5 New Cafes in Mumbai Worth Visiting Right Now (2026) | Paperboard

Mumbai doesn't need more cafés. What it needs are the right ones. And in the last few weeks, the city quietly delivered five openings that are genuinely worth leaving home for, whether you're in Bandra, heading to Fort, or making the drive to Andheri West.

This is the Paperboard edit. Best new cafes of Mumbai 2026. No filler. Just the five new cafés in Mumbai that have already earned a permanent spot in our rotation.

1. Pardon Our French, Ballard Estate, Fort

If you know Pooja Dhingra's work through Le15, Pardon Our French feels like its more grown-up, more confident older sibling. Tucked into a leafy lane in Ballard Estate, this intimate 22-seater is warm, quietly romantic, and completely unhurried. The kind of space that makes you want to cancel your afternoon plans.

The room is dressed in cane-backed chairs, marble-topped tables, and soft globe lighting. The open kitchen keeps things alive without breaking the mood. What sets it apart beyond the space is the team behind it: Pardon Our French is run entirely by women, with coffee consultant Geetu Mohnani heading beverages and chef Anandita Kamani leading the food.

The menu leans into French technique with a lighter touch. Think pastries with a gentle sweetness and a pleasant hit of salt, eggs and soldiers, and cold brews that actually have personality. The salted Earl Grey matcha latte has already developed a following.

What to order: Brown butter cake, salted Earl Grey matcha latte, eggs and soldiers.

Where: Sushila Bhavan, 24 Adi Marzban Path, Ground Floor, Ballard Estate, Fort

Hours: Check their Instagram @pardonourfrenchmumbai for current timings

The Paperboard Verdict: Pooja Dhingra's most grown-up chapter yet: 22 seats, an all-women team, and Paris in a Fort lane.

2. ESC. Coffee X Deli, Carter Road, Bandra

Bandra has no shortage of cafés. ESC. gives you a reason to care about another one. Sitting on Carter Road with sundowner views that most restaurants in this city would charge a premium for, ESC. Coffee X Deli is the kind of no-brainer spot that becomes a permanent fixture in your week without you quite realising how it happened.

What makes it worth the visit beyond the view is the kitchen's commitment to doing the fundamentals properly. The breads are made in-house. The sauces are made in-house. In a city where most cafés are assembly operations, that level of care shows up on the plate.

The menu covers salads, sandwiches, and deli-style plates. The Chorizo Toastie in particular has been drawing repeat visitors. The Malta Cold Brew and Sour Cherry Fizz are standouts on the beverage side. This is a spot that works equally well for a slow morning, a working lunch, or watching the sun go down over Carter Road with nowhere else to be.

What to order: Chorizo Toastie, Malta Cold Brew, Sour Cherry Fizz, Presso, Egg Florentine.

Where: Carter Road, Bandra West, Mumbai

Hours: Check their Instagram @esc.officialIndia for current timings

The Paperboard Verdict: Sundowner views, in-house breads, and a Chorizo Toastie that might just become your new weekend ritual.

3. House of Croissant, Mount Mary, Bandra West

The croissant has had a long run as Mumbai's favourite imported obsession, but House of Croissant in Bandra makes a strong case for taking it seriously again. Located steps from Mount Mary on Chapel Road, this is a café built entirely around the art of laminated dough, and they've done it with enough range to keep things interesting.

Beyond the classic croissant, the menu runs through croasts (croissant toasts), croffles (croissant waffles), and indulgently filled variations that lean into the kind of excess that makes you feel like you earned it. For those who want something more substantial, there's an all-day eggs menu. For drinks, the range covers specialty coffee, matcha, and comforting teas, making this a café that works from your first meeting of the day to your last conversation of the night.

With hours running from 8:30am to 11:30pm, there's no wrong time to show up.

What to order: Filled croissants, croffles, specialty coffee.

Where: Ground Floor, Shop No. 2, 87 Chapel Road, Sayed Wadi, Mount Mary, Bandra West, Mumbai 400050

Hours: 8:30am – 11:30pm daily

The Paperboard Verdict: Croasts, croffles, and indulgently filled croissants steps from Mount Mary. Bandra's flakiest new obsession is open from breakfast to almost midnight.

4. DRNK Apartment, Andheri West

The original DRNK in Bandra built its reputation on drinks that felt genuinely considered: slushy matchas, inventive cold brews, S'mores Lattes, in a space that understood its audience. DRNK Apartment in Andheri West is a different proposition. It's not a flagship and it's not trying to be.

This is the brand coming home to a neighbourhood. The concept is rooted in Andheri's everyday energy: the morning commute, the post-workout stop, the late conversation that stretches longer than planned. DRNK Apartment is designed to be lived in rather than looked at. Not a destination you plan for, but a place you find yourself returning to without thinking. For a city where most café concepts are built around spectacle, there's something quietly compelling about a space that's built around belonging.

What to order: Signature matchas, slushies, seasonal cold brews.

Where: Andheri West, Mumbai

Hours: Check their Instagram @drnk.in for current timings and exact address

The Paperboard Verdict: Not a destination you plan for. Just the kind of place you find yourself returning to, every single day.

5. The Pure Kitchen, Bandra

Wellness dining in Mumbai has had an image problem. It tends to arrive in one of two modes: either joylessly austere or aggressively aspirational. The Pure Kitchen, founded by Aaliya Ahuja of Oleander Farms and Saltt Karjat, is trying to fix that.

Built around ingredient transparency and detailed nutrition breakdowns, The Pure Kitchen brings a level of honesty to its menu that feels genuinely different from the standard clean-eating café. Every item tells you what's in it and why it's there. The underlying belief is straightforward: nourishment shouldn't require deprivation, and good food doesn't need to hide behind a glossy concept to justify itself.

With a grab-and-go window alongside its main café space, this is a Bandra addition that works for a quick lunch between meetings and a slower sit-down in equal measure.

What to order: Seasonal bowls, house-made wellness drinks.

Where: Bandra West, Mumbai

Hours: Check their Instagram for current timings and address @thepure_kitchen

The Paperboard Verdict: Clean food, honest labels, and a grab-and-go window, wellness dining that actually has a soul.

The Paperboard Takeaway

Five cafés, three neighbourhoods, and not a single one that feels like it was opened just to fill a gap in the market. Mumbai's café scene in early 2026 is producing spaces with genuine points of view: about food, about community, about what it means to build something worth returning to.

We'll be visiting each of these properly over the coming weeks. Save this list, share it with whoever asks you "where should we go?" this weekend, and check back here for full reviews.