URVIKA KANOI’s CULINARY passion brings yet another delight to the city’s gastronomes. The Daily Cafe, off Sarat Bose Road is the talk of the town for its Millennial, Minimum and Hipster vibe.
The 1,700 sq ft bistro is not just about bespoke coffee and tea but a lot more. “I wanted to get my hands into a new project after Bodega shut down. In fact, the idea of a café was already in the back of my mind. I wanted to do something different this time,” avers Urvika whose 55-seater café is divided into four zones— a spacious main area, working corners with high tables, a separate 12-seater dining space with a hot pink couch, a store with quality local produce and the outdoor space with a glass roof and a vertical garden to feel the warmth of nature. Minimum décor, with a relaxed ambience and patches of green, makes you comfortable instantly. We decided to sip our Cold Brew here which arrived with sugar syrup in a tiny wooden container. As we poured syrup to our desired sweetness into the clear glass and enjoyed the smoothness and strength of the black coffee, a Hummus plate arrived next. Garnished with a crispy and spiced chickpea and herb oil, we savoured the freshly baked pita bread at every bite with the creamy rich Middle Eastern delight.
The Eggs Mushroom Benedict that we sampled will certainly make you a fan. Topped with hollandaise sauce, the delicate egg poach perched on the English muffin and creamy mushroom spread lent an extra velvety texture to the dish. While Urvika’s finesse and attention to detail are hard to miss in these offerings, it is also worth mentioning The Daily Roast. Roasted to perfection, the creamy sauce with mushroom, baby tomatoes and herbs hit the right notes ganging up with the buttery and tender fondant potatoes. The young owner-cum-chef also surprised us with her dexterity with salmon. The Norwegian inspired recipe with a “millennial sauce, ̈ as she calls it, served with a beet purée and pickled cucumber, teased our taste buds with the succulent fillet that was crispy on the outside. For those who hold salads high on their list, the Avocado Salad with the tanginess of sundried tomatoes and olives, a seed mix, cranberries, almond and marinated feta tossed in a lemon dressing makes for a zesty super healthy bowl.
Among the spread of sinful delights in the dessert section that includes Blueberry Mille Feuille, smores, Crème Brulee and more, we opted for the semi-frozen Passion Fruit 2.0. Coated with the tropical taste of Nilgiri passion fruit sauce, the Dutch Cocoa Tarte had balanced sweet notes. The café, we are told, is inspired by bistros from around the world. Urvika says, “I am highly inspired by the chefs around the world who are doing cafés and getting into local and sustainable produce. I didn’t want to have just a handful of dishes on the menu, being a chef I wanted to represent myself on the plate. Also, I wanted Daily to have a shop so we have a store in the café with quality prod-ucts from 10 different local brands like Tea Trunk, Sleepy Owl, Blue Tokai, Dessert Queen Sanjana Patel’s La Folie,Honey Twigs, Naagin, the first hot sauce brand of India among others.” Meal for two `900 ++.
