Comfort food gets an Art Deco home

When asked what your comfort food is—something hot or cheesy or carby that instantly makes you feel better—your answers could range anywhere from mountain-special Maggi noodles to Kolkata rolls and Eggs Kejriwal, depending on where you’re from or what you grew up eating. But almost never do you imagine eating this food that you never tire of in a space decked with walls that look straight out of The White Lotus.

That’s what catches my eye when I step into the newly opened NMACC Theatre Cafe at the Swadesh store in Mumbai, a luxurious spin-off to the compact cafe that opened at Jio World Centre in BKC earlier this year. When interior designer Ashiesh Shah was recruited to design the space, he decided to panel the walls with a pastoral-themed fabric and then hand-embroider it with storks and deer for some showstopping flair. The walls are dotted with paintings from the shop floor (and are all available for sale); there’s a shola artwork from West Bengal that’s delicately carved from the bark of a tree.

It’s the perfect backdrop to a cosy 23-seater cafe that is housed on the first floor of a store that is designed to be a window to India’s rich crafts. That the space is located inside one of the city’s most well-known Art Deco buildings—Churchgate’s iconic Eros Cinema—has also made the designer think of clever nods to the design movement, which you’ll spot in its glass doors, brass arches, curved wooden lighting, and the geometric-pattern trimmings on the ceiling.

The cafe, set to open to public on October 18, may look expensive but unfolds a menu of unpretentious Indian dishes that are easy on the palate and light on the wallet (most dishes range between ₹200-₹600).

“We wanted to focus on comfort Indian food from the different states of India,” explains Pallav Singhal, head of food and beverage at NMACC. Chef Joy Bhattacharya, the head of culinary services at the Jio World Convention Centre, conceptualised the menu, which features Mumbai street eats like cheese pav bhaaji, bhel puri, and batata puri alongside pan-India favourites like kathi rolls, Amritsari chholey bhature and even Maggi.

But this isn’t just hill-station Maggi. Here, it comes with toppings like scrambled eggs, keema-mattar, and spring veggies. There’s also Madras curried mac and Cheese, a twist on the classic.

The snacks often bring the unfamiliar to the familiar. The avocado sev puri, for instance, is dotted with little beads of balsamic vinegar caviar. The tender Koliwada chicken tikka comes in the shape of a cheddar sourdough toasty that is crisp and buttery. The star dish of the meal, which Singhal highly recommends, proves to be the anda keema paratha.

The menu is perfect for a post-movie snack or a mid-buying-spree reprieve, but also for a short break if you’re just looking to escape the chaos of the city momentarily. And next month, once the cafe’s wine and beer license is issued, you can even step here, post work, to order a pint of beer to go with your nibbles.

In the coming months, the NMACC Theatre Cafe plans to include monthly drops of lesser-known home recipes from each of 28 states of India—whether it is a comforting curry from Bihar or a pickle from Assam. Singhal cites the example of the zero-oil nimbu ka aachar that, he tells me, is from his mother’s home in Lucknow.

It’s not just light bites; the mains section features a homestyle chicken and potato curry that, accompanied by a perfectly crisp Malabar paratha, delivers as promised.

Even if you can’t stay long, just order the mishti doi—it’s that melt-in-your-mouth, gently caramelised, not-too-sweet dessert that feels like home, even if you’re not from Bengal. And such comfort is their goal—only here, it comes with a sprinkling of granola and is brought to you as you sink into a cushy high-back chair.

Address: NMACC Theatre Cafe at Swadesh, Eros Cinema, Cambata Building, 42, M Karve Road, Churchgate, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400020

Meal for two: ₹1,500

Timings: Monday to Sunday: 11 am to 11 pm