MUMBAI CAFE -- Where Mumbai invades Chennai

THE STORY

This place has a fully fledged story behind it. It is the result of the courage to take risks and make grand choices in life.

Mumbai Cafe is run by a lovely couple, Mr. and Mrs. Naidu.

Jyot, who is a proud “Gujju” married Nilesh, who is a Tamilian. They were both born and brought up in the city of Mumbai. You will be surprised to know that Jyot is a former TCS employee, who always loved cooking and Nilesh used to work in the field of market research for Aranca in Mumbai. Nilesh’s family lived in Chennai, so they used to visit Chennai many a times. As told by Jyot herself, corporate jobs gave them big paychecks of X amount, but instead of working for somebody else’s growth they wanted to focus on their growth in the same manner. They only saw each other at the weekends and had rich but busy life. So finally they decided to settle in Chennai, where their family lives and now have a dream of changing the face of Chennai food.

In the beginning, Mrs. Naidu was never satisfied with the kind of north Indian food served in Chennai and missed Mumbai a lot. So one day they both finally got this idea of starting their own eatery, where they can make Chennai taste the real delicacies of Mumbai.

Hence, Mumbai Café was established on 14^th April 2014. The initial 2-3 months were crucial and tough. There were days when they had second thoughts about their decision but soon the things started changing. Now, the growth has been good and they easily manage to earn a 4 digit income everyday!

FOOD

Amazing varieties of chaats, pav bhaji, misal pav, chhole bhature, parathas, sandwiches and most importantly the “MUMBAIYAA” style vada pav. All are delectable and incorporate the feel of home-made street food.

What I suggest : Start with a vada pav, then have dahi kachori (add extra spice in case you have a thing for it) along with dahi poori (it’s the best) or samosa chaat. Then for the main course have pav bhaji and don’t feel shy to ask for an extra butter pav.

Weekend Specials : Kaandha poha, sabudaana khichdi, ragda patty and dabeli.

Dishes which are sold the most : Vada Pav, samosa and misal pav.

I generally go to this place with a group of friends, so that we all can order different dishes and share them, hence, almost covering the whole menu. You can do the same!

DAHI KACHORI    

 PAV BHAJI

                 CHHOLE BHATOORE

 VADA PAV

                                                          

                                 DAHI PURI

AMBIENCE

More than anything else, the welcoming nature of the owners will make you love this place more. They have put up few “desi” posters of bollywood movies along with the pictures of famous places in Mumbai, on the walls. There are banners on which usual dialogues spoken by local people of Mumbai are written. The kitchen looks like a typical one at home. They have decorated it with old liquor bottles converted into ceiling hangings and home-made craft items.

My favorite part : The music!! They play classic Bollywood songs. Sometimes old English songs are also played. Last time when I was there, they were playing Micheal Jackson’s songs and now you can easily guess that why people love to hang out at Mumbai Café.

PRICES 

Not extremely cheap, but affordable and can fit into any college student’s budget. You can easily have two tummy filling dishes in just Rs. 150.  The individual rates range from Rs. 15 to Rs. 75.

BUSINESS

Mondays and Tuesdays are slow. It picks up on Wednesdays and there is a heavy rush at the weekends.

Their major customers include the students of Hindustan University and VIT. But a major profit also comes from the deliveries at the corporate offices, at OMR. They don’t provide catering services but they do take bulk/party orders.

TURN ONS 

Dahi poori, dahi kachori, vada pav, extra butter in pav bhaji, can be easily located and music.

TURN OFFS

No desserts, though they serve cold drinks. Parathas are a bit over-rated. Ambience is street-like and not lavish, a problem when it’s too hot outside.

SERVICE

As they have 4 people working as a staff, service is just fine.

HYGIENE 

As told earlier, it feels like home. So hygiene is good.

OCCASIONS TO GO FOR 

Casual treats/parties and occasional hang outs. 

FUTURE PLANS

Renovation and expansion of the menu. Mr. Naidu is shuttling between Chennai and Mumbai in search for a cook who can make north Indian style desserts.

TIMINGS 

Weekdays – 12:30 am to 10 pm

Weekends -- 9:30 am to 10 pm

ADDRESS 

Padur, Near Hindustan University, Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), Chennai.

USEFUL LINKS IF YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT FEW DISHES

Misal pav : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misal_Pav

Ragda patty : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragda_pattice

Sabudana khichdi : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabudana_Khichadi

Dabeli : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabeli