Since my days in Bombay are numbered now, who'd be interested in a thread on some of Bombay's best restaurants/eateries? Promise you I am going to put my 8 years of experience into this.
Let me start with a favourite then...my absolute favourite for misal-pav, kothimbir vadi and other Maharashtrian snacks - Tambe Arogya Bhavan in Dadar near Kabutarkhana. It's over 75 years old now and gives the typical old khanaval kind of feel.
Since we're talking about Maharashtrian food, let me also mention Ladoo Samrat. Go eat the dalimbi usal and puri there. And yes! Have the piyush.
Poornima in Fort - my lunch haunt for the past one and half year while consulting with @tourtofeast. Hands down the best bisi bele bath and curd rice in Mumbai. Star Cold drinks which is close by is also run by the same guys. Also have the set dosa. 💙
Sapre & Sons in Goregaon West - the credit to discovering it goes to @ankitv. Love their sabudana khichdi, misal and amba piyush (yep, mango flavoured Piyush). And kokum sharbat too. Ati behtareen.
Tiwari Brothers ke samose (Opera House) - go eat that and stop raving about the stupid A1 samosas. These ones are ati crisp, fried in desi ghee with masala that reminds me of Lucknow. Aaj ke samachar yahin samapt hue. Will continue the thread tomorrow and over next few days.
Dedicating today to Mahim-Matunga where I spent my most precious years eating out with the @burrp team. Sneha in Mahim - Tiny place serving Kerela food...beef fry and porotta was the usual order followed by yethekaaapam (deep fry plantain).
Sushegad Gomantak in Mahim - run by a Goan woman and serves home-style seafood. Best prawns rawa fry in Mumbai. Eat a fish thali there, down sol kadi, go home and sleep.
Lucky Dragon, Matunga - maybe I am biased, maybe this place really serves one of the best Chinese food in the city. The owner was the chef at China Valley in Prabhadevi and is half Chinese himself. Chicken noodle soup, paneer chilli dry, burnt garlic rice are 💙
Gomantak Boarding House, Dadar - I'll wait forever in the queue outside this restaurant to eat their teesrya, prawns fry, fish curry and crab. @thestonedmonk and @thehissingsaint can give testimonial. 🤣🤣 That reminds me...have to go eat crab here with @GreaterBombay
Ganga Vihar, Matunga - quick nod to this one cause memories. Just go and eat aamras puri there. @PositivityAngel @tanyatalkies @frankinsmoke @JumJum_02 @ceetee chalein?
Aaswad, Dadar - yes yes, this one's no hidden secret but honestly skip their misal pav and eat amba daal. It's the best thing on the menu. Also ukdiche modak which are available round the year.
Matunga East ki taraf badhte hain... Arya Bhawan, Matunga - @PositivityAngel introduced me to this place and this beautiful thing called paniyaram. Life badal gayi. And then @Sporty_Baba came along and gave me the gift of Brahmin idli. Their molgapodi is amazeballs!
Ramashray, Matunga - this place needs a thread of it's own actually. I mean just look at that table. Best sheera, best Mysore onion dosa, really good bisi bele! Ramashray is forever love. Since we're talking about Matunga, go checkout @Sporty_Baba's TL. He is doing a food walk.
A Ramanayak Shri Krishna Udipi and Boarding House, Matunga - naam hi kaafi hai! This place has my heart and space in my stomach forever. Their meals are beautiful and so is their ideology. Also, aamras is bomb! When my dad comes to Bombay this is the only place he wants to visit
Amba Bhavan Coffee Club, Matunga - easily the best filter coffee in Mumbai. Also the old world charm of this place is unparalleled. Too bad I couldn't find the picture of this place.
This juice shop near Dadar TT deserves a mention for its nimbu paani (they make it with khadi shakkar). Discovered thanks to @Sporty_Baba. Ye ladka heera hai.
Mani's Lunch Home - used to be in Matunga, now in Chembur. Meals are comforting, chetta (their oldest server) is always smiling and Mysore pak is beautiful.
Matruchhaya, Worli - hole in the wall kinda place, great Malwani food. Kombdi vade here are the best. Also fish thali.
Deluxe, Fort - I once fell in love with a man who told me that the quality of his meals improved 100% since he met me. This is where our (brief) love story began. The Kerala sadya is epic here clubbed with Kumarakom fish and beef fry.
He introduced me to Tiwari Brothers samose and this amazing locho joint in Opera House (Shalimar Juice wali lane)
Hiralal Kashidas Bhajiyawala, CP Tank - This became our go to breakfast place. Discovered thanks to @Saeek. All the bhajiyas, all of them are good. Also, one of the best undhiyus in the city, made with loads of green garlic. Go in winters.
