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Irani cafés in Mumbai

Quick answer

Locals recommend Britannia & Co. (Ballard Estate), Yazdani Bakery (Fort), Cafe Military (Near Flora Fountain), Sassanian Boulangerie (Marine Lines).

Mumbai's Irani cafés, with their bentwood chairs, bun maska and berry pulao, are a dying breed that locals still fiercely defend. These are the ones r/mumbai keeps recommending.

Britannia & Co. Ballard Estate, Fort

The Irani café people mean when they say Irani café. Britannia's berry pulao, fragrant rice studded with sweet-sour barberries, is the dish locals send every visitor for, with dhansak and a bottle of Pallonji's raspberry soda on the side. The room is old, a little worn and full of character, and regulars still talk about the old owner who charmed every table.

Yazdani Bakery Fort

Fort's old Irani bakery, where the menu is short because the bread does the talking. Regulars come for brun maska, a crusty roll split and slathered with butter, dunked in Irani chai, and for a mawa cake one fan says nobody else has ever matched. It's baked goods only, served the old-school way.

Cafe Military Near Flora Fountain, Fort

A Fort Irani café with old-school manners and serious kheema pav. Regulars come for the kheema, the cutlet gravy and the rare luxury of a cold beer in the middle of the day. The owner can be gruff, so be nice to the waiters, and bring cash.

Sassanian Boulangerie Marine Lines

A Marine Lines bakery-café from the old Irani world, with a dining room behind the bread counter. Locals recommend it for akuri, soft spiced Parsi scrambled eggs, for kheema, and for whatever is fresh from the bakery. It even keeps old-era sizzlers on the menu, served the old-fashioned way.

Last checked: October 2026