Lovefools Bandra Turns Ten with a Reinvention Rooted in Umami

Nikita Nikalje
2 days ago
5 min read

There are restaurants you visit, and then there are restaurants that quietly shape how you eat. Lovefools Bandra belongs firmly to the latter. Tucked into a heritage bungalow in Ranwar, Bandra West, it has never tried to announce itself loudly. Instead, it has built a following through flavour that lingers, conversations that stretch, and meals that feel personal. Ten years in, Lovefools Bandra is not celebrating with nostalgia. It is evolving.

Private dining table at Lovefools Bandra featuring vintage chandelier and floral wall art

This January, Lovefools Bandra unveils its most considered reinvention yet. Refreshed interiors. A completely reimagined menu. And one guiding philosophy that runs through every plate, umami as emotion, not ingredient.

At the centre of it all is Sarita Pereira, a chef whose journey into food never followed the usual script. A decade ago, she walked away from advertising with no culinary degree, no restaurant pedigree, and no safety net. What she did have was a deep belief in flavour, and the instinct that food could be a form of expression as layered as any campaign she had ever worked on.

A decade of Lovefools Bandra, and why it still matters

Lovefools Bandra began as something intimate and experimental. Long tasting menus. Communal tables. Strangers becoming friends over plates that felt playful but precise. Over the years, the restaurant has grown, adapted, and refined itself, but it has never chased trends or tried to be everything to everyone. That consistency is what makes this tenth year feel significant. The new chapter at Lovefools Bandra is not a reinvention for novelty’s sake. It is a distillation of everything the space has been building towards. The menu now revolves around umami, not as a buzzword or a single flavour note, but as a feeling. The kind that makes you pause mid-bite. The kind that stays with you long after the table has been cleared.

Umami as emotion, not ingredient

Bar at Lovefools Bandra with hanging plants, warm lighting, and curated spirits display

At Lovefools Bandra, umami is not shorthand for soy or miso. It is approached as a slow, layered build. Ageing. Fermentation. Reduction. Roasting. Techniques that allow savouriness to unfold gradually and linger. Chef Sarita speaks about umami the way some people speak about memory. It is a catalyst. Something that accelerates flavour rather than overpowering it. Over the years, Lovefools has quietly built a growing library of over forty umami elements. Ferments. Cultures. Reductions. Oils. Each one developed in-house, each one treated like a living component rather than a static recipe.

Step into the kitchen and it feels less like a production line and more like a flavour studio. Mustard-achari bases ferment patiently. Chillies age until their heat softens into depth. Fruit vinegars are brewed in small batches. Cultured dairy, saline drops, quick pickles, infused oils. None of these are garnish. They are the foundation.

The new menu at Lovefools Bandra

The new menu reads like a confident, tightly edited expression of everything Lovefools Bandra has learned over ten years. Dishes are indulgent without being heavy. Familiar, but quietly subversive.

The Brie Brioche arrives molten and unapologetic. Twice-baked Eleftheria brie, roasted black garlic, parmesan butter. It is rich, yes, but more importantly, it is balanced. The kind of dish that reminds you why restraint matters even in indulgence.

Handmade pasta dish at Lovefools Bandra showcasing umami-driven European flavours

The Umami Bomb omelette leans into Japanese technique. Soft, custardy, filled with Parmigiana, and finished tableside with a savoury soy-chilli broth. It is theatrical in the gentlest way, meant to be experienced slowly. Across the menu, depth builds through dishes like Belper Knolle Pepper Chicken, Gambas Al Ajillo, and Malabar Chicken Sukkha. Aged cheeses, fermented chillies, deep Maillard roasts. These are flavours that have been given time to develop, not rushed to the pass.

The Truffle Orange Miso Oyster Fried Rice anchors the menu as a glossy, sauce-led indulgence. The Umami Caesar Salad rethinks a classic through tonkatsu butter and parmesan-glazed mushrooms, offering savoury satisfaction without excess. Progressive Indian flavours remain central. Kerala pepper chicken reimagined with aged cheese. Toddy-shop beef chilli dry refined into a bar bite that still holds its soul. Rajasthani dal baati presented as a tart. Goan rechad butter plated as a signature rather than a side note. At Lovefools Bandra, Indian flavours are not fused. They are focused.

Baked cheese dish at Lovefools Bandra highlighting indulgent umami-focused comfort food

Dessert continues the philosophy of balance and depth. Lovefools’ house-made Rakkaudella Chocolate, crafted from single-origin cacao sourced from Idukki, appears across desserts like Kochi Tres Leche, Decadent Raspberry Chocolate, and Orange Chocolate Pastel. Sweetness is present, but always grounded. Cocktails are being added to this narrative, designed to echo the menu’s savoury lean and layered thinking.

An intimate, design-led space

The reinvention of Lovefools Bandra extends beyond the plate. The interiors now reflect the same sense of maturity and confidence as the menu. Deep burgundy walls set the tone. Hand-painted florals soften the space. Plush, jewel-toned seating invites you to stay longer than planned. Lighting is warm and deliberately low, casting a glow over polished wood, vintage finishes, and soft botanicals.

Intimate dining corner at Lovefools Bandra with burgundy seating and hand-painted floral mural

The bar sits like a jewel box at the heart of the room, framed by hanging greens and reflective surfaces. Ornate chandeliers add a sense of old-world romance without tipping into excess. Every detail feels intentional. Nothing feels staged. It is the kind of space that feels grown-up without being formal. Seductive without trying. Luxe, but lived in.

The philosophy behind Lovefools Bandra

What sets Lovefools Bandra apart, even ten years on, is not just technique or design. It is intent. This has always been a chef-driven space. A place where food is meant to connect people rather than impress them.

Signature croquettes at Lovefools Bandra served in a rich, sauce-led umami base

Chef Sarita’s journey informs everything here. Training with Michelin-starred chefs outside Barcelona taught her discipline and obsession. Returning to Mumbai taught her context. What began as experimental dinners for friends became community tables for strangers. And that spirit still holds.

Lovefools Bandra remains a place where you can come alone and leave having shared a table. Where menus taste like memory and invention at the same time. Where comfort and curiosity coexist.

Ten years of hard work have shaped Lovefools Bandra into something rare. A laboratory disguised as a restaurant. A space defined by relentless evolution, not reinvention for attention. A philosophy driven not by fusion, but by focus.

Lovefools Bandra, at ten

Reimagined dal baati dish at Lovefools Bandra with modern Indian plating

The tenth year is not about looking back. It is about clarity. The refreshed menu and interiors feel like the most confident expression of Lovefools Bandra yet. Flavour built through patience. Technique grounded in emotion. A space designed to be lingered in. Lovefools Bandra has always trusted that its audience would find it. Ten years later, that trust feels well placed.