Mumbai, nah Bombay!

What I plan to do in Bombay this vacation season.

Somewhere in the bylanes of Colaba

I've an annual trip coming up to Bombay - my hometown, the charismatic place where I grew up and bred. I have nostalgic memories of Bombay - the flavourful paani puris belted by the roadside vendors, the bun maska & chai at quaint old parsi cafes, the south Indian dosa and idli fare in local suburban neighbourhoods and the home cooked meals made by my Mom and aunts. I savour it all.

Since the nostalgia factor is so high, I've made a list of places (restaurants, cafes, bars) I want to visit and the food I want to gorge on when I finally land in Bombay. Let's make it a trip to remember!

Patra ni Machi

Parsi cafes - 

• Britannia and Co Restaurant (Wakefield House, 11 Sprott Road) - Britannia and Co is open for lunch only, 12-4pm every day except Sunday

• Yazdani bakery and cafe (Fountain Akbar Ally, Saint Thomas Cathedral)

• Kyani and Co (JSS Road, Dhobi Talao, Kalbadevi)

• Café Excelsior (Fort)

• Ideal Corner (Fort)

• Café Military (Fort)

• Jimmy Boy (Fort)

• Merwan & Co. (Grant Road East)

• Sassanian Boulangerie (Grant Road East)

• Paradise (Colaba) Irani cafe(koolar co.) and cafe 792 are popular food joints around serving Parsi style cuisine

• Radio (Building No 10, near Crawford Market)

Parsi food -

Bun Maska with dollops of butter

• Brun maska, hot toasted white buns slathered in melted butter with crunchy crusts that you dip into hot chai 

• Caramel custard

Chaat (savoury snacks) -

• Paani puri

• Sev puri

• Dabeli

South Indian places -

Idli Sambhar & Coconut Chutney

• Cafe Madras, Matunga - Idli Podi

• Cafe Mysore, Matunga - Khotto idli

• Arya Bhavan, Matunga - Brahmin idli

• Hotel Ramashray, Matunga

• Mani’s Lunch Home, Matunga

• A. Ramanayak, Matunga

• Anand Bhavan, Matunga East

• Udipi Idli house - Kanchipuram idli

• Ayyappan Idli house - Thatte idli

Speakeasies

• The Little Easy in Bandra West

• Remo’s in Todi Mills

• Please Don’t Tell (PDT), Lower Parel
  

Other bars -

• Escobar, Linking Road

• Masala Bar, Carter Road

• 145, Kala Ghoda

• Woodside Inn, Colaba

• Farzi Cafe, Lower Parel

Sea facing restaurants

• Pizza by the Bay, Marine Drive

• Estella, Juhu

• Dome - Intercontinental, Marine drive

• Razberry Rhinoceros, Juhu

• Mandy’s - Pan Arabian bistro, Colaba

• Seaside patio, Citizen hotel, Juhu

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I'm raring to start wandering around the city that I called home for the first 25 years of my life. Sit in those auto-rickshaws, battle the crowds, drink cutting chai and feel cozy with my close friends and family.

Somwhere in Kala Ghoda