Two friends and a cookie

When life gives you lemons

Bandra may be Mumbai's dessert capital, but it is also one of its toughest neighbourhoods to crack. High rents, fierce competition and ever-changing trends mean even the smallest café is a gamble. Yet, two friends from Andheri decided to bet on cookies.

Two years ago, Natasha Nazir and Farheen Khan launched CrumbleDoh as an online dessert brand, steadily building a loyal following for their handcrafted bakes. This June, they leapt into retail with Not Far, their first brick-and-mortar café tucked away off Pali Hill.

The small space brings together speciality cookies, playful cupcakes and speciality coffee, marking the duo's transition from an online success story to one of Bandra's newest neighbourhood cafés. "What we offer is niche, so we don't fear competition. Our ingredient-first philosophy is reflected in a menu built around premium chocolate, fresh in-house baking and original recipes," says Khan.

While the space may not be designed for lingering conversations, you can go for afternoon catch-ups and to discover something new with every visit. We dropped by on a rainy afternoon to try their interactive Botox Cupcakes. You need to inject the paired liquid into the cupcake for some added drama. The Mango Drip (Rs 260), Banana Misu (Rs 280) and Double Chocolate with Olive Oil (Rs 320) lived up to the hype. In cookies, we tried When Life Gives You Lemons (Rs 290); The New OG with Vanilla Icecream (Rs 420) and Misu Kie (Rs 290) that were gooey and melt in mouth. We washed it down with Oat Milk Brown Butter Latte (R380) and Strawberry Milk (Rs 130)

Botox cupcake

An element of surprise is their Secret Palette Cleanser, offered with the purchase of two desserts. A slice of chilli cheese brioche bread with, a spoon of gochujang butter and one of smoky butter.

The duo intend to keep updating their menu but it will always remain small batch. We left with a box of cookies, a loaf of chilli cheese brioche bread; a caffeine high and the feeling that this isn't trying to be the next big Bandra café. It knows exactly what it wants to be: a tiny neighbourhood spot making desserts with personality. In a market crowded with lookalikes, that confidence might just be its biggest differentiator.

WHERE: Ground Floor, Isabella House, Pali Village, Bandra West