Candies

Exploring Candies feels less like entering a cafe and more like navigating a vertical maze of blue and white stucco. It is a sprawling, multi-level structure in Pali Hill that seems to have grown organically over the decades, expanding into a labyrinth of terraces, staircases, and hidden rooms. The ground floor is dominated by the display counters – glass cases stretching across the room, packed with trays of quiches, rolls, salads, and pastries. It is strictly self-service here, and the queue often snakes back toward the entrance during the lunch rush. Once you have your tray, the real challenge is finding a spot. You might climb winding steps to an open-air balcony shaded by dense foliage, or duck into the air-conditioned "Room of Lamps" for a break from the humidity. The decor is a restless mix of mosaics, vintage posters, and mismatched furniture, all pieced together by owner Allan Pereira since he moved the business to Bandra in 1986. The menu is overwhelming in size – listing over 300 items – but most people stick to the comfort food that built the place’s reputation. The chicken sandwiches, mince rolls, and lemon tarts are constants, served alongside heavier plates of Goan sorpotel or Thai curry. There is no WiFi, so the din is purely conversational. It’s a loud, lived-in space where you eat quickly at a shared table or linger for hours on a terrace, watching the crowd cycle through.