All-day meals at German Cafe and Bistro in New Town

Puja shopping is also an occasion to eat out for most families. And to whet this appetite, last Friday, another eatery opened in the Axis Mall complex.

German Cafe and Bistro is located to the left of the entrance to the New Town mall and being outside at the ground floor level, the 34-seater offers easy access for walk-in diners as well. It is spread across 1,300 sq ft, almost a similar area to that covered by six small counters to the right side of the entrance.

“We are confident of good response because of the prominence of the location,” said Suchismita Roy, who also runs Bite Junction, one of the six counters that is partnering the new cafe. “Bite Junction gets great footfall and repeat customers,” she added.

Keeping the shoppers in mind, the eatery has an entire selection of all-day “brinners” — meals that can be served from breakfast to dinner. These are mostly sandwiches and sausage platters with tea, coffee or fruit juice.

The eatery has German in its name not because it serves German food but because it is modelled after the famous German Bakery of Pune, that used to cater to the foreign devotees of Osho Ashram in the 90s. “Even European food is largely French and Italian cuisine. We could not have sustained an eatery with only German food,” explains Shravasti Mukherjee, one of the partners, who along with Suchismita, has devised the menu.

The menu has a European section that serves a selection of entrees like mushroom, chicken or shrimp on toast (Rs 200 or Rs 230) or Chicken Wings with Cocktail Sauce (Rs 200) and Minced Lamb Chops (Rs 300). There are soups and main courses too. “Our signature dish in this section is the Grilled Chicken with Herb Rice (Rs 300). As for our Irish Stew, we prefer to serve lamb meat in it rather than mutton,” said Shravasti.

But the eatery has not restricted itself to one continent. “Different members of a family may have different preferences. So while children can pick pizza or pasta, the mother might want Thai food while the father orders biryani,” she said.

That is why the menu has the most popular Thai dishes like Pad Thai Noodles (Rs 250 or 270 depending on whether one orders vegetarian or non-vegetarian) and Thai Red or Green Curry (Rs 250 or 300) but serves Texan-Mexican favourites like Nachos with Cheese Dip (Rs 200) or Enchiladas (Rs 250) as well.

Keema Biryani

Sourced by the correspondent

And, of course, there’s biryani too. “We are serving it Calcutta style, with egg and potato. In most places, vegetarian biryani is cooked the Hyderabadi way. But we will not deprive vegetarians. Our Paneer Dum Biryani would have the Calcutta taste too (Rs 300).” But there will be one distinction in the non-vegetarian biryani. The meat of choice will be minced. “Some like boneless pieces while others prefer with bone. We have steered clear of that by serving keema biryani (Rs 300 or 350, depending on whether it is chicken or mutton),” said Shravasti.

In fact, all dishes at German Cafe are boneless. “The only exception is Mackerel Xac Tec (Rs 200), which is a deep fried whole fish served with an Oriental sauce.”

The decision to go boneless also has to do with the aim to serve hassle-free food. “Shoppers will expectedly be in a hurry,” Suchismita said.

One of the seven partners is general surgeon Amitava Chakraborty, a resident of Sankalpa 3. “The soups and salads are healthy options,” he says. But ask him what he would order and he points to Mutton Kasha or Aloo Dam with Ghee Paratha (Rs 200 or 350), with a grin.

The place also has a private dining space at the mezzanine level. “We are keeping it open but it can be booked in advance too in case a party of 12-15 wants privacy,” said Chakraborty. A licence to serve beer has also been applied for.