Between the Lines in Kala Ghoda is a nice enough place to contemplate life's meaning, provided you don't bring a board game or, even worse, borrow a book from the bookstore it's housed inside, to ease your existential pain
Between the Lines in Kala Ghoda is a nice enough place to contemplate life's meaning, provided you don't bring a board game or, even worse, borrow a book from the bookstore it's housed inside, to ease your existential pain
The musty air, bookshelves wrapped in plastic and puddles on the floor of Magna Book Gallery will do nothing to rid you of melancholy.
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But if you're hoping to seek refuge from the glamour and glitz of hard sell that's virtually synonymous with bookstores these days, then the second floor of Sassoon building is worth stopping by; not as much for the bookstore itself, but for the cafe along its narrow balcony.
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| Between the Lines is located inside the Magna Book Store in Kala Ghoda. |
Peeling beige walls with what appear to be MF Husain art prints on one side, and large wooden windows warped by rain on the other, will find you Between the Lines.
Once we decided on which one of the five cane tables we wanted to contemplate the world from, we got busy chuckling over the names of the teas and coffees.
The Fatal Attraction (Rs 40) though flavourful and fragrant, proved no more fatal than cardamom tea. But if One Wild Night (Rs 40) is all you need, then request for ginger tea.
We were a trifle disappointed to find that the inspiration peters off towards the end, so if it's a cup of green tea you're craving, you'll have to request for just that. Pity! Just when it seemed we were on a roll.
A laminated insert in the four-page menu boasts the addition of pizzas, paninis, and more non-vegetarian options than originally planned, judging by the main menu.
The first part of our order arrives in the form of the Tomato, Cheese and Oregano Panini, cut into four pieces and placed ceremoniously on a yellow napkin around two small bowls of tomato and chilli sauces straight out of a bottle.
The panini is delicious juicy without being soggy the flavour of which is only heightened by its secret spice mix.
The Olive Pizza (Rs 80) arrives next (this time, we are prepared for the yellow napkin over the plate), with bubbling cheese and crowned with black olives.
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One bite and we are pleasantly surprised, in part due to the crunch of the onions. But the star of our culinary expedition would be the Slice and Dice (Rs 70).
We would happily brave a rainstorm and wade through half a foot of sludge, if we knew triangles of toasted brown bread topped with yummy cheese-and-red-chilli-paste awaited us at the end.
But despite the great food, Between the Lines is not the sort of place we'd return to in a hurry. A coffee shop that's attached to a bookstore with too many don'ts (use of laptop/ mobile phone charger prohibited, board games prohibited, reading, browsing of books prohibited) that doesn't allow its patrons to ponder life's great mysteries, seems pointless.
AT Magna Book Gallery and Nutrition Centre, Sassoon Building, 2 nd floor, 143, MG Road, Kala Ghoda.
Call 22670512.
Open daily, 10 am to 7.30 pm.
Between the Lines didn't know we were there.
The GUIDE reviews anonymously and pays for meals.
