best irani cafes in mumbai (2026) - parsi food trail with honest reviews

tldr: out of 10 irani and parsi cafes, my top 3 are britannia & co (best parsi food, fort, rs 350 per person), cafe military (best keema pav and akuri, fort, rs 200), and kyani & co (best old-school irani cafe vibe, marine lines, rs 100). if you eat at just one, make it britannia. full reviews with prices and honest opinions below.

mumbai had over 350 irani cafes in the 1950s. now there are fewer than 25. every year another one shuts down, replaced by a juice bar or a coworking space or whatever else pays marine drive rent. the ones that survive are not surviving because they’re trendy. they’re surviving because generations of mumbaikar families refuse to let them die.

i spent two full days eating across south mumbai’s irani and parsi cafes. bun maska for breakfast, dhansak for lunch, caramel custard between meals. total damage was about rs 2,500 across everything, which is absurdly cheap considering what you get. nobody paid me to write this. nobody even gave me a free chai.

the distinction between “irani cafe” and “parsi restaurant” matters to historians but not to your stomach. irani cafes were started by iranian immigrants in the early 1900s - simple food, marble tables, bentwood chairs, “no outside food” signs that have been there since before independence. parsi restaurants come from the zoroastrian parsi community that arrived in india centuries earlier and gave mumbai everything from the tata group to dhansak. for this guide, i’m covering both because they share a geography (south mumbai), a vibe (old-school, cash-only, zero pretension), and a clientele (everyone from judges to taxi drivers).

if you’re looking for general cafe recommendations across mumbai, i have a full mumbai cafe guide. for street food, check the mumbai street food guide.

the awards (my personal picks)

• best overall: britannia & co in fort. the dhansak alone justifies a trip to south mumbai.
• best budget eat: cafe military. keema pav and chai for under rs 150. that’s a full breakfast.
• best for first-timers: britannia & co. it’s the most complete parsi food experience in one sitting.
• best old-school vibe: kyani & co. the marble tables, the wooden chairs, the grumpy service - this is what every irani cafe used to look like.
• best akuri: cafe military. creamy, spiced, melts on the bread. my dad makes eggs like this and that’s the highest compliment i can give.
• best dessert: cafe military’s caramel custard. chilled, wobbly, light. the perfect thing after a heavy meal in mumbai heat.
• most iconic: leopold cafe. not for the food (it’s average), but for what it represents. 1871 establishment, 26/11 survivor, colaba institution.
• most overrated: leopold cafe’s food. the vibe carries it. the wonton soup is thin, the pasta is basic, the prices are tourist-markup. go for a cola float and the history, not a meal.

the full list

the top tier (where i’d bring anyone visiting mumbai)

1. britannia & co

fort (near horniman circle) / rs 300-400 per person / 9/10

britannia opened in 1923 and stepping inside feels like walking into a photograph your grandfather would recognize. the fans are old, the chairs are older, and the menu hasn’t changed much in decades. this is not a complaint.

the dhansak is what you come for. it’s a complex dish - a daal made with multiple lentils and vegetables, cooked with mutton or chicken, served with caramelized rice. it sounds like it shouldn’t work but it absolutely does. the daal-meat gravy has this depth that takes hours to build. the caramelized rice adds sweetness that balances the spice. every parsi family has a sunday dhansak tradition and this is why.

the berry pulao is the other signature - rice cooked with zereshk berries (dried barberries from iran). sweet-savory, fragrant, and unlike anything else on any mumbai menu. pair it with salli boti or the chicken farcha (fried chicken, parsi style - light, crispy, melts-in-mouth territory).

cash only. no upi, no card, no exceptions. carry rs 500-1000. the raspberry soda they serve here is a relic - tastes like cough syrup, honestly, but it’s been on the menu since before independence and people order it for the nostalgia. i tried it. bitu liked it. i’ll stick with water.

what to order: dhansak with caramelized rice, berry pulao, chicken farcha, raspberry soda (for the experience)

verdict: the single best parsi meal in mumbai. go on a weekday, go hungry, eat slowly.

