NY’s famed Magnolia Bakery has arrived in Mumbai, here’s what you can expect

The bakery in Mumbai opens to the public on November 1 and among Larios’s must-try options are their classic banana pudding, caramel pecan cheesecake and classic tres leches.

Tastefully designed by Khaiber Siddiqui of Studio Xalt, it also presents expansive display counters, offering a delightful view of their wide range of freshly made hand-baked desserts across categories like cupcakes, brownies, cheesecakes, tres leches, ice creams, and cookies, alongside their famous banana pudding. There is also a coffee counter.

Today a big name with multiple stores in New York, Qatar, Dubai, Turkey, Philippines and India, Magnolia Bakery had a humble beginning with a small cake shop in West Village in 1996. The mantra to success said Erick Larios, vice president for Magnolia Bakery franchise, is “small batch production throughout the day, made from finest of ingredients”.

“While we source the majority of our ingredients locally, if something doesn’t match the quality, we are happy to import them like chocolate or dairy,” noted Larios, who has been in Mumbai since mid-September, ensuring that everything is perfect to the T. Besides their famous offerings, the new store would see the launch of two new flavours of ice cream – burnt butter and litchi — as part of their eggless ice cream range, which was created exclusively for the Indian market.

Even as many credit Sex and The City for the bakery’s popularity, Larios points out that the team of the sitcom reached out to them because their brand had already made it to pop culture.

Even as many credit Sex and The City for the bakery’s popularity, Larios points out that the team of the sitcom reached out to them because their brand had already made it to pop culture. “We have been credited for creaking the ‘cupcake craze’ so we were already relevant and aspired to go to in NYC… that manifested the opportunity in the Sex and the City. And, it was great, it did put us on the global map,” he said, adding that they have also been mentioned in Riverdale, Devils Wears Prada and To All the Boys: Always and Forever. “It is great to be relevant and a part of pop culture for so many years,” he added.

Why then did they take so long to come to Mumbai? “Even before we opened in Bengaluru, there was a demand coming from Mumbai,” shared Larios, adding that the brand believes in slow and steady growth. “We have seen many brands who oversaturate and then compromise on quality. We didn’t want to cut corners and rush into over-expansion and not have the best execution,” he shares, while we devour their hearty classic tres leches (Rs 435), featuring a very light sponge cake soaked in a delicious velvety milk mixture, topped with whipped cream and blueberry. Coming up next is another store in Bengaluru, Mumbai and the next city is on their mind is Delhi where they are currently hunting for the right space.

The bakery in Mumbai opens to the public on November 1 and among Larios’s must-try options are their classic banana pudding (Rs 525), caramel pecan cheesecake (Rs 400) and classic tres leches.

Our only grouse, there’s nothing for vegans. “There is so much indulgence in what we do. In order to get the texture of cheesecake and buttercream, you have to use dairy,” said Larios, adding that they are aware of the demand. So would they be catering to them in future? “Never say never is what I would say.”

Address: Magnolia Bakery, Maqba Heights CTS No.F/862, Pali Road Bandra West, Mumbai 400050