Where Chefs Eat

Photo: Sheena Dabholkar.

“I love the poha, upma and thalipeeth (a multi-grain savoury pancake) at Aswad in Shivaji Park. It’s cheap, hygienic and their service is quick.” – Sassy Fork, food blogger.

“I love the New Martin Hotel in Colaba. I generally order the curry rice with fried mackerel or the beef chilli fry. The food is yummy and never costs over Rs150.” –Neville Vazifdar, owner, Royal China.

“The pao bhaji at Sardar in Tardeo is greasy and appetising. Kailash Parbat in Colaba serves delicious pani puri, sev puri and dahi puri. Sharda Bhavan near Matunga station serves great dosa and dahi vada.” – Nikhil Chib, chef and owner, Busaba.

“My favourite place is Hotel Deluxe in Fort that serves food from Kerala. I love their vegetarian thali that is served on a banana leaf. Their Kerala chicken with Malabari paratha is also excellent.” – Shaheen Peerbhai, food blogger, The Purple Foodie.

“We eat a lot at Soam and Swati Snacks. I enjoy Swati’s chaat and pao bhaji. Sabs (Sabina Singh) loves the khichdis and panki at Soam.” – A. D. Singh, owner, Olive Bar & Kitchen.

“I used to eat out quite often, but stopped doing so about 10 years ago as the hygiene levels have dipped so much.” – Asha Mehta, owner, Swati Snacks.

“I generally go to Mohammed Ali Road for kebabs. Many stalls in Bohri Mohalla serve offal, fried on the tawa, which I love. Sarvi in Byculla also serves great kebabs and awesome deep-fried parathas.” – Viraf Patel, executive chef, The Table.

“I really enjoy the vada pao made by this guy who stands outside Café Sea Side on Bandstand. What I like about it is that he fries the batata vada in front of you. I’m also a fan of the vegetarian toast sandwiches sold on the street. There’s a vendor opposite Shopper’s Stop on Linking Road who makes a great toastie on a hand-held toaster. I especially love those over a conventional sandwich grill. Deepu’s is another excellent sandwich guy who stands outside Laxmi Building in Fort. This is my idea of comfort food.” – Kalyan Karmakar, food blogger, Finely Chopped.

“I’m a big fan of the lamba pao and chhote kebab sold at this stall in the Minara Masjid area, opposite Hindustan Hotel. The pao is a four-inch-long rhombus shaped sweet bread that you have to buy by the dozen from this one chap, and the kebabs, deep-fried balls of mince, [you have to buy] from another. Or you can ask them to prepare it as a sandwich for you on the spot.” – Riyaaz Amlani, CEO and MD, Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality, that owns Salt Water Café and the Mocha chain of coffee shops.

“The butter dosa at the Mithibai College dosawallah is excellent. I like that he doesn’t skimp on the butter. We always go to him after band practice.” – Sahil Makhija, the host of web cooking show, Headbanger’s Kitchen.

“We always head to this omlette pao guy who usually sets up his stall post-midnight near Santa Cruz station opposite Shabri restaurant. He also makes excellent pav bhaji for which there are long queues. He serves food until 5am.” – Francis Fernandes, owner, Fresh Catch.

“I love the sev puri at this stall called Banaras in Khar near IDBI Bank. What’s great is that he’s very clean and his ingredients are fresh.” – Sanjay Kotian, chef and owner, Mia Cucina.

“I really like Tibbs Frankie from Rajesh Frankie at Napeansea Road. I appreciate that he’s generous with the filling unlike Frankie vendors in Colaba.” – Kainaz Messman, chef and owner, Theobroma.

“Now being old, I don’t eat outside. But when I was younger, I used to love eating bhel puri. There was a bhel puriwala called Lal Dabba in Babulnath. I used to eat there a lot because it was very tasty and clean. I really don’t know if that place exists now.” – Tarla Dalal, cookbook author.

“My favourite street food right now is Calcutta style rolls; egg, chicken or mutton (depending on how hungry I am) from Hangla’s in Andheri. It’s a killer combination of deliciously crispy paratha and chunky meat stuffings.” – Jaydeep Mukherjee, executive chef at Indigo Deli and Indigo Cafe.