra is all about small spaces that have a character." Sinan adds, "It's about how you breathe life into it with every small detail - the interior, the brand story, the food you serve, the packaging." The staff, wearing berets, is memorising the menu and taking notes of operational glitches - all with a genuine smile. Looking outside as raindrops keep falling on the window pane takes you back to a time when Bandra didn't worry which plantation their coffee beans came from or how they were roasted - you just slurped the beverage, had a cake, cookie, or brownie to go with it, and made memories. The glass counter is a sight, with a tempting display of deep forest pastry, baked cheesecakes, blueberry muffins, and more reminiscent of cafés like Candies.

CHOCOLATE MUFFIN

We tried their kheema pao, which was intended to be on the go, but we would have preferred if the kheema and the pao had been served separately. The chicken patties, puff and quiche were ideal, and the chicken mayo sandwich brought back memories. We ended with Dutch pastry, which was gooey and very old-school with a rich ganache. We don't know when was the last time we sipped on Milo, Boost, Horlicks or a raspberry or lemon float - but this time, they were the perfect accompaniment to watching the world go by.

CHICKEN PATTIES

Coming from a family in the restaurant and canteen business for decades, Salim tells us, "Most old Bandra bakeries only survive on nostalgia. The quality and cleanliness of these places and the food are pretty questionable. We wanted to change that." Sinan adds, "Once we start, we will have the resident lesser-known but talented home bakers here to showcase their goods, giving them a platform and a space they can call their own." We step out to pick our raspberry float, cross the street, walk on the pavement and think of how, in all these years, Bandra has changed and not.