Restaurant Review
CAFÉ ARPAN VEGETARIAN MULTI-CUISINE
“Where there is kindness, there is goodness, where there is goodness there is magic”… My favourite quote from Cinderella.
I’m an admirer. I have a big, fat, soft corner for restaurateurs who use their restaurant not just to make more and more money (nothing wrong with that) but also for a good cause. To help the differently abled.
Over the past thirty years, I’ve tracked and written about these restaurants. ‘By The Way’ (Tardeo) of SEWA Sadan for destitute women where I invited Shabana Azmi to lunch with me was one such. Indira Bodani’s ‘Gateway School’ with its on-site student café, Om Creations and SPJ Sadhana School do stellar work in the culinary field with the differently abled. Other than cheering them on, I put together and publish their recipes in a book. Prashant Issar’s Mirchi & Mime (hearing-impaired service staff) in Powai has won many of our Times Food Guide Awards, too. But ‘Café Arpan’ in Juhu is the first-of-its-kind in Mumbai. Run by the Yash charitable trust (registered NGO), it employs differently abled adults for every step of the way — from buying vegetables to helping in the cooking and serving. Sushama Nagarkar of Yash Charitable Trust whose daughter Aarti also works here, ensures that the menu is kept deliberately simple and short. It all started three years ago with a dabba service, which they still run.
DÉCOR
Very small, narrow 25-seater space. Cheery. Simple. No frills. Folding metal chairs. A counter with brownies and muffins. Team of 12 adults work in two shifts here.
FOOD
Filling. Wholesome. Served on disposable plates (made of corn waste). Short menu of 26 items curated by volunteer chef Anuj Jodhani. Pure vegetarian. Nothing costs more than `100. Ask for the Videshi Vada Pav and sink your teeth into the fluffy pao and the warm crunchy vada. Tasty, Spinach Corn & Cheese Pav with just enough moistness and crunch to the toasted bread. Mushroom & Cheese Pav worth trying, too.
Deep-fried Cheese Poppers. Sip on tasty Cold Coffee. Choice of salads, too, with spicy dressings; there’s also Special Arpan Salad. Try the Airport Wala Special Sandwich. Ask for the filling thali worth `150 with roti, sabzi, dal and rice from 12 to 3 pm.
MINUS POINTS
The menu could do with more variety. Nachos could be less soggy; ditto for the fries and lacklustre Garlic Cheese Bread. The service is very slow. Rastewala Sada Sandwich needs more punch. Oversweet eggless Brownies. Vegan Date Walnut Muffins.
MY POINT
I believe in kindness and goodness. Always have. Sure, I applaud genius and brilliance but even more I take my hat off to helpfulness and good causes. And when this not only enables employment for the differently abled and developmentally challenged but also delivers tasty, inexpensive, wholesome fare, then it’s time to cheer it on even more. The Juhu-based Chatterjee family loved Café Arpan.
“The food was simple but super. The restaurant was small but warm; the service special and the cause, wonderful,” said Siddhartha Chatterjee, a seasoned media professional. His 14-year-old son Arjun (who spends most of his time training for his tennis tournament across the country) and Namrata, his mother, (who ensures Arjun’s life runs seamlessly), too, loved the food.
Sure, Cafe Arpan is seriously small, no frills and has a short vegetarian menu. It’s open through the day and makes for a great neighbourhood cafe. It employs differently abled adults for every single aspect. It’s the first-of-its-kind in Mumbai. May its tribe increase!
Note: I got to know of it just by chance. Should you know of more such worthy causes, please do Instagram, mail tweet@rashmiudaysingh. Let’s spread magic.
Rashmi Uday Singh
The columnist visits the restaurants unannounced and pays her own bills
Feeling Good at Cafe Arpan with Arjun, Siddhartha and Namrata Chatterjee. With the Café Arpan staff Samvit Desai, Anand Jangir, Nazneen Kagalwala, Nandini Rajwade and Aarti Nagarkar
CAFÉ ARPAN VEGETARIAN MULTI-CUISINE
“Where there is kindness, there is goodness, where there is goodness there is magic”… My favourite quote from Cinderella.
