Vada pav
A deep-fried spiced potato fritter (vada) inside a soft white pav with red garlic chutney and a fried green chilli. The Mumbai mill-worker sandwich, invented 1966.
Where: Ashok Vaidya Vada Pav, Fort Vada Pav Stalls, Sardar Pav Bhaji
Mumbai eats in layers. The Koli fishing community salts bombil on bamboo racks the same way they have for centuries. Parsi rooms like Britannia and Co serve berry pulao on bentwood chairs that have not moved since 1923. Irani cafes still pour strong sweet chai under high ceilings. Mill-worker lunches gave the city pav bhaji in the 1850s and vada pav in 1966, and both became the rhythm of every monsoon evening. The modern wave runs alongside: Masque ran four straight years as Best Restaurant in India on the Asia 50 Best list, and Bombay Canteen rewrote what a modern Indian menu can look like. South Indian filter coffee in Matunga, Bohri thali in Bohra households, Gujarati snacks in Tardeo, koliwada crab on Sai Baba Marg. The city does not pick a single style. It runs all of them at once, often within walking distance.
Eat your way through Mumbai
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Map of Mumbai
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Mumbai, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
Where to eat in Mumbai: editor-picked starting points
5 institutional venues to anchor a Mumbai food trip
- Masque - Modern Indian tasting, chef Varun Totlani
- Trishna - Seafood, chef House team
- Wasabi by Morimoto - Japanese, chef Masaharu Morimoto (consulting)
- Ekaa - Modern Indian tasting, chef Niyati Rao and Sagar Neve
- The Bombay Canteen Fine Dining - Modern Indian, chef Hussain Shahzad
Signature Mumbai dishes
- Vada pav - A deep-fried spiced potato fritter (vada) inside a soft white pav with red garlic chutney and a fried green chilli
- Pav bhaji - A spiced mash of mixed vegetables (potato, cauliflower, capsicum, peas) served with buttered white pav rolls
- Berry pulao - Parsi mutton pulao topped with tangy Iranian zereshk berries, fried cashews and crispy onion
- Bombay duck (bombil rava fry) - Bombil (lizardfish), semolina-coated and pan-fried
- Misal pav - Sprout curry topped with farsan (crunchy fried mix), onion, coriander and lime, served with buttered pav
Best Mumbai neighborhoods for food
- Colaba - The southern tip of Mumbai
- Fort and Kala Ghoda - Mumbai's old commercial core
- Marine Lines and Dhobi Talao - The old Irani cafe quarter
- Chowpatty and Girgaon - Bhel puri, sev puri and pani puri on the beach at sunset
Signature dishes in Mumbai
The plates that define eating in Mumbai.
Pav bhaji
A spiced mash of mixed vegetables (potato, cauliflower, capsicum, peas) served with buttered white pav rolls. Mid-1800s Mumbai mill-worker lunch invention.
Where: Sardar Pav Bhaji, Cream Centre, Sukh Sagar
Berry pulao
Parsi mutton pulao topped with tangy Iranian zereshk berries, fried cashews and crispy onion. The Britannia and Co signature, dating to 1923.
Where: Britannia and Co, Jimmy Boy, The Bombay Canteen
Bombay duck (bombil rava fry)
Bombil (lizardfish), semolina-coated and pan-fried. The Koli signature dish; the fish is named for the colonial-era post (Bombay Dak) that shipped it salted.
Where: Mahesh Lunch Home, Trishna, Gajalee
Misal pav
Sprout curry topped with farsan (crunchy fried mix), onion, coriander and lime, served with buttered pav. A Maharashtrian breakfast institution.
Where: Sardar Pav Bhaji, Soam, Cream Centre
Bhel puri
Puffed rice tossed with chopped onion, tomato, coriander, sev, tamarind chutney and green chutney. Mumbai's signature beach chaat. Editor's TableJourney pick.
Where: Chowpatty Beach Bhel and Chaat Carts, Juhu Beach Chaat, Elco Restaurant and Market
Sali boti
Parsi mutton curry topped with crispy fried potato straws called sali. The wedding-dinner staple of Mumbai's Parsi community; sweet and tangy with apricot, jaggery and vinegar balancing the meat.
Where: Britannia and Co, Jimmy Boy, The Bombay Canteen
Patra ni machhi
Pomfret fillets coated in green coconut chutney, wrapped in banana leaf and steamed. The Parsi wedding-table fish dish. Editor's TableJourney pick.
Where: Jimmy Boy, Britannia and Co, The Bombay Canteen
Falooda
A sweet rose-syrup drink layered with vermicelli, basil seeds, milk, kulfi and ice cream. Persian heritage via the Irani cafes. Editor's TableJourney pick.
Where: Kyani and Co, Cafe Madras, Cream Centre
Akuri
Parsi-style soft scrambled eggs cooked slow with onion, tomato, ginger, green chilli and coriander. The Parsi breakfast institution, served with pav or brun and a glass of Irani chai on the side.
Where: Britannia and Co, Jimmy Boy, Kyani and Co
Kheema pav
Spiced minced meat (usually mutton) with onion, ginger, tomato and garam masala, served with buttered pav rolls. Parsi and Mughlai institution.
Where: Britannia and Co, Jimmy Boy, Bademiya
Bombay sandwich
White-bread sandwich with cucumber, tomato, boiled potato, beetroot and green chutney. Sometimes grilled with butter and cheese. Editor's TableJourney pick.
Where: Cream Centre, Sukh Sagar, Indigo Delicatessen
Pani puri
Hollow crisp puris filled with tamarind water, mashed potato, sprouts and chutneys. The Mumbai chaat that gets eaten by the dozen. Editor's TableJourney pick.
