Rustom’s Café & Bakery | Food & Fun

Rustom's Cafe and Bakery 13 - Mango Golguppas and Hands

Meeting new people, an UNO tournament, listening to Beatles and Parsi Food, the stuff that makes a perfect Sunday.

How I found my perfect place to host an Uno Tournament/ Eatstory M_Eat Up?

As a food blogger I eat out way often than other people usually would. Lately, it had started to feel like work, than just some fun activity. However, my visit to Maharashtra Sadan with my friends, made me realize that I can invite companions to share some food and some amazingly cherished moments of togetherness, learning something new along the way, every time.

So, I felt like inviting a handful of friends (and friends of friends) for an UNO (the cards game) Tournament accompanied by some great food. Or, as we call it – Eatstory M_Eat Up.

However, finding a perfect place is always a challenge. Most places are crowded on weekends and some, which are empty, have nothing special to offer, in terms of food. So, I kept the idea on hold for a while.

I had been looking forward to visiting Rustom’s café & Bakery at Khoj Studio in Khirki Extension (where Chill & Chai existed), for the longest time. For two reasons, one that I love Parsi food and second, that I really admire the work Kainaz and Rahul have done in the past.

I finally managed to pay a brief visit to the place and fell in love with this quaint little café. The vintage victorian-esque interiors, the Beatles playlist in the background and playful vibe of the place, instantly enamored me. I loved the vintage style Grandma’s weighing scale and Victorian crockery. Furthermore, to my utter delight, my Akoori on Toast was delicious. I can say this without much hesitation that I am currently crushing over Akoori. This silky, soft, creamy preparation of eggs is sheer joy on a plate. Served with toasted bread, it had a mild flavour of garlic, coriander, garam masala, pepper, salt, onion, tomato and butter. Though, the portion looked deceptively small, it was filling nonetheless.

And the Vada Pav that Gurjas had ordered was good too. Big, freshly fried vadas with a crunchy thin coating on top, served with dry garlic powder, fried chili and green mint chutney, this was really tasty. However, the potato filling wasn’t spicy enough for Gurjas’s liking. I, on the other hand, did not have any such complaints. Though I quite liked it, SodaBottleOpenerwala’s Vada Pav does edge past this, in flavour and zing. I also loved the home-styled Dhaniya-Pudina chutney, with no curd or vinegar (what most restaurants serve). This was just fresh mint-coriander finely minced and seasoned with salt, sugar and lemon juice. The sweet, salty flavour was refreshing and gave the vada pav a multilayered whiff of flavour.

It had started to rain outside, when a wonderfully warm Mawa Cake was served on our table. The sweet cake was made from semolina (mawa), flour, butter, sugar and cardamom flavoured milk and garnished with nuts.

Simple and homelike, it almost felt like sitting at home and having a cake made by Grandma. I would choose it over a macaroon or mousse any day. Always.

While I was leaving, I saw UNO and other board games kept at the counter. I couldn’t contain my happiness. I had found my perfect den to host my UNO tournament. Devika, the best and most efficient restaurant manager I have ever met, was game for the idea and just like that I was ready to host another wonderful day of food, friends and fun.

The Funday Sunday – UNO tournament/Eatstory M_Eat Up:

Rupasana, Aditya, Shubham, Shrabana, Saurabh, Gurjas and I were all set with our draw 4s and thus began the epic battle of UNO. Though, we were busy sneaking a peep into each other’s cards and plotting and planning, we kept gorging on food as well.

Kheema Pao, Chili Cheese Toastie, Garlic Coriander Scrambled eggs, Buff Cutlet Pao, Mango Gol Gappas, Dark Chocolate coffee Cake, Iced Coffee, Pallonji Lemon Soda.

Just like me, Akoori has charmed Saurabh too. Hence, he ordered Akoori on Toast, which he loved. And, of course we had again ordered for Vada Pav, well because our trip wouldn’t be complete without eating that.

Aditya’s Garlic Coriander scrambled eggs had a strong garlic aroma. I was getting enticed by the smell, while it was being cooked. With a runny consistency and flavour of fresh coriander, the eggs tasted delicious. The eggs had an aroma like roux, which was perfectly paired with buttered Pao. This was comfort on the plate with all the butter, milk, eggs and garlic. Something one can hardly go wrong with.

