Crocinful Dessert

Yesterday morning, Schokolaade woke up with a hangover. But that was expected, considering the big launch bash it was treated to the previous night, this new dessert cafe set up at designer Anita Dongre’s Khar store. We walked in around 11 am to find Mumbai cafe staples - yellow walls, cane chairs, framed pictures of food – lying listless under a cloud of post-party fatigue. Slowly though, the torpidity wore off, the cafe rising to offer us quiches and cheese straws, shakes and truffles. The black coffee, we suggested, had better be consumed by Schokolaade to wash down the much needed aspirin.

Housed in a pretty courtyard with a view of Anita Dongre’s various label spaces, the cafe is run by ex-textile engineer Mehul Bhuta and his culinary team who dish out elegant gateaux, truffles, mini cakes and a few savouries.

On a Tight Quiche

We found a spot opposite the organically certified cotton tunics, and waited for our snacks to be heated up. The quiche arrived with a pleasant spinach and corn filling that was unfortunately walled in by a super dry crust. The staff was nice enough not to charge us for it. The olive and bell pepper pan pizza-like snack fared much better, but wasn’t something we’d crave later on. A thick choco-cherry milkshake brought the breakfast to an end, low on the cherry and high on chocolate syrup.

Saccharine Machine

The desserts looked super pretty – see cherry pie and leprechaun log cake – so there was still hope. Yum bitter-rich Bailey’s chocolate truffles set the sweet hearts off to a good start, we thought, making a mental note for Diwali gifting option. On strict instructions from the bpb office, this Scouter took home a bunch of petit fours, that as the Facebook page points out, is Schokolaade's specialty.

The chocolate tart with a rich dark chocolate filling topped with crunchy butterscotch nuts came out on top. We can't say the same about the next sweet square though, which featured an unpleasant jelly-like pineapple marmalade block perched on vanilla sponge cake and mousse with a too-heavy hand of coconut. The last of the petit fours prettily named Tart of Longing is a classic lemon tart that misses a much-needed sharp tang and comes with an almond meringue that made one of us think back to the soaked badams she was forced to eat as a child.

Whether the mediocre fare can be attributed to a post-partying productivity dip, we’re not sure. But they would need a lot more than a nice chocolate tart and a sunny yellow Grassroot frock to draw us back.

Getting there: Schokolaade at The Anita Dongre store, Bajaj Niwas, Linking Road, Khar (W), call 9930773177, view the Facebook group here, Rs 50 for a petit four.