Meginlands Cafe in Kakkanad offers a great space to dine on continental specials

The recent Indiegaga Music Festival in the city was quite a millennial hub. The first comment I heard about the pop-up outlet set up in the grounds by Meginlands Café & Multi Cuisine Restaurant was—“what a convoluted name.” So, I clear this confusion when I visit their month-old brick-and-mortar store in Kakkanad.

“The name is pulled from Icelandic and means continental. Two of us did a project at Leeds Marriott Hotel in the UK as a part of our Masters and later decided to become foodpreneurs,” says co-owner Mubarak Palasseri, speaking for his partners Mohammed Shafiqurrehman and Suhail Shahul Hameed.

Beginners in the industry, the trio is quite ambitious with their 4,000 sqft space, separated into a café, a PS4 gaming centre, and restaurant spread across two floors. The menu also reflects their aspiration, revealing multiple cuisines including East Asian and Indian, alongside a separate drinks card and café specials like burgers.
 

Calm respite
The founders have given their interiors some thought. The first floor of this 60-cover restaurant sports large glass windows overlooking the street and their spacious parking area (which can accommodate up to 30 cars).

Besides the facade is a row of tables for two laid out under hanging lanterns and I am sure that the place is going to be a hub of couples from Infopark and Rajagiri, both of which are located close by. This fact only gets reaffirmed as they start serving with an Afghani tandoori chicken—a single large piece with a crispy fluffed-up coating of beaten eggs and creamy interiors filled with coriander leaves.

Not to ignore the café menu completely, I try a pan-fried mushroom burger served with thousand island sauce. It has a soft patty held together by cheese and might not be for those hardcore non-vegetarians. Instead, try their thin crust beef pizza thickened with a layer of goat milk mozzarella. 
 

In-house creations
Chef Hemanth Patra—who has has been in the game for two decades—chooses two dishes off the main menu: melanzane parmigiana and Mediterranean beef lasagne. The former has grilled eggplant and zucchini served in sour marinara sauce and leaves a light spicy tingle on the tongue.

“We make all our sauces in-house,” says the chef. The layers in the lasagne—served with balsamic vinegar—include minced beef, spinach, and three kinds of cheese such as parmesan and mozzarella. “We’re offering a customised buffet for those who pre-order,” says Mubarak.

“Soon we’ll add more Arabic and North Indian dishes on the menu and hope to expand to more locations in due course of time.” My appetite questions me on the need for a thick banana-strawberry smoothie after such a meal, but I indulge in it nevertheless.
 

Restaurant open from 11 am to 11 pm