2. cafe military

fort (near horniman circle) / rs 150-250 per person / 8.5/10

cafe military has been running since 1933 and is one of south mumbai’s last surviving irani cafes in the true sense. wooden furniture, marble-top tables, a list of “no” rules longer than the menu (no outside food, no splitting bills, cash only, no complaints about the service speed). this is part of the charm.

the akuri is the star. parsi-style scrambled eggs - softer, creamier, and more spiced than your regular bhurji. tomatoes, onions, green chillies, coriander. served on toast that’s been gently warmed. the eggs practically melt into the bread. my dad makes eggs exactly like this and eating it here felt like a sunday morning at home. don’t add lemon juice. i made that mistake. it doesn’t need the acid.

keema pav is the other essential order. minced meat, simply spiced, served with soft pav and a kachumber salad. this is classic south mumbai working-class breakfast food. light enough to start the day, flavorful enough to feel like a meal. under rs 100 for a plate.

the caramel custard is non-negotiable. chilled, wobbly, light enough to eat even when your stomach is protesting. perfect for mumbai heat. i could eat three of these.

they also have beer on the menu, which makes cafe military one of the few irani cafes where you can have a chilled one with your keema pav. respect.

what to order: akuri on toast, keema pav, caramel custard, a beer if it’s that kind of afternoon

verdict: the most honest meal in south mumbai. nothing fancy, everything good. rs 200 and you walk out full and happy.

3. kyani & co

marine lines / rs 80-120 per person / 8/10

kyani opened in 1904 and has the kind of interior that instagram influencers would kill for - except it’s not curated, it’s just old. the glass display cases, the bentwood chairs, the faded menu boards, the slightly rude service that somehow adds to the experience.

bun maska and chai. that’s the order. the bun is soft, the maska (butter) is generous, the chai is exactly what cutting chai should taste like. rs 40-50 for this combination. you could eat breakfast here every day for a week and spend less than one meal at a bandra cafe.

their kheema pav is solid. the mawa cake is a mumbai specialty you don’t find everywhere - dense, sweet, with a mawa (khoya) richness that goes perfectly with the slightly bitter irani chai. the omelette is basic but reliable.

the crowd here is democratic in the best sense. lawyers from the high court sit next to college students sit next to taxi drivers. nobody is performing their visit. nobody is taking photos of the bun maska. people are just eating.

what to order: bun maska, irani chai, mawa cake, kheema pav

verdict: the platonic ideal of an irani cafe. go before it, like most of the others, eventually closes.

the solid middle

4. jimmy boy

fort / rs 350-450 per person / 8/10

jimmy boy is more restaurant than cafe, but it serves the most complete parsi thali in south mumbai. if you want to try everything - dhansak, salli boti, patra ni machhi, lagan nu custard - in one sitting, this is where you go. the thali changes by day of the week, which is a genuinely parsi touch (different dishes for different days is a community tradition).

cleaner and more organized than britannia, which means the food is more predictable but the experience is less raw. trade-offs.

what to order: parsi thali (whatever the day’s special is), patra ni machhi, lagan nu custard

verdict: the safe recommendation. bring your parents here. they’ll love it.

5. sbs restaurant

colaba / rs 250-350 per person / 7.5/10

sbs does solid parsi food in colaba. the salli boti (mutton with crispy potato straws on top) is their strength. the dhansak is fine but britannia’s is better. the location in colaba makes it convenient if you’re doing a south mumbai day.

what to order: salli boti, dhansak, caramel custard

verdict: good parsi food, not the best. convenient if you’re already in colaba.

6. cafe no (horniman circle)

fort (inside a 155-year-old building) / rs 250-350 per person / 7.5/10

this one is new - opened in 2025 inside a gorgeous 155-year-old heritage building near horniman circle. the building is stunning, the food is surprisingly good for how new it is. the mutton seekh kebab is the order here - four pieces, juicy, perfectly spiced, zero gamey smell. served with a roti, mayo chutney, and green chutney. wrap it up with some raw onion and it’s one of the best kebab rolls in the fort area.

the catch: it’s new, so it lacks the decades of character that places like britannia and cafe military have. but the food is honest and the building alone is worth the visit.

what to order: mutton seekh kebab with roti, green chutney

verdict: new kid on the block doing a solid job. the heritage building carries a lot of weight.

