Winter Calls for Strawberry Desserts at The Dessert Republic in Mumbai

It's that chilly time of the year and one thing that we want along those cosy blankets and comfortable jackets is winter food. And what would be better than to have strawberries during this time? But let us ask you a question, "how many strawberries are too many strawberries?" Even we didn't know the answer to this until we tried the 'Be Merry with Strawberry' menu at India's first dessert cafe. The answer after we tried the all-strawberry dessert menu was, "No amount of strawberries is enough". Let's see what we dug into and what you can try at The Dessert Republic. 

Upon glancing at the menu, we were initially overwhelmed by the sheer variety of options—it featured more desserts than we could have imagined. Staying true to its title as "India's first dessert cafe," the menu offered everything from Croissants to Ice Cream Croissants, Pizookies, Waffle Bites, Ice Creams, DIY Yogurt Ice Creams, Creamsicles, Shakes, and much more.

Just as we were struggling to decide, we noticed a one-page menu lying separately on our table, and it immediately caught our attention. Suddenly, all our confusion disappeared, and we knew exactly what to order. This special menu featured all the desserts we had seen earlier—but in strawberry flavour!

The Sweet Strawberry Saga 

Just when we decided to try the Strawberry menu, the cafe owner came to us and suggested we start with the Chocolate Covered Strawberries. "This is the dish that went viral some years ago and we were the ones to bring them to India," said Nikesh Gala, the founder of The Dessert Republic. We quickly went for that along with the Mahabaleshwar Cream which is also their best seller. After waiting for a little longer while we played board games, we got both the dishes on our table. Let us tell you, the wait was worth the deliciousness that pleased the eyes, especially for the Mahabaleshwar Cream. We couldn't wait and quickly picked our forks to try the Chocolate Covered Strawberries. The whole red strawberries were coated with layers of dark and milk chocolate. Who would have thought just a simple combination of strawberry and chocolate would taste so good? It surprised us.

While still hogging onto those choco strawberries, we turned to the Mahabaleshwar Cream. This dessert was just as creamy as one could have thought with layers of strawberry ice cream, fresh strawberry dice, strawberry compote and whipped cream. The day could not get creamier as we decided to go on for another similar dessert but this time with a twist of chocolate and marshmallow. The Choco Berry Cloud was just the right amount of sweet, tangy and creamy texture, all one could ask for in a perfect dessert. The brownie added a dry texture to the velvety texture of chocolate and to give a chewy touch the marshmallows did their job. 

After three desserts, our stomachs were almost full but our hearts weren't, so we decided to go for the unique ones on the menu. The first one that caught our attention was the Fresh Strawberry Croissant. Yes, a strawberry croissant. This was the most fun dessert to look at from the point of view of presentation. The pastry chef cut the croissant into two halves, drizzled it with fresh cream and decorated it with strawberry slices. Once done, the chef put the other half of the croissant and it looked a lot more appetizing. We tried and it definitely was a unique take on croissants. Last up was the Berry Bonkers Honey Comb Waffle. This was an interesting take on mini waffles with waffles filled with cream, white chocolate, strawberries and choco crisps. The taste was all one could ask for for a desserty end with the smooth, buttery consistency of chocolate and the crackle of the waffle and the crisps. After this dish, the sugar rush started to hit us a little bit so we decided to stop there before our heart went on to try the long strawberry menu. 

Where: The Dessert Republic, Gasper Enclave, 2, Pali Mala Rd, near Gold's Gym, Bandra West, Mumbai

When: 1 PM to1 AM on all days except for Monday, Monday - 7 PM to 1 AM

Price: Rs.750 for two