Trying out Sequel Bistro & Juice Bar

With the increasing gravitation towards healthy living in Mumbai, it’s no surprise that restauranteurs are receiving the memo that health-based cafes/restaurants are highly in demand.  During the middle of 2016, Sequel Bistro & Juice Bar opened up in Bandra.  It almost immediately took my fancy after hearing about the restaurant’s approach.  As listed on the menu, Sequel uses alternative nutritious grains such as organic buckwheat, brown rice sorghum and oat four, natural nuts and super seeds, organic palm sugar.  Each ingredient has been sourced from the ‘far corners of the world’ (Himalayas, Peru, Mexico, Thailand and more) to create what we call ‘world food” with simple, yet bold flavours.  The food served is completely free from gluten & refined sugar. Although I am not one to turn my nose up against either foods, I appreciate Sequel’s focus on high-quality ingredients. 

Thanks to a lovely client-turned-friend who kindly took me out for lunch last week, I finally had the opportunity to tick it off my never-ending Mumbai Restaurant Bucket List. Quaintly situated on Pali Hill, I was almost certain I would love it as soon as I saw the stunning spread of baked items on the bar countertop.  Browsing the menu and deciding what to order was no easy feat.  With every dish sounding better than the last, we decided to order a few dishes to share between us.  First up were the Kale Chips (Oven baked with garlic, lime, Himalayan pink salt).

Anyone who has made kale chips before will agree that there is a fine line between ‘perfectly crisp‘ and ‘just burnt‘.  Fortunately these were the former.  The kale chips were soon followed up by:

• Autumn Afternoon (Organic tender kale, organic grated carrots, organic baby zucchini, organic roasted chickpeas, red cabbage, organic pomegranate, barrel aged feta – Organic extra virgin olive oil, raw honey, lime, sumac dressing)

• Rustic Garden (Himalayan organic brown rice, organic Peruvian black quinoa with mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes cherry tomatoes in organic baby kale, organic sunflower seed, Roman sun-dried tomato pesto)

• Piece of Cake 2 (Oven roasted organic proso millet, organic baby spinach, organic fresh herbs, green peas cakes – Served with smashed Hass avocado, harissa sauce)

While there is room for improvement with the service at Sequel, the overall meal was on point – fresh, wholesome & extremely hearty.  Truth be told, I don’t always love to eat at health food-based cafes.  Often times the food tends to lack flavour and/or wow factor despite the glowing menu description & hefty price tag.  Psychologically I’m left wanting more.  Fortunately this was not an issue at Sequel.  I especially loved the contrasting textures and flavours that each dish packed in. My only complaint (other than the fact that it’s an hour drive away from me) is not leaving enough room for dessert.  But hey there’s always next time…especially as I couldn’t possibly think of anything dreamier than an almond milk cappuccino paired with one of their vegan Chocolate Lust Cookies (Organic Peruvian cacao almond butter cookie with 80% dark organic stone ground Mexican chocolate chips, raspberries)- YUM!

Which restaurant did you last eat at?

What’s your take on health food-based cafes?