Papa’s

Hunger Inc.

Bandra, Mumbai

2023

Built Up : 700 sq ft

Papa’s is the perfect secret.
Hidden within an old bakery in Ranwar Village, the space unfolds like an invitation into a private home—intimate, layered, and deeply personal. Rather than overwrite the past, the design works delicately with the structure as an assemblage of memory, retaining the old wooden trusses while completely replacing the roof to introduce a central skylight.

At its heart, Papa’s is not a restaurant—it is the feeling of being welcomed into a chef’s home for an unforgettable dinner.

Spatial Narrative

The space is organised as a dinner party in two acts.

You arrive through the Chat Alley Bar—a warm, informal threshold inspired by the gallery spaces of old Bandra homes. The bar counter sits at a familiar, domestic height, like a table at home, dissolving the traditional barrier of the bar. It is a space for conversation first, cocktails second—an invitation to linger, chat, and settle in.

From here, you move into the Kitchen Dining Room—an intimate yet exuberant space anchored by a 12-seater chef’s table experience. The table aligns exactly with the kitchen counter height, ensuring the kitchen connects rather than obscures. Guests sit as if at the chef’s own kitchen table, sharing food, stories, and secrets.

Between these spaces, a double-height light well recalls the courtyards of old Bombay houses—allowing glimpses into another world below, where Veronica’s quietly exists.

Material, Memory & Making

Materials at Papa’s are chosen for the memories they carry.

Warm wood floors ground the space, contrasted by a teal ceiling that lifts the room. The dining counter—crafted by Out of the Shed—is an improvisational reconstruction of tables from The Bombay Canteen. The bar layered with a cast green terrazzo base and slick black tiles, meld worlds together.

The floral chandelier by Arjun Rathi is hand-blown in amber and aqua glass—colours drawn directly from the neighbourhood. Unlike a traditional central fixture, it is spatialised along the dining table, worn like a crown or necklace. Its soft glow recalls evenings in childhood drawing rooms, where lamps were objects of celebration and pride.

Warm wood floors, teal ceilings, terrazzo bars, and curated knick-knacks evoke childhood homes filled with eclectic collections. Papa’s is at once whimsical and refined, transforming dining into a theatrical yet deeply personal experience.

Atmosphere

Papa’s is an emotional space.
It feels like being invited home—where flavour is memory, and hospitality is instinctive rather than performative.

The space wears its personality effortlessly:
magnetic warmth, considered abundance, inventive yet grounded, genuinely generous, authentically joyful, layered and quietly intelligent.

Papa's is an emotional space - where flavour is memory, and hospitality is instinctive rather than performative.

Papa’s

Hunger Inc.

Bandra, Mumbai

2023

Built Up : 700 sq ft

AT A GLANCE

12

seats at a chef's dinner party

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Papa’s is an intimate 12-seater chef’s table and cocktail bar hidden above Veronica’s in Bandra. Inspired by Wes Anderson’s whimsical worlds, it blends nostalgia, craft, and theatre into a magical dining experience.

Hidden within an old bakery in Ranwar Village, the space unfolds like an invitation into a private home—intimate, layered, and deeply personal. Rather than overwrite the past, the design works delicately with the structure as an assemblage of memory, retaining the old wooden trusses while completely replacing the roof to introduce a central skylight.

At its heart, Papa’s is not a restaurant—it is the feeling of being welcomed into a chef’s home for an unforgettable dinner.

The space is organised as a dinner party in two acts.

Between these spaces, a double-height light well recalls the courtyards of old Bombay houses—allowing glimpses into another world below, where Veronica’s quietly exists.