Cantina BKC: Italian-American Comfort, Cocktails, and a Dining Room That Knows How to Have Fun

Cantina BKC arrives with handmade pasta, 48-hour fermented pizzas, bold cocktails, warm lighting, and a mood that edges closer to Brooklyn than Bandra Kurla. Come hungry, come curious, come ready for a dining room that refuses to take itself too seriously.

There is a moment at Cantina BKC that stays with you. It happens somewhere between your first bite of mozzarella sticks and the whiff of wood-fired dough hitting the air. You look around the room, glow bouncing off terrazzo and rust tones, and you realise this is a restaurant built for appetite in every sense of the word. Appetite for food, for noise, for unbuttoned joy.

Cantina, by Origin Restaurants, does not inherit Mumbai’s usual idea of Italian dining. It arrives with its own accent. Think New Jersey kitchens. Think Brooklyn delis. Think recipes shaped at crowded tables, where red sauce floods the plate and no one counts the parmesan. And steering this lived-in, generous mood is Chef Anthony Burd, who brings his Italian-American heritage, Michelin-star finesse, and a certain New York swagger to BKC.

What Italian-American Really Means at Cantina BKC

Italian cuisine is elegant, restrained, almost meditative. Italian-American cuisine is the opposite, crafted for loud tables, midnight cravings, and refills that arrive before you ask. Cantina leans entirely into that second spirit. Burd treats Italian-American food not as nostalgia, but as a canvas for abundance.

The kitchen opens with small plates that feel like the warm-up act at a very good concert. Mozzarella sticks with the cleanest pull, Crunchy Polenta, Crispy Fried Calamari, and a Salmon Tartar Toast that adds a touch of brightness to the table. The Avocado Pizzette is the kind of thing you could eat on any New York street corner, except here it comes layered with Mumbai confidence.

Cantina BKC and the Dough That Defines Its Heart

Pizza at Cantina is not precious. It is proud. The 48-hour fermented NY-style dough comes out blistered, crisp at the edges, and soft through the centre. Classic picks like Pepperoni, Siciliana, and Hawaiian sit comfortably next to Mumbai tributes like Bandra and Bombay Hot, built with spicy nduja, mozzarella, and chilli oil. It is the kind of pizza that demands you use both hands and abandon elegance.

Pasta That Tastes Like Sunday

If pizza is the heartbeat, pasta is the soul. Made fresh daily, each bowl carries the fullness of Italian-American cooking without ever losing finesse.

• Mushroom Bolognese: earthy, slow, confident.

• Gnocchi Pesto: soft, herb-forward, deeply satisfying.

• Prawns Tortellini: delicate but indulgent, the dish you reach for when you want to feel slightly spoiled.

The mains stay in the same lane. A crisp Lamb Milanese with yogurt emulsion, a juicy Buff Tenderloin under salsa verde, and an Eggplant Parmigiano that arrives layered with romesco, basil pesto, stracciatella, parmesan, and a touch of beef jus that keeps things smoky, warm, and memorable.

The Cocktail Menu at Cantina BKC Has No Work Ethics, Thankfully

Cantina’s cheekily titled No Work Ethics cocktail program is built for all-day drinking. Each drink revolves around one clear hero ingredient. Herbs. Rose. Tomato. Chocolate.The clarity is refreshing.

Classics hold their place: a confident Negroni, a soft Garibaldi, and a very filthy Martini that anchors the menu. But the signatures steal the show.

• Mystique with Bacardi, absinthe, and cucumber syrup

• Bloody Figoa with mezcal bianco, tomato, lime, celery, and a hit of wasabi

• Mamma Mia, tropical and unapologetic

• Ingredients A with Jim Beam, cinnamon and lemon

• Tranquilo, balancing citrus with kaffir

• Scialla, sweet-edged with white chocolate

• Piñata, offered in gin or mezcal, infused with charred pineapple or rosemary

The spritzes play along the soundtrack, shifting from Britney Spears to Italo disco. It works because the room knows exactly what mood it wants to hold.

The Cantina BKC Space: Warm, Playful, and Built for Stories

Inside, rust, mustard, and burnt tomato tones spill across wood, steel, and rattan. The booth bar buzzes. The oven crackles until close. The dining room feels like it was designed to host a hundred different nights.

Then there is the Letterbox. Every diner is invited to write a note, drop it in, and have it mailed anywhere in India. A tiny, thoughtful gesture, a reminder that dining is never only about the food.

Why Cantina BKC Matters in Mumbai Right Now

Most Italian restaurants in Mumbai lean either refined or regionally faithful. Cantina chooses personality. It celebrates the brash, generous heart of Italian-American food, without diluting it into caricature. It is a place for weekday cravings and spontaneous celebrations, for cocktails that become dinner, for tables that stay long after the plates clear.

Co-founder Shaurya Malwa puts it simply:We wanted to create something bratty, fearless, and joyously loud. Forget dinner and drinks, we’re here for drinks that become dinner.

Yagyarth Meiwal adds:Our job is to keep the dining room tight and the vibe sharp. Everything else follows.

Cantina does exactly that. It gives Mumbai a dining room that feels alive.

Snapshot

Address: Godrej BKC, Mumbai - https://maps.app.goo.gl/5KhA18a3g6zqt3aG8 Cuisine: Italian-American

Vibe: Warm, unpretentious, high-energy bar and dining room

Recommended: Mushroom Bolognese, Pepperoni Pizza, Eggplant Parmigiano, Mamma Mia Cocktail

Timings: Opens at 6:00 pm - Closed on Monday

Instagram: @cantinabombay

People Also Ask

What is Cantina BKC known for? Its Italian-American menu, 48-hour fermented pizzas, handmade pasta, and the playful No Work Ethics cocktail program.

Is Cantina BKC good for group dining? Yes. The food is built for sharing, the vibe is energetic, and the cocktails make it ideal for long lunches and late nights.

Does Cantina BKC take inspiration from New York cuisine? Absolutely. The menu and design borrow heavily from Italian-American neighbourhood joints across New York.

Who is the chef behind Cantina BKC? Chef Anthony Burd, an acclaimed Italian-American chef with experience across Michelin-starred kitchens worldwide.

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