7. b. merwan & co

grant road / rs 60-100 per person / 7.5/10

merwan is the irani cafe that early-morning mumbai runs on. the maska pav here has a following that borders on religious devotion. soft bun, generous butter, dunked in chai. that’s it. that’s the entire experience. it costs under rs 50.

the place itself is cramped, loud, and has zero ambiance unless you consider 100 years of butter stains on marble tables to be ambiance (i do). go before 9am. by 10am the maska pav runs out and the crowd thins.

what to order: maska pav, irani chai. nothing else needed.

verdict: the cheapest and most satisfying breakfast in south mumbai. rs 50 and you’ve eaten what generations of mumbaikars have eaten.

8. yazdani bakery

fort / rs 60-100 per person / 7.5/10

yazdani is more bakery than cafe, but they have a few tables and the brun maska here is the best in fort. brun is different from the regular soft bun - it’s crusty, slightly hard on the outside, soft inside. the contrast with cold butter is beautiful. their apple strudel and bread pudding show up on weekdays and sell out by noon.

what to order: brun maska, irani chai, whatever fresh bake is available

verdict: a 10-minute detour from britannia. do both in the same morning.

the ones that aren’t really about the food

9. leopold cafe

colaba / rs 500-700 per person / 7/10

leopold is from 1871 and it’s mumbai’s most famous cafe, but let’s be honest - you’re not going for the food. the wonton soup is passable (the broth is good, the sheets are thick and meh). the pasta is basic alfredo, heavy on butter. the cola float was the best thing i ordered, and that’s literally coke with ice cream.

what leopold has is energy. the colaba foot traffic, the mix of tourists and locals, the fact that this building survived 26/11 and reopened four days later. the bullet holes are still in the walls. you go to leopold to sit in a piece of mumbai’s history, have a drink, and watch the world go by.

the menu is multi-cuisine and overpriced for what it is. stick to drinks and snacks. a full meal for two will run you rs 1,200-1,500 and you’ll wish you’d eaten at britannia instead.

what to order: cola float, cold coffee, maybe a beer. skip the mains.

verdict: iconic for reasons that have nothing to do with food. go once. sit for an hour. don’t order pasta.

10. k. rustom & co

churchgate / rs 80-120 per person / 7/10

technically not an irani cafe but it’s on every south mumbai food trail so i’m including it. k. rustom has been selling ice cream sandwiches since 1953. the concept: a thick slab of ice cream between two wafer biscuits. that’s it. flavors rotate. the walnut crunch and pista sell out fastest.

the ice cream is good, not extraordinary. what makes rustom special is the scene - school kids, office workers, families, everyone standing around the tiny counter eating ice cream at 3pm on a tuesday. i walked in hot and annoyed from the mumbai sun and walked out genuinely happier. sometimes rs 100 of ice cream between two wafers is all the therapy you need.

what to order: whatever flavor hasn’t sold out. walnut crunch if available.

verdict: a rs 100 mood fix. not life-changing ice cream, but life-changing vibes.

mumbai irani cafe tips

• carry cash. most irani cafes don’t accept upi or cards. britannia, cafe military, kyani - all cash only. keep rs 500-1000 in small notes.
• go early. maska pav at merwan sells out by 10am. yazdani’s bakes sell out by noon. britannia gets a queue by 12:30pm on weekends.
• don’t expect fast service. irani cafes operate on their own clock. the waiter will come when the waiter comes. this is not a bug, it’s the feature.
• order simply. bun maska and chai at irani cafes. dhansak or berry pulao at parsi restaurants. trying to order continental food at these places is like ordering pizza at a dosa stall.
• the fort area (near horniman circle) has the highest density of irani/parsi places. you can walk between britannia, cafe military, yazdani, and jimmy boy in under 15 minutes.
• weekday lunches are significantly less crowded than weekends. britannia on a tuesday at noon versus a saturday at 1pm is a completely different experience.
• if you only have time for one meal, make it britannia. if you only have time for one chai, make it kyani.
• most of these places close by 7-8pm. plan your irani cafe crawl as a breakfast-to-lunch thing, not dinner.

if you found this useful, check out these other mumbai guides:

• best cafes in mumbai - the full cafe guide including specialty coffee and bandra spots
• best street food in mumbai - vada pav, pav bhaji, and beyond
• best restaurants in mumbai - proper sit-down meals across the city
• mumbai food guide - the complete overview of eating in mumbai