The Gallery Cafe in Banjara Hills is an art project unto itself. All the elements – the food, music, decor, events – weave in seamlessly into the overarching narrative — one of art, aesthetics, and culture. Walls host paintings of upcoming contemporary artists, books line shelves, the tables, and chairs are handcrafted, and everything’s on sale (you can literally buy the hand-painted furniture). We also love the fact that the cafe is built around an actual tree (part of the decor). You can shop for art prints and other knick-knacks at the little store right outside the gallery space. This is also where you can gawk at interesting art via regular shows.
Everything on the menu is vegetarian. We opened with a Pineapple Sorbet — more of a palate cleanser, preparing us for the tasting ahead. The Quinoa Salad, earthy, bracing, and a smorgasbord of texture is mild on purpose. Tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, capsicum, coriander, lettuce, and quinoa, collaborating to give you an instant lift. The iced Chillo Coffee drizzled with chocolate is like a dopamine spike (highly recommended)! On to the mains – enter Cordon Bleu, flavoured rice, coconut curry, and a mammoth vegetable cutlet. The creamy, peppery, coconut curry with corn, cauliflower, beans, and carrots could be a standalone dish by itself. The Trio of Dips stars a salsa (light, loaded with flavour), hummus, and Alfredo sauce (a creamy heavyweight), and come with Melba bread toasted with hints of garlic. All the loaves are baked fresh in-house. We also tried the Funky Veggie Lover – a thin crust, white sauce based pizza, topped with mushrooms, jalapeños, capsicum, onions, and olives. The white sauce is a nice departure from the traditional tomato. Minutes before curtain call, we were regaled with some wispy Affogato (ice cream with a shot of espresso) gleefully splashed with chocolate sauce. Phew! We regret nothing.
