Review: Mumbai gets a new Italian-American ‘Cantina’ serving handmade pizzas and pastas along with vibes

Once, BKC used to feel like the back of beyond. But now it is the buzz of the town, and how! Not just because it is a bustling commercial district and office-goers are jostling to get home, but also because the eateries here are delivering flavours with utmost care and passion. You see it at O Pedro, Bawri, La Panthera, Hitchki, Indian Accent and more. And now, at the newly-opened Cantina in Godrej BKC. Here, you are walking into a home celebrating Italian-American cuisine. Not fusion; it is a cuisine that Southern Italians who migrated to America in the late 1800s or early 1900s gifted to the world.

At Cantina — which stands where Nho Saigon once stood — the vibes are warm, the music is bopping, and the food slaps. In its decor (by Ruchi Jani), rusty, burnt-tomato tones, mustard walls, wooden finishes, and artworks on the walls all fuse into a playful nod to what they serve. The booth bar occupies a good chunk of the room. There is also an oven and a prep station in the far right, where you can see your pizza turn into golden pies. The wooden wall showcases vinos, vases, plants, food artworks, and more. But at the centre of it all, binding the whole thing together, is an illustrated tiger in a flexible yogic pose with a quote by Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu that reads: Those who are flexible and yielding are disciples of life.

Founded by Shaurya Malwa and Yagyarth Meiwal of Origin Restaurants, the duo took all the learnings from running Nho Saigon and British taproom The Canary (both now shut) and put it into their newest venture. Their paths crossed Chef Anthony Burd’s (who serves as the Culinary Director here) in Bangkok.  Chef Tony, who is himself an Italian-American, was born and raised in New Jersey. After working across the globe and even in Michelin-starred diners, he started Tony’s.

Cantina’s food menu is concise but enough. All the ingredients, right from the 48-hour fermented dough for pizzas to cheeses to pastas to breads, are made in-house with a lot of love. We started with Housemade Whipped Ricotta topped with cranberry jam that was creamy and sweet in the right amount. The sourdough toast went smoothly with it. And, even the housemade breadsticks made polishing it off easier. The Spicy Chicken Meatball. The sauce and the chicken complemented each other well with balanced flavours. In the Crab Crostini, the toasted bread was a bit hard, and I felt the crab to be lightly seasoned. It was ritualistic to try their handmade pizzas and pastas, and we were not disappointed at all. The Sopressini Spicy Vodka Pasta had hand-rolled egg yolk pasta that was thicker than usual. The spicy vodka sauce was not spicy enough for me; I would have loved more heat. But that’s not to say it tastes bad. It is a great dish. It was the Pepperoni pizza with fiore di latte mozzarella that was a winner for the night. The crust was soft but not soggy, the pie’s crust holding tight the generous load of pepperoni. What I would skip next time will be the hot honey that somehow made some bites taste eggy and sweet to me. 

The curated cocktail program is yet again concise but packs a punch. I downed an aperitivo Campari Lemonade with ease. What I am certainly going back for is to try more of their curated cocktails with a larger gang, so that I make it a watering hole like office-goers in BKC are likely to after work.

Mumbaikars love their pizzas and pastas, so it makes it easier for them to love Cantina, too.

Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.9/5) 
Where: Unit 1-B, Godrej Bkc, Plot No C-68, G Block BKC, Bandra Kurla Complex
When: 6 pm to 1:30 am | 12 pm to 4 pm (Dec 10 onwards) | Mondays closed
Cost: Rs 3000 for two with alcohol

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