On Monday, I was in Bandra, Mumbai, outside a yet-to-open restaurant. The floor-to-ceiling windows were covered with blinds, and the air was laden with the smell of fresh paint. A large marble table—which will be a display for fresh bread, croissants and desserts—was lit by three hanging floral lamps. A sign outside said, “Mag St. opening soon”.
I was there to speak to Gauri Devidayal, 43, the person behind this new venture. The co-founder and director of the hospitality company Food Matters Group that owns a number of brands like Mag St. and the The Table, has been on a mission to launch a restaurant in Mumbai’s café capital of Bandra for over a decade. That dream is now coming to fruition with Mag St. opening for business later this month.
In 2011, Devidayal and her husband Jay Yousuf launched the premium dining space, The Table in Colaba. They introduced concepts like farm-fresh ingredients, small plates and community table, now an inherent part of the city’s dining culture. This week, The Table completed 13 years with a menu by their new American chef Will Aghajanian. The first outlet of Mag St., formerly Mag St. Café, opened in Colaba in 2021. In the run-up to the Bandra opening, they dropped the word café from the name to position it as a casual restaurant with high-quality coffee, and a bar serving craft cocktails. The food menu offers popular dishes like pho, lobster rolls and a full English breakfast. There’s an outdoor seating area for guests with pets.
The year has started off with fresh beginnings for Devidayal. In an interview, the restaurateur talks about cafés, battling fears and the transformation in the restaurant space. Edited excerpts:
Bu hikaye Mint Mumbai dergisinin January 20, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Mint Mumbai dergisinin January 20, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
World Bank calls for reforming skills training in India
India must make a coordinated effort to reform and rebrand vocational skill training, besides aligning education with the job market, to leverage its demographic advantage to meet the $5-trillion target for its economy, the World Bank said.
FCPA cases take long to conclude after indictment
For investors keen to know the fate of billionaire Gautam Adani's indictment by US authorities, the watchword is patience.
Short-covering, relief rally add ₹7.27 trillion wealth
Markets up 2.39% to hit the highest in six months, a day after Adani's indictment
Wetter monsoon slows pace of adding new transmission lines
India's addition of new power transmission lines fell by half over a year earlier in the April-October period as a wetter-than-usual monsoon slowed work.
COP29's $1.3 tn fund plan disappoints Global South
The 29th edition of the UN climate change conference in Azerbaijan emerged from a deadlock with an annual climate finance goal of $1.3 trillion for developing countries, much to the disappointment of the Global South.
Jaguar rebrand is pink, diverse and doesn't feature any cars
Luxury automaker Jaguar is betting that a colorful and youthful rebrand will help it successfully launch fully into the electric-cars market.
Services up as manufacturing slows in Nov
The HSBC Flash India Services PMI was at 59.2 in Nov from 58.5 in Oct; manufacturing PMI fell slightly from 60.4 to 60.2
MSMED may protect medium firms too
The Centre may consider including medium enterprises for the protection granted under MSME Development (MSMED) Act, 2006, to resolve payment disputes.
Europe boosts Indian textile exports in FY25
Demand for Indian handloom, apparel partly fuelled by Bangladesh crisis
RBI nudges banks to cut speculative bet in rupee
The Indian central bank, in a rare move, instructed some banks to cut their long positions on the dollar-rupee pair on Friday, seeking to curb speculative positions with the currency at a record low, four bankers familiar with the development told Reuters.
