Mumbai, the city, where people from all over India gather to fulfill their dreams of breaking into the artistic industry.
The “City of Dreams” or as we like to call it, Bambai Seher is located on the Konkan coast on India’s west coast and features a natural deep harbor. Mumbai was designated an alpha world city in 2008. It boasts the largest concentration of rich folks of any city in India, Ambani, Adani to name a few.
Three UNESCO World Heritage Sites are located in Mumbai, the Elephanta Caves, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, and the city’s unique assemblage of Victorian and Art Deco structures. An integral part of the culture of the “City that never Sleeps” is encompassed within its gastronomic world.
The city that never sleeps has a great deal to offer to fill your plate, from genuine regional flavors to organic, farm-to-fork cuisine and a tailored menu with global touches. Whether you’re simply passing through or a native Mumbaikar, you know there’ll never be a shortage of mouth-watering delights to choose from when it comes to lunchtime.
The Indian subcontinent is intrinsically tied with sweet fragrant plants and a plethora of colorful spices. However, Mumbai has a lot more depth than only its traditional food. This culturally varied metropolis, brimming with world-class chefs and award-winning restaurants, offers a plethora of outstanding fine dining experiences to appreciate.
We’ve compiled a list of renowned Mumbai eateries that you must visit at least once in your existence:
WASABI
Wasabi by Morimoto, located at the Taj Mahal Hotel, was named one of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2018. The restaurant is a gourmet feast, serving true Japanese culinary gems by chef Masaharu Morimoto, with the restaurant sourcing all from seafood to wasabi from Japan. Aside from exquisite food, this award-winning Japanese Culture restaurant has the greatest views of the Gateway of India in town.
The flaming red interiors, replete with cherry blossom installations and traditional wooden Japanese joinery walls, will transport you to Japan, especially when combined with the products brought in weekly from Tokyo and the multicultural culinary skills employed by the crew. Make a point of trying the unusual sakes.
When you visit, try their specialty dishes like White Fish Carpaccio and Black Cod Miso, and complete your dinner with the Wasabi Crème Brûlée for the ideal finishing touch.
Cost for two: 8000 INR
Address: The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, Apollo Bandar, Colaba, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001
MASALA LIBRARY
The uber-cool Masala Library is tucked away in Mumbai’s hot-and-happening BKC neighborhood. Masala Library, a pioneer in India for its inventive food, has a pared-down elegance, with white-tableclothed tables and geometric shutters. It’s the place to go for a 16-course gastronomic odyssey, complete with plenty of Mumbai energy and a slew of attentive servers. The restaurant features an upmarket atmosphere, with modern furnishings and finishes.
The restaurant’s elegantly presented meals are largely influenced by molecular gastronomy, which you may sample from the chef’s tasting menu, nine-course gastronomic menu, or a la carte. Some of the must-try foods here are the deconstructed samosa, jalebi, and caviar.
The meals are pieces of beauty, a must-try is fake eggs, an amuse-bouche of coconut water, and mango purée shaped to appear as soft-boiled eggs served on a nest. However, not everything is as deceptive, excellent marinated king prawns are presented with yogurt, and there’s also a creamily-rich pulled butter chicken.
Cost for two: 5000 INR
Address: First International Financial Center, Ground Floor, Bandra Kurla Complex Rd, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051
THE TABLE
The Table boasts an ingredient-driven cuisine that emphasizes elegance and purity of flavor—a concept borrowed from chef Alex Sanchez’s hometown of San Francisco. This charming, bi-level, upmarket restaurant is a precursor of Mumbai’s farm-to-table movement, adapting foreign culinary ideas to a local environment. It provides fresh food from its Alibaug farm. Wispy drapes hung over the walls, floor-to-ceiling windows, and called for the 20-foot-long Burma teak community dining table beside the bar.
The black-and-white rugs, green velvet couches, and fizzy refreshments all contribute to a funky jazz ambiance, which is complemented by the restaurant’s particular culinary style, which pulls on cuisines from throughout the world. The cuisine here is updated daily based on the availability of fresh food and drew inspiration from all over the world, including America, Italy, France, China, Thailand, and even Japan.
Order the Truffle Fries, Pan Roasted King Prawns, Chicken Under A Brick, Grilled Tenderloin, and Sesame-Ginger Chicken Salad for a one-of-a-kind feast.
Cost for two: 4000 INR
Address: Kalapesi Trust Building, Ground Floor, opposite Dhanraj Mahal, Apollo Bandar, Colaba, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400039
O PEDRO
Ironically, for a city so close to India’s sunshine state, Mumbai lacks one elegant Goan establishment. So, Hunger Inc sought to fill the void with meals like Aunty Castro’s fish mousse, veal tongue prosciutto, chorizo fry, green Watana rassa with bhatura, Beryl’s fish curry, and pig belly amsol. O Pedro provides delectable Goan and Portuguesian food and has astringent cleaning and sanitation procedure in place. Following the lockdown, this vibrant BKC restaurant has begun a new outside sitting section.
If you want to have a divine experience, get the poee, a house-baked sourdough with a choice of four kinds of butter (just take all four). The pastel de nata (warm egg custard pies), chocolate and olive oil mousse, and bebinca are all delectable. The vivid seafood dishes, tasty sandwiches and tapas, and creative cocktails at the restaurant should provide an appropriate experience for your stomach.
