Old Kids on the Block

There is a block in the South of Mumbai, Colaba, which offers you three extremely varied dining options - and yet all three are “world famous in Bombay”.

The first is ‘Indigo’ (Bar & Restaurant), owned & run by renowned restaurateur-chef Rahul Akerkar. Indigo which serves Indian-Western-fusion cuisine is a multi award winning restaurant that has been listed by the ‘Condé Nast Traveler’ (US) as one of the 60 best restaurants in the world.

I personally do not think the food is something to rave about - but since it was once the place for Mumbai’s A-lister’s to hang out - and since it still has one of the best ambiances around (high ceilings, wood everywhere, a very Goan, homey feeling), I still love this place. It’s a good place if you’re trying to impress your girlfriend with some fine dining or if you want to just drop in for a pre-party or post-party drink.

Head towards the main road & take a right - and you’ll be bang in front of one of Mumbai’s landmark restaurants. ‘Leopold Café‘, (known by most locals just as ‘Leopolds‘) was established in 1871 - and proudly displays the fact on it’s very enduring restaurant banner, done in B&W with old Coca-Cola commercials.

Serves Continental, Indian & Chinese food and mainly to the vast majority of ‘phirang’ (foreigners) crowd that seems to dig this place. It’s a well known fact among locals that this is a phirang joint & often you may not see any Indians there at all!

My suggestion is to try out the milkshakes (great especially after a hot afternoon shopping on the Colaba Causeway!), very nice. Or if you’re staying in the area, then try out one of it’s breakfasts - again not out of this world, but good stuff.

From Leopold, take a right (towards the back wall of the Taj) and a little down the lane, you’ll see this nondescript looking cart called ‘Bade Miyan’. If you’re not from around Mumbai, you’ll be forgiven for not realizing how many people just die to eat food from the little cart.

The place is legendary - especially at night time - it’s sometimes hard to find place to park your car (which is not too much of a problem, because waiters will find you & serve you wherever your car stops) . While my friends simply cannot get enough of the Kaleji-Kheeri, I love the Kati Kabab rolls. Be aware that the cart doesn’t open until after 7pm - go earlier & you’ll just see it all shut like in these pics.

Have no idea when it shuts, but have a sneaky feeling that it doesn’t all through the night. Whenever we’ve partied late & night (whatever the am!) & wanted a snack, Bade Miyan has been the place to go.

Tags: Bade-Miyan, Bars, Bombay, Clubs, Colaba, Colaba-Causeway, Indigo, Leopold-Cafe, Mumbai, Places to See in Mumbai, Restaurants-in-Mumbai