I’m an admirer. I have a big, fat, soft corner for restaurateurs who use their restaurant not just to make more and more money (nothing wrong with that) but also for a good cause. To help the differently abled.
Over the past thirty years, I’ve tracked and written about these restaurants. ‘By The Way’ (Tardeo) of SEWA Sadan for destitute women where I invited Shabana Azmi to lunch with me was one such. Indira Bodani’s ‘Gateway School’ with its on-site student café, Om Creations and SPJ Sadhana School do stellar work in the culinary field with the differently abled. Other than cheering them on, I put together and publish their recipes in a book. Prashant Issar’s Mirchi & Mime (hearing-impaired service staff) in Powai has won many of our Times Food Guide Awards, too. But ‘Café Arpan’ in Juhu is the first-of-its-kind in Mumbai. Run by the Yash charitable trust (registered NGO), it employs differently abled adults for every step of the way — from buying vegetables to helping in the cooking and serving. Sushama Nagarkar of Yash Charitable Trust whose daughter Aarti also works here, ensures that the menu is kept deliberately simple and short. It all started three years ago with a dabba service, which they still run.
DÉCOR
Very small, narrow 25-seater space. Cheery. Simple. No frills. Folding metal chairs. A counter with brownies and muffins. Team of 12 adults work in two shifts here.
FOOD
Filling. Wholesome. Served on disposable plates (made of corn waste). Short menu of 26 items curated by volunteer chef Anuj Jodhani. Pure vegetarian. Nothing costs more than `100. Ask for the Videshi Vada Pav and sink your teeth into the fluffy pao and the warm crunchy vada. Tasty, Spinach Corn & Cheese Pav with just enough moistness and crunch to the toasted bread. Mushroom & Cheese Pav worth trying, too.
Deep-fried Cheese Poppers. Sip on tasty Cold Coffee. Choice of salads, too, with spicy dressings; there’s also Special Arpan Salad. Try the Airport Wala Special Sandwich. Ask for the filling thali worth `150 with roti, sabzi, dal and rice from 12 to 3 pm.
MINUS POINTS
The menu could do with more variety. Nachos could be less soggy; ditto for the fries and lacklustre Garlic Cheese Bread. The service is very slow. Rastewala Sada Sandwich needs more punch. Oversweet eggless Brownies. Vegan Date Walnut Muffins.
MY POINT
I believe in kindness and goodness. Always have. Sure, I applaud genius and brilliance but even more I take my hat off to helpfulness and good causes. And when this not only enables employment for the differently abled and developmentally challenged but also delivers tasty, inexpensive, wholesome fare, then it’s time to cheer it on even more. The Juhu-based Chatterjee family loved Café Arpan.
“The food was simple but super. The restaurant was small but warm; the service special and the cause, wonderful,” said Siddhartha Chatterjee, a seasoned media professional. His 14-year-old son Arjun (who spends most of his time training for his tennis tournament across the country) and Namrata, his mother, (who ensures Arjun’s life runs seamlessly), too, loved the food.
Sure, Cafe Arpan is seriously small, no frills and has a short vegetarian menu. It’s open through the day and makes for a great neighbourhood cafe. It employs differently abled adults for every single aspect. It’s the first-of-its-kind in Mumbai. May its tribe increase!
Note: I got to know of it just by chance. Should you know of more such worthy causes, please do Instagram, mail tweet@rashmiudaysingh. Let’s spread magic.
Rashmi Uday Singh
The columnist visits the restaurants unannounced and pays her own bills
Feeling Good at Cafe Arpan with Arjun, Siddhartha and Namrata Chatterjee. With the Café Arpan staff Samvit Desai, Anand Jangir, Nazneen Kagalwala, Nandini Rajwade and Aarti Nagarkar
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