Rost

Bandra’s home to several firsts – skaters’ parks, matcha bars and physical comic stores – and it now adds a French toast and coffee bar to the list. Meet Rost – pronounced like toast – a portmanteau of roasted coffee and, of course, French toast. 

Rost sits in an upscale Khar neighbourhood, the barest distance from Khar SOCIAL and Sweeney, its facade a welcome and slightly subdued change, the ombre pink-to-orange gradient fitting into whatever it is Bandra stands for. 

The food at Rost

The menu obviously centres around French toast, but in a way that questions its place as a breakfast-only item. Here, it’s available throughout the day, reimagined by MasterChef India finalist and Development Chef Karishma Sakhrani in its various forms. 

The menu’s incredibly compact – eight savoury and five sweet French toast varieties, plus four sandwich options (all made with in-house brioche bread) and four sides, all made of potato. 

Nashville – skin-on fries and crispy fried chicken along with slaw and pickles – was an excellent choice because it woke up my palate. The house-made hot sauce lends its fieriness from various chillies and peppers to the dish. Chiliheads would rejoice.

The brioche, the vegan protagonist in all the toasts they have, is tenacious despite the many toppings layered on it. In nepo baby, the mushrooms’ creaminess and the spring onions’ faint pungency created a mélange of taste, but the brioche's soft centre held on tight. An impressive tornado egg omelette sitting atop the toast in eggs fury was layered with crispy chilli oil and chives and totally slaps. And the ube coconut, with its ube cream and coconut ice cream on a soft brioche, made a sinful confection I may just reorder.

The beverages at Rost

The ‘ro’ in Rost that comes from roasted coffee is taken seriously here. Except for one blend that’s from Boujee Cafe, the rest are all handpicked and meticulously sourced from estates in Karnataka under very specific instructions. 

On offer are the classic lattes, flat whites, cappuccinos, and mochas, along with cold brews and manual brews. Flavoured matchas and blancs enjoy a separate subhead. But it’s their special ROST series where the most amount of experimentation is done – rost affogato comes with French toast chunks, and toasted brioche latte with French toast sticks.

The V60-poured pitchia with 100 percent arabica beans had a fresh, citrussy touch to it. The pistachio matcha wasn’t overtly sweet but still couldn’t convert me into a matcha-maniac. 

Founders (and cousins) Param Arora and Abhishek Chaurasia’s decision to go micro-artisanal and niche seems to be a good break from the many cookie-cutter cafes and coffee shops of Bandra. At least, that’s how you have a chance to stand out. 

The vibe at Rost

A humble 22-seater, Janhvi Multani and Ayaan Multani of Studio arQ turn the 450 sq ft space into a brutalist canvas while keeping minimalism at the forefront.

But there’s a warmth to the place, thanks to the aforementioned orange hues (orange happens to be first-time restaurateur and co-founder Param Arora’s favourite colour) that you spot across the seating, ceiling signage, and behind the coffee bar, complementing the bareness of the concrete walls well. 

Time Out tip: Vegans may feel a bit out of place at this one.