It was my birthday, over a month back, and the husband and I decided to head out for a quiet lunch together, with the bub. He told me to choose the restaurant where I’d like to eat, and I chose Maia – Eat|Bake|Mom in Bellandur, a place that had been on my hit list ever since it opened up some time last year. We ended up having a lovely, relaxed lunch at Maia’s, and falling in love with the beautiful place that it is.
Concept of Maia – Eat|Bake|Mom
A relatively new entrant in the food scene in Bangalore, Maia is an eatery with a difference. I have been in love with the concept of Maia, ever since I heard of it – a space dedicated to moms, a menu featuring recipes contributed by moms from across the world, no-nonsense food prepared without any preservatives or harmful additives, food that isn’t cooked in a jiffy (restaurant-style) but the way it is at homes, food you wouldn’t hesitate to feed your child, including breads baked in-house.
Maia is an all-vegetarian restaurant, which doesn’t serve alcohol. It is owned and managed by Ms. Sejal Shah, a Gujarati, and her partner, thanks to which you will find several Gujarati dishes on the menu.
Location, decor and ambience
Tucked away in a quiet bylane in the busy Bellandur, Maia wasn’t difficult to find. Google Maps led the way, and the rest, as they say, is history!
Once you enter the gates of Maia, you forget that you are in the midst of the concrete jungle that is Bellandur. With a gurgling waterfall, earthy and rustic decor, glimpses of quirkiness here and there, and lots of greenery all around, this place is surely an oasis of calm. Both the husband and I were totally charmed by the prettiness of Maia.
Maia is quite a large space, with a large number of seats available. There is both indoor and outdoor seating here, and we chose to sit in the open, right beside the waterfall. In hindsight, this turned out to be a wonderful decision. It turned out to be quite an experience eating to the sound of gushing water. All throughout our lunch, the sound of the water washed over us, and we finished our meal thoroughly relaxed and rejuvenated. This is a rare occurrence for us, considering that most restaurants blast loud, loud, loud music and are so noisy that you can barely hear your partner over the din, leave alone have a conversation! For this quietude alone, we would love to return to Maia, again and again and again.
When we visited, we were lucky to have the place almost all to ourselves, and this added to the feeling of quietude that Maia already exudes. This is, definitely, the sort of place you should take your loved ones to, a place where you can really talk and bond with each other, over good food.
I hear the eatery is even more beautiful by night, when it is all lit up with fairy lights, a magical world of sorts. I can’t wait to go back to Maia, to check it out at night time!
Food and drinks
We started our meal at Maia with Traditional Farali Patties – a Gujarati delicacy, a snack made with potatoes and a gorgeous sweetish stuffing within, something that is consumed during fasts. How could I not?! I adore farali patties, haven’t been able to figure out how to make them at home myself, and haven’t found them elsewhere in Bangalore. So, these had to be ordered!
The patties were lovely, and one bite into them flooded my mind with thousands of memories from when I used to live in Ahmedabad. They were, in my humble opinion, just a notch less flavourful than the absolutely brilliant ones I remember eating in Ahmedabad. That said, these were still lovely.
Next up, we opted for Burrata & Rucola Pizza, a thin-crust pizza made with Maia’s home-made tomato sauce, burrata cheese and rucola lettuce. The pizza was served with a variety of infused olive oils for us to drizzle over it – roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and chilli – and it was just lovely, too. Super fresh pizza, simple yet beautiful in taste – what’s to not love?!
Then, we went for Pasta Arrabiatta, our eternal favourite in restaurants. It came with a slice of warm, pillowy soft, beautiful bread which, I heard, was baked in-house. The pasta itself was very lovely, perfectly cooked, with an extremely flavourful sauce, generously laced with veggies. We loved this the most!
To end our meal, we chose Maia’s Signature Popcorn Shake, instead of a dessert. Popcorn blended into a milkshake, with salted caramel sauce and ice cream – this is definitely something we haven’t come across anywhere else! This was just lovely too, very well blended, the perfect mix of sweet and saltiness.
It’s a pity we weren’t able to try out more of the interesting dishes on Maia’s menu. I can’t wait to go back here for the same!
Service
The service staff was courteous, warm and friendly.
A couple of the dishes took a bit of time to arrive at our table, but we were fine with that as we weren’t in a hurry. I understand that is also because the food here is prepared fresh, only after the order is received. If I have to wait for fresh, home-style food, hey, that’s perfectly okay!
Prices
Our bill came to around INR 700, which I think is pretty reasonable, considering the quality and taste of the food and the ambience at Maia’s.
In hindsight…
Both the husband and I adored Maia, and will cherish the beautiful experience of lunching here for a long time to come. This is definitely a place I would highly recommend you to head to, with friends or family or on a date! The menu, albeit all-vegetarian, has a whole lot of Indian and international dishes to choose from. Like I said earlier, I am eager to go back here again, to try out more from the extensive menu, and probably check out the ambience by night.
When we were at Maia’s, we had the opportunity to talk to Ms. Shah, a co-founder, who came across as extremely friendly and passionate. I understand there are plans for an in-house patisserie, cooking studio and cheese-making classes at Maia’s in the pipeline, all of which sounds fascinating to me!
Don’t miss this place, folks!
The World Through My Eyes 
Oh man! I am drooling. The place looks so beautiful and the food looks fab too!
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@Nish
It’s a beautiful place. We liked most of the food we tried out here. You must go! 🙂
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