Cost for two: 2000 INR
Address: Unit No 2, Plot No C-68, Jet Airways – Godrej BKC, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051
THE BOMBAY CANTEEN
The Bombay Canteen, housed in an ancient colonial home, transformed the way Mumbai eats by elevating Indian regional foods with western touches. This restaurant doesn’t appear elegant externally, with its rust-red facade and vintage sign, however, it’s a coolly respectful hipster take on a 1960s Indian canteen, with long tables on mustard-colored, patterned tiled flooring. This charming eatery is well-known for reproducing traditional Indian meals and reinterpreting age-old Indian customs.
The food here embodies the classic but unknown appeal of India’s different regions, skilfully blending them with recognizable flavors. The Toast Kejriwal, an Indianized version of Eggs Benedict, is a must-order here, as are the Spiced Grilled Chicken Kaleji with onion and carrot salad, Shrimp and Kairi Biryani, and Pork Vindaloo with Methi Thepla Tacos.
Cost for two: 2000 INR
Address: Unit-1, Process House, S.B. Road, Kamala Mills, Near Radio Mirchi Office Lower, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400013
BURMA BURMA
As the name suggests, this is among the few eateries in town that serve true Burmese food in a charming Burmese environment. This restaurant, a fusion of Asian and Burmese cuisine, seized the city by wildfire with its genuine flavors and tea-room idea. With its creative atmosphere and cuisine like Burma Burma Oh No Khow Suey, Samuza Hincho (samosa soup), and Shway Aye or Burmese Falooda, this restaurant is sure to make even some of the most ardent non-vegetarian yearn.
If you’re a fan of Khowsuey, Burma Burma provides a variety of delectable meals to pick from. Don’t forget to get a black tea or Oolong teapot to go with it.
Cost for two: 1700 INR
Address: Kothari House, Allana Centre Lane, opposite Mumbai University, Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001
BRITANNIA & CO.
Britannia & Co., located in the elegant area of Mumbai’s Ballard Estate, is a vintage, heritage diner and maybe one of the oldest icons of the locally vanishing Parsi cuisine. This was one among the numerous cafes built by Mumbai’s Parsi community and is a spectacular time capsule of Mumbai’s history, having opened in 1923.
Over the years, important figures such as the Queen of England have dined at the restaurant. Here, choose the Berry Pulao (with pork, paneer, or veggies), which is possibly the most well-known item on the menu and is cooked using the owner’s late wife’s secret recipe. When visiting this restaurant, plan ahead of time because it closes at 4 p.m.
Cost for two: 1500 INR
Address: Wakefield House, 16, 11, Sport Rd, opp. New Custom House, Ballard Estate, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400038
JOEY’S PIZZA
Finding pizza should not be a problem. But finding the ideal sort, one with the correct crust, flavors, cheese, and a plethora of toppings, all while staying within a budget, may be difficult. Except if you’re at Joey’s Pizza in Malad, a little diner that may not be able to brag about its decor, but it’s way ahead of the competition when it comes to flavor. Many people would argue that it is better than the most delightful things in life. But, to be realistic, there’s no doubting it. And if you don’t believe me, try any of their pizza.
What’s particularly fantastic about this place is how you can always order a 50-50 pizza, which essentially allows you to have two of your favorite pizzas neatly separated and presented in one. We recommend the butter chicken and spicy keema combo or the spicy keema and Waikiki combo.
They also have a variety of vegetarian alternatives, so don’t pass up the paneer makhana pizza. Try their garlic bread, which is one of their best-selling items. Go there for their excellent pizzas that will grow your girth, or simply buy a large pizza and reserve a slice for the morning.
Cost for two: 1000 INR
Address: Shop-1, Plot-D, Samruddhi Commercial Complex, Chincholi Bunder Rd, Malad, Ram Nagar, Malad West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400064
CAFÉ MADRAS
Cafe Madras in Matunga East provides a variety of wonderful South Indian dishes, so you don’t have to go to the south to enjoy their specialties. Ideally, one should go for an early hour’s flower market stroll before stopping by this eatery for some delectable South Indian breakfast. This restaurant’s formula for success is its delicious idli, sambar, and vada. You can get wonderful pancakes, waffles, and ice cream here.
Come here for some delectable cordial, ale, or wine. Café Madras features a thorough menu that includes podi idli, tuppa dosa, Butter idlis, Medu vada, Andhra Pesaratttu, upma and podi, Bisi Bele bath, Pongal, Neer dosa, ragi dosa, appam with stew, Mysore Pak, and pineapple sheera, Kharabath, in addition to the traditional idli Some of the meals are only available on particular days.
Cost for two: 400 INR
Address: GROUND FLOOR KAMAKSHI BUILDING, 391/B, Bhaudaji Rd, Matunga, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400019
YAZDANI
This original Parsi café is nothing spectacular, but with its ancient metal fans humming, vaulted ceiling, and Formica seats, it feels like going back in time to the 1950s, when it first opened. Curling photos decorate the walls, the dinnerware has seen better times, and the entire crew is vintage. However, the glass cabinets are stocked with the fresh rolls that keep customers returning, and a blackboard displays the day’s specialties, which include ‘firey ginger cookies.’
From the exterior, the establishment appears to be quite old-fashioned, which nicely compliments its interiors. One may overlook the business due to its looks, but no one can deny the delectable and tempting scent that emanates from it, not to mention the fact that it is usually thronged with faithful clients.
Even though the legendary bakery has been around for more than three generations, neither its charm nor the excellent flavor of its cuisine has faded. Make sure to taste the bun maska — Mumbai’s best freshly baked, white buns, smooth with butter.
Cost for two: 400 INR
Address: 11A, Cawasji Patel Rd, Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001
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Edited by Anupama Roy
