Blabber is the latest all-day café and bar to open up in Mumbai. This easy-going space offers people an opportunity to be themselves over coffee, conversation, a meal, a drink, a meeting, get together or a date. Both floors of the café share a common mood board and stylistic elements.
Some brick walls were left partially uncovered to highlight the aesthetic value of vintage buildings which brings back a little nostalgia. Inspired by dining establishments of Western Europe, the café has paid extreme attention to detail, from the lilac glass panel windows and the entrance to the intricate first floor bar and arch ceiling with raised floor seating on the ground floor. These are aimed to allow guests to feel fully immersed in the space.
“Every designer’s focus is to create a beautiful space but to craft a memorable experience for our guests that return as patrons is the ultimate goal and that is how the story of blabber unfolds,” commented Nishant Desai, Creative Director of Umesh Desai & Associates, who designed the interiors of the Blabber.
Spread across 4,000 sq. ft. , the interior evokes the enchanting European elements and details. The classical mix of art, metal fixtures, velvet upholstery and life size plants and installations add depth and shades in a variety of seating types ranging from dining, high seats and cozy lounge sofas, a pleasant take on a cocktail bar. Rich, saturated colors inspired by colonial costumes and decorations pop against a natural material palette of wood, glass, brick and rich stone. These neutral materials help balance the pastel tone colors spread over fabrics, fluted panels, and brick walls.
The entrance is an all-white façade with colored panel window and doors along with cobble stone flooring in the al fresco outdoor section. Upon entering the premises, the ground floor boasts of fluted panels on one side with dining seating and antique handmade wall light against a raised floor lounge sofa seating with an arch ceiling hosting a customized floral illustration and handcrafted chandelier. The idea of the ground floor is to hosts patrons for a coffee and conversation or dining and banter.
Walking towards the first floor the staircase is dressed in a customized botanical theme wall covering to help take the color scheme upstairs, and upon entering the first floor the guests is greeted with oversized panel windows and a high ceiling. The upstairs hosts a bar with a few high tables, a swing table where one witnesses a majestic giraffe carrying a chandelier, and a lounge seating section with majority dining seats.
The visualization of upstairs was to offer a swanky bar which adds surprise through installations and artwork. The highlight of the space were the installations placed in specific corners during the planning stage to incorporate key detailing through local craftsmanship, everything from the hand knitted pendent fittings and ceiling installation to the hand-crafted metal and glass fixtures to metal and wicker screens.
The food has been curated to cater various taste buds of people across the world. The korean cheese Pull Garlic Bread, dabeli Bao, American fried chicken sandwich, tadka Hummus, Devil Soya chaap are must-haves while the Garden in a glass, passionfruit martini, forbidden whiskey F&B based, skinny margarita, popcorn sour, are prepared in-house by the chefs and bartenders.
“At Blabber we have created a modern take on global cuisine in an all-day dining format. I do believe that the all-day dining model which we are implementing perfectly fits my vision for the brand as people can come at any time of the day and enjoy the same experience and are not restricted to any time slot,” stated Kedar Shetty, Co-founder at Blabber.
The café’s highlight is the ‘drink-me coffee’! Guests can enter the place, scan a QR code and upload any image of themselves, their partner, child or other loved one and within minutes their cappuccino or latte will appear with that image printed.
“My vision for Blabber was to originate a brand and a space which people can explore at any time of the day. I want my customers to be able to enjoy comfort, good food and an ambience which we have very carefully crafted to create an uplifted mood and feel every time you visit,” stated Gaurav Ramanatha Payyade, Co-founder at Blabber. His family ventures include Samrat Restaurant and Sarovar in Borivali and Kandivali respectively and Payyade Resorts in Goa.