Where: Chowpatty Beach Bhel and Chaat Carts, Juhu Beach Chaat, Elco Restaurant and Market
Frankie
A wrap of spiced filling (chicken, mutton, paneer or vegetable) rolled in a thin flatbread, with masala onion and house spice mix. Mumbai's answer to the kati roll, invented in 1969 and still a city staple.
Where: Bademiya, Indigo Delicatessen, Cream Centre
Modak
Steamed sweet dumpling with grated coconut and jaggery filling inside a rice-flour wrapper. Ganesh Chaturthi staple. Editor's TableJourney pick.
Where: Sardar Pav Bhaji, Soam, Cream Centre
Solkadhi
Pink coconut-and-kokum drink served with coastal fish meals. Cools the palate and aids digestion of rich curries. Editor's TableJourney pick.
Where: Mahesh Lunch Home, Trishna, Gajalee
Bun maska
A soft white Irani bun split and slathered with thick salted Amul butter (maska). Served with sweet milky Irani chai at every Irani cafe in Mumbai.
Where: Kyani and Co, Sassanian Boulangerie, Yazdani Bakery
Restaurants to know in Mumbai
A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Mumbai.
Trishna
Trishna in Kala Ghoda has poured butter, pepper and garlic over jumbo crab since 1965. The room is small, the bill is steep, the crab is the city benchmark.
Signature: Butter pepper garlic crab, Squid koliwada, Hyderabadi fish tikka
Britannia and Co
Britannia has poured Iranian zereshk berries over mutton pulao at this Ballard Estate room since 1923, three generations of the Kohinoor family running it.
Signature: Berry pulao, Sali boti, Caramel custard
The Bombay Canteen
Floyd Cardoz, Sameer Seth and Yash Bhanage opened The Bombay Canteen in Kamala Mills in 2015 and reframed regional Indian cooking as a tasting-format menu.
Signature: Eggs kejriwal, Ghee roast chicken seekh, Gulab nut
Mahesh Lunch Home
S C Karkera opened Mumbai's first dedicated Mangalorean room in Fort in 1977. The pomfret hits the tandoor whole and the fish gassi runs with thick coconut.
Signature: Tandoori pomfret, Crab butter pepper garlic, Neer dosa
Khyber
Khyber on MG Road has been a Mumbai Mughlai institution since 1958. The murals run the length of the room and the raan still arrives at the table on a board.
Signature: Raan, Kabab e khas, Murgh malai kabab
Gajalee
Gajalee in Vile Parle East serves Malvani coastal cooking with the koli catch that morning. The thali runs prawns, surmai and crab with sol kadhi.
Signature: Malvani prawn curry, Bombil fry, Surmai tikka
Where to eat by neighborhood
Colaba
The southern tip of Mumbai. Heritage hotels, the Gateway of India and a kebab institution that runs until three in the morning.
Best for: Late-night kebabs, Hotel fine dining, All-day European
Fort and Kala Ghoda
Mumbai's old commercial core. Parsi cafes, Irani bakeries, gallery-adjacent bistros and the Koli seafood houses on Sai Baba Marg.
Best for: Parsi, Koli seafood, Irani cafes, Modern Indian
Also: kala-ghoda
Marine Lines and Dhobi Talao
The old Irani cafe quarter. Bun maska, brun, mawa cake and strong sweet chai at counters that opened more than a century ago.
Best for: Irani cafes, Bakery and bread, Breakfast chai
Chowpatty and Girgaon
Bhel puri, sev puri and pani puri on the beach at sunset. Gujarati thali rooms inland. The original Cream Centre faces the sea.
Best for: Bhel and chaat, Gujarati thali, Beach snacks
Tardeo
Mumbai's pav bhaji ground zero. Sardar's stall by the bus depot, Swati Snacks for Gujarati and a residential mix of South Indian and Punjabi rooms.
Best for: Pav bhaji, Gujarati vegetarian, Late-night dosa
Lower Parel and Worli
Mill compounds turned dining districts. Kamala Mills, Mathuradas Mill and the Worli sea face house The Bombay Canteen, Masque, Americano sibling rooms and Slink and Bardot.
Best for: Modern Indian, Cocktail bars, Tasting menus
When to come hungry in Mumbai
Peak food season: October to March, plus the bombil and prawn months from April to early June. The fishing ban runs 1 June to 31 July; coastal kitchens shift to freshwater fish and vegetable menus during the monsoon.
Local dining hours: Lunch 12:30 to 15:00, Dinner 19:30 to 23:30. Street stalls and Irani cafes open from 07:00 for chai and breakfast; Mohammed Ali Road and Bademiya run past midnight; Bademiya stays open until 03:00.
Tipping: Most sit-down restaurants add 5 to 10 percent service. If they do not, 10 percent in cash on the table is standard. Street stalls and chai counters do not expect tips.
Mumbai food, FAQ
What food is Mumbai known for?
Mumbai's signature dishes include Vada pav, Pav bhaji, Berry pulao, Bombay duck (bombil rava fry), Misal pav. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.
What are the best food neighborhoods in Mumbai?
TableJourney editors map Mumbai by district. Colaba, Fort and Kala Ghoda, Marine Lines and Dhobi Talao, Chowpatty and Girgaon are among the strongest for food, each with its own guide.
Where should I eat fine dining in Mumbai?
Editor picks in Mumbai include Masque, Wasabi by Morimoto, Ekaa, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
Are there food tours in Mumbai?
TableJourney covers 5 editor-picked food tours in Mumbai, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
Does Mumbai have good vegetarian or vegan food?
TableJourney's Mumbai dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian, halal, gluten_free venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.