Bastian Ammakai and the Taste of Memory

Walking back into the familiar curve of Linking Road, where Bastian first made its mark, feels unexpectedly emotional. The address is the same, the neighbourhood rhythm unmistakably Bandra, yet the energy inside has softened. Where the original Bastian once thrummed with high-decibel glamour, Ammakai hums with something gentler… slower, warmer, more rooted. It feels like a homecoming not just for the brand, but for anyone who has ever been fed with care rather than ceremony.

Ammakai translates to “mother’s hand,” and the idea permeates everything here. This is Karnataka soul food shaped by instinct, memory and emotion. Food that lives in kitchens rather than cookbooks. On the evening we visited, that intent was evident immediately. The room held families, quiet weekday diners and celebratory tables with ease. Even co-owner Shilpa Shetty was dining with friends and family nearby, underscoring how personal this homage to her Mangalorean Bunt roots truly is.

Service, too, carried that sincerity. Dishes were brought personally to our table by executive chefs Rinki Saha and Venkatesh Sanake, explained with warmth and pride rather than a rehearsed spiel. In a restaurant of this scale, that kind of hands-on engagement feels rare and deeply reassuring.

Where Karnataka Comes to the Table
The meal opened gently, as the menu intends. Masala Vada arrived hot and crisp-edged, fragrant with curry leaves, green chilli and fennel seed. This is truly the kind of snack that steadies both the appetite and the spirit. Sabbakki Vada followed, softer and more yielding, its sago base lifted by dill leaf, peanuts and a side of coconut chutney that tasted freshly ground.

Podi Mushroom delivered quiet brilliance with nutty peanut podi, crisp curry leaves and mushrooms cooked just enough to hold their texture. Chilli Bhaji, made with Bhavnagri chillies, came out indulgent yet balanced, stuffed and fried before being paired with tomato chutney, potato and cheese. Curry Leaf Prawns were restrained and aromatic, where butter, garlic and curry leaves did exactly what they should. No more, no less.

The deeper flavours followed. Kaima Unde, tender mutton meatballs bound with coconut and onion, tasted slow-cooked even when freshly served. Khara Boti, built around gently braised mutton shanks, balanced green chilli, mint and coriander without aggression. The Coorgi Pandi Curry was unapologetically confident. Here, pork belly enriched with Coorgi chilli, and garam masala had the unmistakable tang of kachampuli vinegar, a Coorgi kitchen essential.

Equally assured was the Mangalore Fish Curry, where kingfish swam in a coconut-based gravy sharpened with Byadgi chilli, coriander and tamarind. Yennegai Badanekai offered comfort and complexity in equal measure — baby brinjals stuffed with coconut and peanut, simmered gently with curry leaves. Ghee Rice, fragrant and clean, studded with toasted cashew nuts, tied everything together without demanding attention.

Cocktails That Speak the Same Language
The drinks menu mirrors the kitchen’s sensibility — recognisable forms filtered through a South Indian lens. Sulaimani Chaisour was quietly compelling: Indian single malt whisky infused with English breakfast tea, jaggery, ginger and warm spices, lifted with lemon and a saline note. It tasted spiced, aromatic and contemplative.

Back to School leaned playful and nostalgic — white rum brightened with lemon and jamun kala khatta syrup, served over shaved ice. Cool, tangy and instantly evocative, it felt like childhood summers captured in a glass.

The Majjige Menasinkai Curd Rice gin cocktail took a far more contemplative turn, translating one of Karnataka’s most comforting meals into liquid form. Creamy, gently tangy and faintly savoury, it is layered yoghurt with subtle rice notes, tempered spices and a whisper of curry leaves and mustard. It wasn’t a gimmick so much as a mood — soothing, grounding and deeply familiar, much like the dish that inspired it.

Cold Tomato Rasam followed with clarity and restraint. Bright tomato acidity met the gentle heat of black pepper, the depth of tamarind and the quiet perfume of coriander, served chilled and sharply refreshing. This gin-mezcal libation was like a palate cleanser and a memory at once — light, spiced and surprisingly elegant, proving that even the humblest home staple can be transformed without losing its soul.

Together, the cocktails didn’t compete with the food; they conversed with it — thoughtful extensions of the kitchen’s philosophy rather than distractions from it.

Sweet Endings, Done Thoughtfully
Dessert stayed true to the restaurant’s emotional core. Banana Halwa, rich with jaggery and nuts, offset by coconut ice cream and a whisper of sea salt, felt celebratory without excess. But it was the Filter Coffee Soft Serve, a creation by executive pastry chef Dhiraj Jhankar, that lingered longest. Smooth, aromatic and unmistakably South Indian, it distilled the comfort of a steel tumbler of filter coffee into a quietly brilliant frozen form.

What Bastian Ammakai achieves is not reinvention for novelty’s sake, but respect. For Karnataka’s mothers, for Bunt and Mangalorean kitchens, and for the Bandra address that shaped the Bastian story. The glamour remains, but it now steps aside for feeling.

In a city populated with concepts chasing spectacle, Ammakai chooses memory. And in doing so, feels refreshingly new!