Tucked away in the bylanes of Lake Gardens is this hidden gem called Colab — a cafe focusing on artisanal coffee that has garnered popularity among coffee lovers in the city. The 1,400sq ft cafe with outdoor and indoor seating areas is Vinay Manglani’s second cafe venture after Marbella’s, with Natasha Suri, who hails from an event planner background. While Natasha has been the person behind the decor of the cafe that shows a fine aesthetic sensibility right from the entrance, Vinay’s agenda is to focus on delving deeper into the coffee world with artisanal brews.
The duo have a common aim too — focusing on sustainability. ‘‘The decor of the cafe is very clean and fuss-free. We have let the existing natural beauty of the cafe stay as it is, especially in the exterior. The walls are rugged and untouched, the tree we have kept as it is, only added these amazing cane lamps and chairs we picked from Santiniketan. We also serve water from glass bottles and aim to discard plastic as much as we can,” explained Natasha.
What made Vinay open another cafe brand? “I wanted to do speciality coffee, which is small-scale, boutique and very intimate experience, which I think the city was missing. Here we use good milk from free-range cows, which is full fat, lasts only two days and is homogenised. We make vegan in-house milk because our idea is to not use any preservatives. We use this especially for our coffees because nothing can beat the taste and texture of the coffee. We source our coffees also organically straight from the farmers and use something called coffee water (inset; epicurean bottled water) that costs us way more but we want to do away with plastic bottles and wanted to include a niche factor,” said Vinay Manglani.
What: Colab — Artisanal Coffee
Where: 164/9/1 Prince Anwar Shah Road, Lake Gardens
Timings: 10.30am to 10.30pm
Pocket pinch: Rs 700 for two
The 15-seater indoor space is done up with bricked walls and filament lights that lend a warm tone to this section that also houses the coffee station helmed by coffee consulting partner Rahul Dhankani.
“I have stayed in farms at Chikmagalur and learned how coffee is harvested, processed, brewed. What kind of coffee beans garner what flavours due to its environment etc and I want to talk about these and bring that idea and share with the coffee lovers. We are looking at building a community,” explained Vinay.
“Our bakery is also one point we want to highlight because we do everything in-house and made from the scratch. Desserts to breads, everything and have gluten-free options,” added Natasha.
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The salad section boasts of Modern Caprese Salad that is loaded with fresh cherry tomatoes tossed in a tart balsamic vinegar and pesto sauce and loaded with bocconcini cheese balls that balance the citric quotient.
We were blown away with one bite of this Classic Pepperoni Pizza. This Naples-style pizza has a home-made dough with a fail-proof topping of tomato, pork salami, basil and mozzarella.
The cafe’s bakery standards can be measured by items such as Profiterole, a bite-size French choux pastry ball with mascarpone cheese, whipped cream, coated with chocolate and topped with strawberry.
Flaky outside, warm inside — the Danish Pastry glazed with fresh strawberry compote is recommended in the dessert section. Perfectly layered, this one looks fit for Instagram too!
Spinach & Ricotta Cream Ravioli is made in a delicious and thick white sauce, drizzled with olive oil. The sauce is creamy and has a nutty taste.
Creamy, luscious and cooked to perfection sums up Carbonara — the classic spaghetti, bacon, Parmesan and parley dish.
Creamy Avocado Bruschetta with Egg Devil is a great way to kick-start your morning because this one is healthy and has the right dose of protein.
The cafe serves a batch of manual brew coffees. We savoured the flavourful Chemex hot coffee. Pour Over, Aeropress and French Press are the other options with a choice of hot or cold brew.
Tea lovers can relax after a long day at work with a refreshing cup of Strawberry Green Tea. Tastes and smells yum!
Pictures: Rashbehari Das