Panshikar, Girgaon - He took me here and it became our favourite Sunday brunch spot. Love blossomed over misal-pav and chai. Adding to the list - Vinay Health Home, Om Shanti Bhuvan and Sujata B Tambe (all withing the range of 1km)
Soam, Girgaon - I took him here and made him fall in love with undhiyu-puri and me. Everything on Soam's menu is pure, unadulterated love.
Friends Union Joshi Club, Kalbadevi - I introduced this place to him and he ended up going there more than I did and ate every possible combination of their thali. The most humble Gujarati Thali place. I learnt about it from @gauravgjain.
Thakkar Bhojanalya, Kalbadevi - since we're talking about Gujarati Thalis, this one has to feature. Expensive but also brilliant brilliant food.
Cafe Dela Paix, Opera House - he wasn't fond of tea and my day wouldn't start without it. Waking up in a house without any chai patti was tough love. So we found a place that has the best mint chai. Also the most polite owner, go meet Gustad and say hi to him.
Crystal, Girgaon - We both took each other here cause we both loved it like our own homes. I ate the kheer here 14 years ago when I was new in Bombay and it was heaven away from home. Baingan bharta, rajma, daal, aamras...everything is 💙.
Let's move to Chembur/Sion - my home for over 2 years... Chawla, Sion Koliwada - found out about this place via @gauravgjain's blog (back in the days). The old style tandoor at the entrance blew me over. Best kulche chhole in town. And that ati thandi chaas!
Sainath Kulcha, Chembur Camp - great kulchas but not so great chhole. Tiny place though and worth a visit.
VIG, Chembur Camp - I love Vig and miss it so much now that I've moved out of Chembur. Chhole bhature and da pakwan is superb and that tall glass of chaas!
Udaya Lunch Home, Chembur East - thank you @assadajd for introducing me to this. Behtareen appam, veg stew and mutton stew. They also do chilli fry prawns...sooper spicy and sooper awesome!
Highway Gomantak, Bandra East - has to be there no? Every damn dish here is amazing especially prawns rawa fry, fish fry and teesrya. Love their mutton preparations also. Air wo sol kadi!
Ankur, Fort - since we're talking about seafood. Took my date there, an American photo journalist. Well travelled and well fed. We ordered Mangalorean style crab curry. He ended up teaching me how to eat crab properly.
Kala Ghoda Cafe, Kala Ghoda - a little deviation from the inexpensive places, but you HAVE to eat the flourless chocolate almond cake here. Best dessert EVER! Eat it warm 😌
Meher Cold Drinks, Fort - just sit here for the old Bombay vibe. Feels like time has stopped when you sit here. Grab a glass of lassi maybe? Was taken here by the awesome @siminpatel, forever indebted.
Yazdani, Fort - pavs and mawa cake can't get any better. Don't mind the grumpy owner. Kyani & Co, Kalbadevi - keema ghotala and custard ftw! Sassannian, New Marine Lines - dhansak and mawa cake
Blossoms, Ghatkopar - for every butter laden plate of Sardar pav bhaji, there's a green pav bhaji of Blossoms. Again, @Sporty_Baba discovery. I was apprehensive of eating green pav bhaji but loved every bit of it. Even better when it's raining. Oh how I'll miss the Mumbai rains
Guru Da Dhaba - before people in Andheri curse me for not featuring anything from this part of town...love love love the home style food here. Moong dal, mooli ka saag, karele ki bhurjee...everything is so good. This is my hideout lunch place with @AmritaOfLife.
Suraj Lama's Momos - best Momos in Bombay...baki sab baith jao. The sauces they make are superb and perfectly thin momos.
Ten One, Juhu - posted about it earlier too. Great Mangalore buns, bene dosa and thatte idli. It's a new place, looks like generic Gujarati joint but food is superb. Am I missing anything? Let me go back and search my memory bank.
Olive Bar & Kitchen, Bandra - if you want to know where I'd splurge my money. Everything on the menu here is amazing especially the tuna jerky. Hope the menu stays intact even though Rishim has left.
Seefa, Bandra - best Japanese and Thai food in the city. Go eat chicken gyoza, salmon teriyaki rice, sushi. Love the chef and love the restaurant.
Imbiss, Bandra - rightly named Meating Joint. What amazing steak and sausages.
Candies, Bandra - I don't really like the food here but those chutney sandwiches 🤩
Shashikant, Lower Parel - next to Deepak (now Matterden) Cinema. Good mutton thali, keema and prawns. Food is spicy though.
