Mumbai’s Street Food Dynasty

“Alexa, recommend the top places where I can experience the authentic, Mumbai local food.”

Alexa- “Hmm, seems like I need to take you through their streets!”

Any Mumbaikar and even most visitors are not new to the fact that Mumbai street food is worth an experience. How often do you find yourself walking down the street and seeing a large group of people gathering around a Dosa stall?

When it comes to the authentic local food of Bombay, the crowd becomes even larger.

I have covered 5 of the most popular street foods in Mumbai, the Emperors of Mumbai Streets, which are a must try for all visitors and a moment of self realisation for the Mumbaikars who have not tasted it yet!

1. VADA PAV:

After seeing ‘Mumbai’ and ‘Street Food’ in the same line, you are likely to see ‘Vada Pav’ in the next. It is one of the most iconic local Mumbai foods which you cannot miss!

From variations in the spice to additional toppings, cheese and masala, different stalls have different styles of creating this delicacy. Out of them, Ashok Vada Pav in Prabhadevi arguably reigns supreme. The best part about their Vada Pav is the crunch they add to it. The vada is soft and adequately spicy, the Pav is easy to chew as well. The chutney balances out the spice with a bit of sweet and the additional chura provides a crunch to complete the snack.

Other must try Vada Pav stalls in Mumbai include Anand Vada Pav in Ville Parle and Aaram Vada Pav opposite CST in Fort.

Ashok Vada Pav

2. PAV BHAJI:

Pav Bhaji is another very popular Maharashtrian dish in Mumbai. Pav Bhaji, like the famous Vada Pav has different add ons. A major item differentiating Pav Bhaji dishes is the butter. You might like your Bhaji very spicy in which case the lesser the better and vice versa.

Among the best Pav Bhaji joints there are two which are located in Tardeo opposite each other. One is Sardar Pav Bhaji and the other is Maji Sagar. Sardar’s speciality is the large amount of butter it adds to the bhaji. Maybe on a day when you are craving for non-spicy food and need a properly filling meal, Sardar will be your perfect solution! On the other hand Maji Sagar falls on the spicier side. Maji Sagar gets their bhaji almost perfectly right with a blend of sour and spice, but what is most appealing about this joint is their Pav. Maji Sagar makes the Pav soft and buttery as compared to most of the other joints, which fits well with the taste of the Bhaji.

A suggestion in the North as well? Try out Amar Juice Centre’s Pav Bhaji!

Spicy Pav Bhaji

3. MISAL PAV:

This dish is not as explored as Pav Bhaji and Vada Pav but it is still one of the most famous local Mumbai dishes which must not be left out of any visitors itenarary!

As a Mumbai food blogger I had the best experience trying to evaluate different Misal Pavs from different places.

Getting the Misal right is always a hard task. Sometimes the Farsan is not crunchy enough, or maybe the Misal lacks masala.

Vinay Health Home has always been up for the challenge. It is located between Charni Road and Marine Lines in South Bombay. After a morning walk on Marine Drive following a beautiful early morning view, this is the perfect breakfast to treat yourself to. It is difficult to describe the Misal here because it is neither too sweet, nor too spicy. It is a perfect mix of the two which makes it so special and different.

A few other places where you can try out this dish would be Aaswad in Dadar and Special Anand Bhuvan Hotel in Fort.

Crunchy Misal Pav

4. BOMBAY SANDWICH:

Want a step up from a plain cheese sandwich with cucumber and tomatoes? Try out the Bombay Sandwich! There is just something else about the street food stalls of Mumbai that serve this item. But amongst these stalls there is an intensive competition to serve the most delicious sandwich.

One which stands out is Raju Sandwich stall at Churchgate. This is a hub for most college students as it is opposite HR college. The sandwich served here makes for a scrumptious snack due to the amounts of butter and cheese added to it.

Another stall would be Popular Sandwich Stall at Lower Parel. Their secret lies in the sweet-spicy dip they provide with the sandwich and the perfect amount of cheese in the filling.

On a cool humid day, a heated Bombay Sandwich from one of these stalls could be just what your taste buds are craving for.

The Bombay Sandwich

5. BUN MASKA:

They say, “Breakfast in the western countries are satisfying with the bread-butter combination being a standard.”

I say, “Mumbai can do them one better. By ‘one better’ I literally mean beating them at their own game. Have you tried our Bun Maska?”

You might wonder that Bun Maska is just a bun with butter, there’s nothing special. That’s when Café Irani Chai in Mahim proves you wrong. This is the place with arguably the best Bun Maska in Mumbai entirely. This place goes old and classic by not adding tutti frutti to their buns. Despite this, the soft and easy to chew buns are like no other and the taste of the butter is uniquely good.

On a rainy day which characterizes Mumbai, a Bun Maska-Chai combination at this café would be a soothing experience not worth missing.

A few other locations where you can try this food out as breakfast or an evening snack are Britannia & Co. in Fort and Kyani & Co. in Marine lines.

Classic Bun Maska

These are just 5 of the local Mumbai foods which you can find on the streets. Beyond this there is still a wide range of street food whether it is a frankie or your comforting south Indian meal, all of which indeed do make this the City of Dreams!