Formerly a food delivery service, Bagelwala! is now all set to launch its first café on Turner Road, Bandra (where else?) in the first week of August, selling a dozen different kinds of hand rolled New York-style bagels and cream cheese made from scratch.

The Space

Bagelwala! will be spread across 300 square feet space (split into indoor and outdoor sections) that will have an old American bakery vibe. Expect wooden chairs and benches, and white walls where owner Sanal Nair plans to showcase Indian art. There will also be a book shelf with interesting reads, we’re told.

The Food

Sanal took a year and a half to get the Bagelwala! bagel just right – “a little chewy, dense and flavourful – hopefully like the ones at Einstein Brothers Bagel Shop in New York”. The menu will feature 12 kinds of bagels including classics like sesame and poppy seed, and other fun versions like onion garlic and cinnamon raisin, both of which are Sanal's favourites. They will also serve the Everything Bagel, which basically comes studded with all kinds of healthy seeds. The cream cheese, made from scratch, includes interesting flavours like strawberry and Cajun. They will also serve bagel sandwiches like BLT and corn cheese mushroom, along with salads and all-day breakfast.

Maybe The Bagel Shop at Pali Hill will finally pull up its socks now in the face of a competitor, change its patched upholstery, revamp its menu and put up a fight. Battle of the bagels? We're getting ringside seats!

Getting there: Bagelwala!, Crowne Palace, near Queens Market, behind Tawa Restaurant, 23rd Road, Bandra (W), call 09819014804 or view the Facebook page here. Opens first week of August.