3. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus

A short walk from Fort and opposite the CST, is Mumbai’s oldest running restaurant, Pancham Puriwali. The eatery was set up century and a half back by a gentleman named Pancham who had walked down to Mumbai from what is now known as Uttar Pradesh. He had taken close to forty days to cover the distance. There was no train service back then and the CST, earlier known as the Victoria Terminus, did not exist then.

Mr Pancham had set up a stall from where he sold puris, five to a plate. A play on his name, Pancham, which means five or fifth, or so the folklore goes. The restaurant is now run by the seventh generation of his descendants. It is still a humble eatery though it has grown from what was just a puri stall with just some benches, and has had a recent facelift. They still serve five puris to a plate here and you can choose puris with a variety of stuffings and with a variety of vegetarian side dishes to choose from. The traffic is constant through the day and puri makers at Pamcham keep frying the puris relentlessly and that’s what ensures the freshness of the puris. These puris are made with whole wheat flour.

Located further down from Pancham Puriwala, and just before the start of the J J Flyover, is the Grant House Hotel. The place is also referred to as the ‘police canteen’ among its regulars. The owner, Laxman Varma, had come to Mumbai from Hyderabad in the 1940s and did odd jobs in local restaurants. In 1950 he opened a small shack where he sold basic breakfast dishes such as tea and toast and omelettes. His patrons included members of the local constabulary from the police station next door and students of the Sir JJ College of Arts. The building where his stall is was once the home of Governor Grant.

In 1996, Varma set up a little restaurant next door to the Grant House premises and named it the Grant House Hotel. The restaurant is run by his sons now. The kheema here is much sought after by kheema lovers in the city. I loved it when I tried it once for lunch but you can have it for breakfast too.

4. Churchgate Station
 
CST is primarily the hub for long distance trains in Mumbai. The Churchgate Station close by is where the local trains of the busy Western Railway route end up. If this is where you get off, then you could hop into the Stadium Restaurant for breakfast. The folks at Stadium, like Café Military whom I spoke of earlier, make a delicious kheema ghotala. The meat quality is good, the seasoning of the dish perfect, spicing well balanced and with no excessive garam masala (a problem with kheemas at many Irani joints), and the egg combines beautifully with the kheema. Have this with some soft pav and you will start the day feeling as if you are the King of Mumbai.

5. Dhobi Talao

 
From CST head down to Dhobi Talao and to the area near the Metro Cinema. You can go to the Parsi Dairy Farm for some lassis or traditional Parsi sweets such as the mava na khaaja or sutarfeni. Or head to heritage Irani restaurants which had started off as bakeries such as the Sassanian Boulangerie or Kyani and Co.

I am a recent convert to the already huge fan club of Kyani & Co which is championed by students of the nearby St Xaviers’ College. The bakery was founded in 1904 by an Irani gentleman named Khodamarad Marzban who had come to Mumbai from Yezd as did most of those who set up Irani restaurants in Mumbai. The ownership changed hands and the family of the current owner who is Irani too, Mr Farokh Shokri, has run the place from 1954.

My favourite picks here are the poro (masala infused Parsi home styled flat omelette), the akoori (Parsi styled creamy but masala infused scrambled eggs) and the chicken patties with the most delectable béchamel sauce infused stuffing. The kheema here is a good bet as the quality of meat is good and do finish your meal with the mint infused Parsi chai. The pav is exceptionally soft too and they do a killer caramel custard which could match up to the one at Military Cafe.

6. Girgaon

So there you have, a list of iconic breakfast joints from South Mumbai which I am sure would inspire you to wake up early one day and make a trip to them. Come to think of it, I might do so too!

You might be wondering about why I have covered Parsi/ Irani, Udupi, Keralite, Sindhi, Punjabi and UPite breakfast places but no Maharashtrian ones. Well most of the popular Maharashtrian vegetarian eateries such as Prakash, Mama Kane, Ladoo Samrat and Aaswad, where you can try local breakfasts, are located in localities such as Parel, Dadar and Bandra east. One place where you can go to in South Mumbai for a Maharashtrian breakfast, is Vinay Health Home at Gamdevi. This is a bit far from the CBD area though. Located close by is Khotachiwadi which is worth checking out for its Portuguese influenced architecture.

Vinay Health Home is quite a neat and clean restaurant. The owners are most happy to show you their kitchen which would make any grandma proud with its cleanliness. The owners take pride in the fact their restaurant is a favourite among those who live in the neighbourhood and who come here in search of home-like food. Vinay Health Home is run is by the current generation of the Tembe family whose ancestors had started the restaurant close to eighty years back. You can try Maharashtrian breakfast favourites such as missal, sabu dana vada, pohe, thali peeth here. The food is not too spicy and everything is made fresh and is vegetarian.

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