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.
Bombay duck is not a duck but bombil, a lizardfish found off the Mumbai coast. The Koli community has salted and sun-scorched bombil on bamboo racks for centuries. The fresh fish is rava-coated and pan-fried in Koli kitchens and at Mahesh, Trishna and Gajalee. The colonial-era nickname came from salted bombil shipped as cargo (dak = mail).
3 editor picks for Bombay duck (bombil rava fry) in Mumbai, ranked by editorial score. All Mumbai signature dishes · Bombay duck (bombil rava fry) across every city.
Trishna ★ 4.8
kala-ghoda · 7 Sai Baba Marg, Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai 400001
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.
Mahesh Lunch Home ★ 4.5
fort · 8-B Cawasji Patel Street, Fort, Mumbai 400001
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.
Gajalee ★ 4.4
andheri · Kadamgiri Complex, Hanuman Road, Vile Parle East, Mumbai 400057
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.