Ammakai by Bastian Hospitality Brings Mangalorean Home Cooking to Bandra

Bastian Hospitality, led by founder Ranjit Bindra, expands its culinary portfolio with the launch of Ammakai, an all-day dining South Indian restaurant in Bandra that celebrates the warmth and comfort of home-style cooking.

Inspired by the idea of Ammakai, meaning Mom’s Hand, the restaurant draws from the rich culinary traditions of Mangalorean households, where recipes are guided by memory, instinct, and love rather than written rules.

Ammakai is also among the few South Indian restaurants to serve matcha alongside traditional preparations, offering a contemporary dining experience.

“Ammakai reflects the kind of food and hospitality we have always believed in at Bastian Hospitality: comfort-led, honest, and rooted in familiar flavours. What sets Ammakai apart is its approach to South Indian cuisine, where the focus is on specific regional traditions rather than a broad, generic menu” shared Bindra.

Ammakai is led by chefs from southern India with years of experience, who travelled to villages in Mangalore to learn recipes directly from home kitchens. The focus is on presenting Mangalorean cuisine in a way that feels refined and relevant while staying true to its roots, highlighting coastal flavours defined by coconut, tamarind, and spices.

Guests are encouraged to eat with their hands and discover lesser-known regional dishes, while a few Bastian classics have been retained due to the emotional significance of the space.

For Bastian Hospitality, building restaurants has never been about creating standalone destinations. It’s about building community spaces where people from different generations come together, where meals feel familiar yet special, and where food becomes a shared language.

With Ammakai, Bastian Hospitality continues to evolve as a multi-cuisine hospitality group, guided by founder Ranjit Bindra’s vision of creating spaces that are as emotionally resonant as they are culinary-driven.