Shilpa Shetty’s Bastian opens in the Garden City, but does Bengaluru need another larger-than-life eatery?

Bengaluru is synonymous with a strong beer culture, but the city’s obsession with larger-than-life breweries and pubs is a fairly recent phenomenon. Byg Brewski opened  India’s largest microbrewery in 2018, in Hennur, followed by a slew of others—BLR Brewing Co, Ironhill, Oia, and, more recently Prime Golf, a microbrewery housing an entire golf course within. 

Earlier last week, another larger-than-life F&B outlet–Bastian, co-founded by Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty–opened its third outpost in the Garden City. 

YS Life visited this celebrity-favourite bar and restaurant to see if the stylish Mumbai-based brand could charm Bangalorians, as it wows Mumbaikars. 

The formula is the same, says Ranjit Bindra, Founder and CEO at Bastian Hospitality Pvt Ltd. 

“We wanted to bring a concept such as Bastian, which has been so successful for us in Mumbai, to a new city without changing the essential formula,” Bindra tells YS Life. 

Reminiscing a beach holiday

Housed inside a more than half-a-century-old family home on the bustling St Mark’s Road, Bastian Garden City has created a world within itself, engulfed in lush greenery. 

“We acquired the property in 2023, and it has taken us 10 months to convert it,” Bindra reveals.

Inspired by a combination of elegant holiday destinations and Bengaluru’s vibrant energy, the decor at Bastian Garden City is in contrast to its Mumbai counterparts in Bandra and Dadar, which give a metropolitan vibe. 

The decor—featuring African tribal art, undulating vertical ceiling fans, and bamboo-mesh chandeliers—create a boho-chic ambience, inspired from global travels, transporting diners to a beach getaway. 

With a capacity to host over 300 people at a time, the dining area is spread across an air-conditioned indoor area and an outdoor garden. 

A truly cosmopolitan menu

Bastian is truly premium—in terms of its food offerings and pricing. 

The menu has multiple options to choose from, across salads, signature cold dishes, classics, sea food, and robata grills, besides the usual staples and sides. 

There’s also a special ‘Market’ menu featuring a handful of curries—black bean, green, massaman, szechuan chilli butter, and Sri Lankan—with choice of protein—chicken, snapper, lobster, lamb, prawn, salmond and de-shelled crab. Vegetarians and vegans can choose from vegetables and mock meat, mock chicken, and mock fish. 

What truly steals the show are the desserts, but more on that later. 

The six salads on the menu could constitute a meal by themselves for the health-conscious or solo diners. 

The options include the classic watermelon feta and burrata salads and the more sophisticated avocado poke and warm broccoli with labneh. 

We picked a sweet treat—pear salad served with house greens, goat cheese, and candied nuts, topped with a honey mustard vinaigrette dressing. 

The pear salad–with the greens, protein from the feta cheese, poached pear slices and sweetened nuts–can easily pass off as a complete meal. But to truly understand why Bastian has won multiple F&B awards over the years, one must move further into its menu. 

Headed by Chef Daniel Hernandez Punzo, Bastian’s kitchen offers an array of signature cold dishes including salmon jalapeno, aburi miso salmon sushi, crab roll, and avocado toast.

We went with the chef’s recommendation—salmon crispy rice. The large salmon tartare (or cake) was placed on a crispy rice patty, topped with sriracha and truffle oil. 

The classics offered at Bastian are many—sliders, bao, taco, croquettes, pastas, and dumplings. With K-food gaining popularity in the city (though not many eateries offer the authentic version), we gave the Korean fried chicken a shot. Glad we did, or else it would have been a great miss!

Crispy and tender sesame soy glazed chicken were placed on a bed of melted mozzarella cheese and topped with scallions and sesame seeds—the yangnyeom chicken or Korean fried chicken looked straight out of a K-drama series and was as authentic as it could get. 

The seafood offerings at Bastian—what it is best known for—are ample. There’s the usual fish and chips, crispy calamari, and lobster rolls, and a few signature offerings—lobster and crab thermidor, and pan fried salmon. 

“The Bastian Garden City menu is very similar to what you find in Mumbai. The only difference is that we can experiment more with our meat and non-vegetarian dishes in this market, versus what we do in Mumbai,” says Bindra.

He explains the reason, “Bengaluru is young, always willing to try new things and excited about new concepts.” 

The signature Bastian animal-sauce prawns are hard to miss. Large crispy fried prawns coated in a sauce of mayonnaise, ketchup, sweet pickle relish, and sugar–over a bed of stir fried broccoli–form the perfect snack to munch on, while relishing a refreshing cocktail from the bar menu. 

The Market menu featuring protein-curries can be paired with the staples—Malaysian noodles, montou, jasmine rice, bacon kimchi fried rice, or Hawaiian dinner rolls. 

The burnt garlic rice topped with vegetables and crispy garlic is like a hug on a plate–perfect for days when one seeks comfort in food. 

Bastian also has an in-house cocktail programme, serving signatures and its own innovative creations, featuring sophisticated techniques and unusual mixes and garnishes, which would pair well with the restaurant’s diverse food offerings. 

Now to the star of Bastian Garden City—the dessert menu. With as many as 16 options to choose from, the call can be a tough one.  

There’s the signature souffle and tub tim krob, but YS Life suggests you skip the usuals and try one of the pull-me-ups or the best of Bastian—the seasonal mango tres leches or the hazelnut crush with nutella mousse and hazelnut cornflakes for a surprise in every bite. 

Overall, Bastian Garden City seems promising and lives up to its hype. 

The place was packed on a Tuesday evening, with a queue of enthusiastic diners waiting to reserve a table days in advance. 

With so many F&B places vying for people’s attention in Bengaluru, does the city really need one more sprawling resto-bar? 

In a city that’s known for its crowded microbreweries and noisy party places, Bastian offers a premium dining experience where food and conversations take the centre stage. And if one is lucky, they might spot their favourite celebrity having dinner next to them at Bastian Garden City!

Bengaluru is just the beginning of the Bastian group’s expansion plan. 

“We definitely have our sights set on Delhi and Goa as well—our expansion story is just beginning,” signs off Bindra.

Time: 12 PM to 1 AM on weekdays (closed on Mondays); 10 AM to 1 AM on weekends 

Cost for two: Rs 5500 plus (prior booking is advised)