Bhojohori Manna, Oshiwara - might not be the best Bengali food you've ever eaten, but luchi, chicken shorshe, kosha mangsho and aaloo posto is pretty good. And noren gur ice-cream too.
Prahlad Pattice, Mangaldas Market - someone just reminded me of this. The farali pattice here are amazing. Made with potato stuffed with coconut and peanut filling. One of the most favourite snacks in Bombay.
Kutumbsakhi - a collective run by women that makes Maharashtrian food - Piran poli, tel poli, modak, masale bhat etc. Was started by the wives of mill workers when the mills shut in the 80s. There are a few outlets across city.
RTI Canteen, Bandra West - Ratan Tata Institute initiative. You'll get Parsi snacks here like chutney sandwich, farcha, cutlets. There's one outlet near Bandra Station. Even Fort has a cafe (OPP ICICI Bank near Horniman Circle) where they keep RTI stuff.
@bombaycanteen - Not an inexpensive or an old place but it's done more for Indian food (in the city and globally) than any other restaurant of this level has. Love the philosophy they work with. And this Jowar and barley salad remains my favourite.
Tawakkal Sweets, Bohri Mohalla - Last year was my first time in Bohri Mohalla. Wasn't impressed much by it's non-veg food but LOVED the malai khari/khaja at Tawakkal. So bloody good!
Taj Ice-cream, Bohri Mohalla - the hand churned ice-cream are too good and some of the seasonal flavours amazing.
If you go to Bohri Mohalla now (during Ramzan) you'll see people serving this sharbat which is just jaggery mixed in water. Not sure why but it tastes amazing.
Cafe Madras, Matunga: Have I added their tuppa dosa and butter podi idli to the list? No? Ok, correcting that now.
Eastern Sunset, Avion Hotel, Vile Parle - Adding one more Bombay gem to the list. @thatdoggonelady has written about the food here. Does really mean vindaloo, lamb meatball curry and fugyas. The dryfruit pickle that comes with potato chops is out of this world.
Gable's, Colaba - Choriz Pulao. Ate it today thanks to @Sporty_Baba. Absolutely loved it! I am sure other dishes on Tue menu are pretty good too.
Modern Juice Centre, Colaba - the chicken burger here is such a good find thanks to @Sporty_Baba. One of the few places doing road side burgers in Bombay. The party is really crisp. Can do without the mayo though. Some mustard maybe?
Time to add to this thread? Prakash in Dadar which was pending since a while. What do I say, i think they are the king of vadas - sabudana and batata.
I've been initiated into the world of Ling Baba aka Ling's Pavilion in Colaba. What a lovely old school Chinese place. Portions so huge the two us got full eating just the starters.went for the classics - corn curd and golden fried prawns.
Nav Chaitanya, a branch of Chaitanya in Dadar, has opened in Andheri. Fish thali is fab so is crab masala. 💯 Recommended.
Chef Moshe Shek who kept a low profile after leaving his brainchild Moshe's is back in Colaba with Knead Cafe and Deli. And oh what food! This portobello mushroom puff and chocolate orange cake was my dinner tonight. Fab reco @Sporty_Baba That cake! That cake!
Oldie is goldie and this breakfast at Cafe Excelsior is diamond. Bhurji pav and that beauty of a caramel custard. Thanks to @bandeatqueen for reminding me of this place.
Brought in @Sporty_Baba's birthday at Ekaa yesterday (yes we're very fancy). Will totally recommend their Bombil - served on sticky rice with fish flakes with a side of onion and mushroom broth and pickles, and Cacao - 10 diff textures of chocolate.
I've mentioned Kutumb Sakhi somewhere in this thread but here you go again with pics. A food business started by the wives of mill workers who went out of work in the 80s There's an outlet in Girgaon and 1 near Mantralaya. Get chakli, chooda, laadu, puran poli, tel poli, vada pav
Parmesha in Fort opp Stock Exchange. More than the sandwich i like Parmesh Uncle's hospitality. He is an icon himself, seen some of the most tumultuous times in Bombay right from the bomb blast at BSE in the 90s to the gun assault in 2008. Also, @Sporty_Baba's fav place.
Olympia in Colaba does really good kheema ghotala. I've eaten it a long time ago but was reminded of the beauty today. The pudina in it is superb. Add a bit of lime to it. I forgot. Skip the caramel custard.
Took me a bit to get the name right. Kuckeliku in Colaba is a lovely breakfast place. Going by their pancakes and coffee guess the rest of the menu will be good too. And that's all for now for this thread.
