When we heard about Laila’s Cafe opening in Anjuna along with the fact that it’d do home-style Hyderabadi cuisine, our stereotypical mind jumped straight to conclusions, conjuring up images of an ornately done restaurant with way-too-much-velvet. Surprise surprise, we were so wrong. Laila's just opened this weekend and yes, there will be haleem and nihari but sigh, it looks so dreamy and whimsical; So Goa-like, if we may add.
Laila, a former advertising professional meets keeper of Goa secrets, often missed home food with a vengeance and sure enough, she thought, there must be more out there who echoed the sentiment. So, she decided to open a cafe to recreate recipes from her family kitchen including the likes of Paalak Ghosh, Murg Kaalimirch, Mutton Pasinde, Khatti Dal and her signature tamaatar chutney. The space had a short stint last year before it shut for expansion and now, it has resumed operations with a much larger space and more home-style goodness.
Apart from these plated meals that were well-loved in the last season, there will be haleem and nahari on the weekends. Oh, and the typical Bhahare Baigan (happy, you vegetarians?) and burhani raita.
If you’re after a heart breakfast, they’re soon going to have a menu with sandwiches, cholle puri, keema parathas, idli sambhar and more fun staples. If that’s not enough, Laila will have a store to shop for clothes, accessories, jewellery and more at the cafe. It’ll stock up local designers and stuff from Laila's own label. We hear this might take a month or so.
P.S. Loved what you ate? You can give Laila a shout to cater for your next house party.
