Day-by-day eating plans for Mumbai. weekend classics, family routes, vegan plans, on-a-budget editions.

Day-by-day plans

Mumbai weekend: the classics, done right ★ 4.7

First-time visitor, two days2 days

A weekend built around the dishes Mumbai invented, the Irani cafes that wrote the rulebook and the modern Indian rooms that are rewriting it.

  1. Day 1: Saturday: Irani breakfast, koli lunch, modern Indian dinner

    Morning
    Kyani and Co at 08:00 on Marine Lines for bun maska, Irani chai and a mawa cake at the original 1904 counter. Walk down to Marine Drive for an early sea view.
    Afternoon
    Lunch at Trishna in Kala Ghoda from 12:30: butter pepper garlic crab, squid koliwada, a side of neer dosa. Walk through the Kala Ghoda Arts district after.
    Evening
    Dinner at The Bombay Canteen at 20:00 in Kamala Mills: eggs kejriwal at the bar, ghee roast chicken seekh, the Canteen Experience if booking allows.
  2. Day 2: Sunday: Parsi lunch, Bandra coffee, late kebab

    Morning
    Jimmy Boy at 12:30 off Horniman Circle for the Parsi wedding menu: patra ni machhi, sali boti and lagan nu custard. Walk Fort for the heritage architecture after.
    Afternoon
    Coffee at Subko in Bandra West at 15:00: a Bibasaha Bana espresso and a chocolate-cardamom croissant on the Chapel Road terrace.
    Evening
    Dinner at Bademiya in Colaba from 20:30: charcoal kebabs and a baida roti from the Tulloch Road street stall. The stall runs until 03:00.

Mumbai vegetarian: three days without missing a thing ★ 4.6

Vegetarian, three days3 days

Three days inside Mumbai's deep vegetarian map: Gujarati thali, South Indian dosa, Parsi vegetarian dishes and the chaat-stall classics.

  1. Day 1: Day 1: Gujarati and chaat-stall classics

    Morning
    Swati Snacks at noon in Tardeo: panki on banana leaves, faraali pattice and a glass of chaas. Three generations of Gujarati vegetarian cooking.
    Afternoon
    Sardar Pav Bhaji at 14:00 in Tardeo: cheese pav bhaji with extra butter, the canonical Mumbai street vegetable curry.
    Evening
    Bhel and pani puri at the Chowpatty Beach Bhel and Chaat Carts from sundown. Walk Marine Drive after.
  2. Day 2: Day 2: South Indian Matunga

    Morning
    Cafe Madras at 07:30 in Matunga East: filter coffee, Mysore masala dosa, fresh idli. Walk Matunga's South Indian quarter after.
    Afternoon
    A Rama Nayak Udipi Shri Krishna at 13:00: the unlimited South Indian thali on banana leaves, with sambar refills.
    Evening
    Soam at 19:30 in Chowpatty: saat dana khichdi, faraali undhiyo, bhinda nu shaak. Modern Gujarati from Pinki Dixit.
  3. Day 3: Day 3: Pancham, Kyani, Cream Centre

    Morning
    Kyani and Co at 08:00 in Marine Lines: bun maska, Irani chai, mawa cake. The 1904 institution.
    Afternoon
    Pancham Puriwala at 13:00 in Fort: Pancham thali with extra puris. Open since 1848, lunch only at this counter.
    Evening
    Cream Centre at 20:00 in Chowpatty: channa bhatura and a hot fudge sundae to close. The 1958 institution.

Mumbai cocktail bars: a long, slow night ★ 4.5

Bar crawl, one long evening1 evening

A single long evening across Mumbai's best cocktail bars: from Bandra natural-wine to Worli French to Colaba late-night kebabs.

  1. Day 1: One evening: Bandra, Worli, Colaba

    Morning
    Subko Bandra at 18:00 for a pre-dinner pour-over to wake up before the night starts. Sit on the Chapel Road terrace.
    Afternoon
    Bombay Daak at 20:00 in Bandra: Indian regional liqueur cocktails (feni, mahua, urak) with daaru chakhna from across India. Live DJ on Friday and Saturday.
    Evening
    Slink and Bardot at 22:30 in Worli for a French 75 and late oysters, then Bademiya at 01:00 in Colaba for charcoal kebabs and a baida roti to close.

Mumbai Irani cafe trail: bun maska to berry pulao ★ 4.6

Returning visitor, one day1 day

A single-day loop through the surviving Irani cafes of South Bombay, anchored on the three rooms that wrote the script: Yazdani, Sassanian, Britannia.

  1. Day 1: Day 1: Fort breakfast, Marine Lines lunch, Ballard Estate close

    Morning
    Open the day at Yazdani Bakery in Fort at 07:30 for brun maska, bun maska, raspberry soda and the wood-fired oven brun. The Cawasji family has worked this counter since 1953; the room itself is 19th-century. Sit at the wooden benches and order a second mawa cake.
    Afternoon
    Walk to Sassanian Boulangerie at Marine Lines for the late breakfast crossover at 11:30: kheema pav, akuri, mawa cake, sweet milky chai. Sassanian is the loudest of the three rooms and the easiest first stop for someone new to Irani format. Linger over a Boombay Bhushan cookbook from the counter rack.
    Evening
    Lunch and close at Britannia and Co in Ballard Estate from 12:30 (book ahead). Berry pulao with Iranian zereshk, sali boti, raspberry soda, lagan nu custard. The room has been working since 1923 in Wakefield House; the late Boman Kohinoor's portrait still greets at the door.

Mumbai modern Indian: Bandra and Lower Parel in one day ★ 4.7

Food-focused, one full day1 day

A one-day trail through the post-2015 modern Indian movement: Subko coffee in Bandra, O Pedro Goan-Portuguese lunch in BKC, Slink and Bardot supper club in Lower Parel.

  1. Day 1: Day 1: Bandra coffee, BKC lunch, Lower Parel close

    Morning
    Coffee and croissants at Subko Specialty Coffee Roasters and Craft Bakehouse in Bandra West from 08:30. Order a Bibasaha Bana espresso, a cardamom-pistachio croissant, and pick up a single-origin Chikmagalur bag for home. The roastery is visible behind the counter.
    Afternoon
    Lunch at O Pedro in BKC from 12:30 (book at the bar if walking in). The Goan-Portuguese tasting menu: chouriço pao, prawn balchao, bebinca. The room reads as a coastal Goan tavern transplanted into the BKC office block; the bar pours feni-based cocktails through the meal.
    Evening
    Supper club at Slink and Bardot in Lower Parel from 19:30 (book a week ahead). The chef's-tasting moves through Mumbai's modern Indian repertoire with a French-trained hand. Stay for the late drinks on the back terrace; the room runs till 01:30.
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