Then came the simple, homelike Chili Cheese Toast, was served with Potato Wafers. This was childhood on a plate. The cheese sandwich with buttered bread, was grilled to perfection. The seasoning was mild, which I liked simply because it was salty, buttery, cheesy and homelike. However, it may not be ideal to order, if you’re looking for a gourmet experience.

And If I were asked to go back to this place just for one dish, it would be Buff Cutlet Pao.

I am huge fan of Kheema Pattice, they serve at Rustom’s Parsi Bhonu and this was just as good. The cutlet had minced meat, mixed with spicy potato filling with a thin semolina coating and was served with mint chutney and pao. It was coated in egg, before deep-frying. The meat was juicy and tender and I don’t think we let Shubham eat his cutlet in peace, as we kept digging in for more.

Then wanting to try something spicy, Gurjas ordered for Kheema Paodelicious spicy minced mutton flavoured and cooked with salt, sugar, chilies and Parsi vinegar. This was so yummy that we actually stopped our game to eat it. The umami flavour of this Kheema was terrific. Meaty, juicy, spicy and sweet the kheema was delicious. It’s really hard to pick my favourite dish of the day.

We also had Mango Golgappas, a novel concept of mango cream filled inside a crunchy salty golgappa, garnished with fresh mango and icing sugar dusted on top. This was crunchy, sweet, creamy, fruity, and salty, all at the same time. This could be an instant hit with kids.

Speaking of that, I think we all felt extremely happy digging into the moist, soft, gooey Dark Chocolate Coffee Cake. A portion of simple sponge with no cream or ganache, this was too good to be true. The mild coffee flavour took this chocolate sponge to a whole new level.

We ended up playing Bluff and Dumb Charades apart from UNO.

Rupasana made the contest more interesting by giving Kismi, Parle and Mango Bites toffee in prize after each round. Being a drama teacher, she really helped her team do better in Dumb Charades. Aditya, who was in my team, had already admitted that he couldn’t act. Nevertheless, he tried and gave us few laughs. Well, to his rescue there was Shrabana, who perhaps gave him a run for his money. Even though I met them for the first time, I felt I had known them for long. Also, I don’t think playing Bluff would have been so much fun, without Shubham, who really struggled to catch up with the rules of the game.

We also had Irani Chai, Pallonji Lemon Soda, Iced Coffee and Green Tea. Their coffee is sourced from Blue Tokai Coffee Roastery and Tea from Anandini Himilayan Tea. And of course the delicious Shrewsberry Biscuit, which are sourced from Kayani Bakery in Pune. The menu has Parsi and Bombay Specialties. While Rustom’s Parsi bhonu is perfect for a complete meal, the café is a great place to catch up with friends over some tea and snacks. It gives you café food such as Bhel, Cutlets, Muska Buns etc.

Not only did we enjoy the games and food, but also the nonchalant vibe of the place. Devika was the perfect host and helped us guess some of the movies as well. I can’t thank Kainaz, Devika and the staff at the café for giving us a day filled with joy and delicious food.

Now I am looking for newer ideas to host another Eatstory M_Eat up. Because, eating together and sharing can be the ultimate strong source of happiness.

Address: S17, Khirki Ext Rd, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi, Delhi 110012

Contact011 30806311


In a nutshell:

Location: In case, you choose to walk from Select City Walk, cross the road on to the opposite side. Then, take the narrow dilapidated road leading to Khirki Ext. After about 50 metres, you would see a Sai Baba Mandir. Take a left BEFORE the mandir. You might feel that you are going wrong, but believe me, that’s the way. In less than 100 metres, on to the right, you would see a distinctive white building, with some signboards saying ‘Khoj’. You’ve arrived.

Atmosphere: With pretty victorian-esque interiors, the café is the perfect place to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Service: Devika, the manager is superb at her job and heads a small team of courteous and efficient staff.

Food: A small yet well thought out menu. If you love Parsi and Bombay Specialities, then this should be your haunt. Also, it’s very easy on the pocket. The bill came up to Rs 1900 approximately.

Must HavesAkoori on Toast, Buff Cutlet Pao, Mawa cake, Chocolate Coffee Cake, Kheema Pao

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