Restaurant Review: Ellipsis Bakery Cafe

Do the words ‘hidden gems’ kick-start your adrenaline? Do you (like me) want to always veer off the beaten and eaten path? Then today’s column will lead you to Worli and halfway down the BMC Asphalt Plant. You might just turn around and leave, feeling quite convinced that you’re at the wrong address. But if it’s an American-inspired artisanal bakery café that is your bliss, then, be persistent.
DÉCOR
We took a long while to get to it. Once there, the gabled roof cottage-like facade, the daylight-filled space charmed. Marble-topped tables, wooden floors, open bakery, cheery walls and glass panes painted with ‘Whip It’. And counters with wickedly indulgent cupcakes, desserts and more!
FOOD
Healthy. Gluten-free. Decadent. All-day lunch menu, too. We ate our way through it, bought bread, biscotti, lavash and cheese straws to take home. The lunch menu of sliders, flatbreads, quiches, sandwiches and salads served up some superb surprises. Ask for the unerringly baked chicken quiche, moist turkey sandwich (gluten-free bread option). Tasty and kissed with sweetness chicken wings. Crunchy cheese straw, beetroot lavash.
Well-dressed crunchy orange chicken salad. Gluten-free? This is your Mecca. Crunchy bread made of tapioca and black rice. Sorghum bread, another bread made only of seeds and nuts. Gluten-free desserts, too (must try chocolate ganache brownies). And then the luxuriously extravagant chocolate praline salt caramel, a masterpiece of sweet and salty. And those wickedly-indulgent cupcakes (nutella and red velvet). Heady coffee and loose-leaf teas.
MINUS
Location. Slow service. Neither dips nor croissants available. Cold coffee served warm and milky. Stodgy veg puff and chicken galette. Soggy truffle fries, too. Some of the patisserie tends to be oversweet.
MY POINT
Artisanal American-inspired bakery café. Super sized portions. There’s talent in the kitchen and a discernible commitment to the best ingredients and the most effective, preservative-free methods of preparing them. Ellipsis seems to take some of its inspiration from NYC’s David Chang and Christina Tosi’s ‘milk bar’ (bagel bombs, cracknut cookie et al). I’m a Milk Bar fan, it’s also ironic that just a few days ago (at the Worlds 50 best awards). I not only watched Christina Tosi of Milk Bar bake her crack cookies but also tasted them. And I’m happy to say that the young and talented, Sanjnaa Talwar’s Ellipsis delivers large-sized sweet joy. It also delivers balance. Between healthy and decadent items. Nostalgic and whimsical ones. Service needs fine tuning. As do some of the prices. Some items are unavailable. Oof, the location!!! It sure is hidden. But, thankfully a hidden gem!
Note: Home delivery available!