Around Town: Cafe Military, the 90-year-old Irani cafe once frequented by M F Husain, Madhubala continues to lure Kheema lovers in Mumbai

around town: cafe military, the 90-year-old irani cafe once frequented by m f husain, madhubala continues to lure kheema lovers in mumbai

irani cafe

The service was quick, the portion sizes were big and the food was wholesome. (Express Photo by Pradip Das)

This year marked 90 years of Cafe Military. Started in 1933 by Khodaram B Golabi, an Iranian who moved to India in search of a better livelihood, as a canteen catering to the armed forces, Cafe Military turned into a restaurant after Independence.

“Initially, it would serve only bakery products, including cakes and puddings with some Parsi dishes like Brun Maska. It was in the 1970s that we began serving Parsi and Mughlai food,” shared 60-year-old Sheriar Khosravi, the third-generation restauranteur, who has been coming to the restaurant since his childhood but became the sole face in the last few years, after his mother Shirin’s demise in January 2020.

“She started coming to the cafe to give my father (Behram K Khosravi took over the reins of the eatery in 1970) company and they would return home together. After he passed away, she continued,” added Sheriar, who has retained the essence of the gone era with wooden cabinets taking over one wall and wooden panelling featuring vintage reverse-painted glass paintings taking another. The tables adorn the quintessential checkered tablecloths.

Coming to the food, the 2,000-sqft restaurant parked on the ground floor of Alli Chambers in Fort, is well-known for its Dhansak (Rs 220 – 300), Salli Boti (Rs 270), Kheema (Rs 150), Curry Rice (Rs 190 – Rs 290) and Akuri (Rs 130). (Express Photo by Pradip Das)

Coming to the food, the 2,000-sqft restaurant parked on the ground floor of Alli Chambers in Fort, is well-known for its Dhansak (Rs 220 – 300), Salli Boti (Rs 270), Kheema (Rs 150), Curry Rice (Rs 190 – Rs 290) and Akuri (Rs 130). Giving it a perfect company are raspberry soda and a variety of chilled beers, from Kangaro and London Pilsner to Kingfisher and Budweiser. To end the meal on a sweetener note, there is a made-to-perfection Caramel Custard (Rs 60).

We visited the restaurant on a late Friday afternoon, and it was bustling with people of different age groups and professions. The elderly Parsi trio sitting opposite the cash counter were dining at leisure, the two senior lawyers sitting next to them seemed in a hurry and so did the bank employee wearing his ID card as garland and the staff from a posh restaurant in the neighbourhood. The most ordered item was Dhansak — an amalgamation of Parsi and Gujarati cuisine that sees mutton cooked in a mixture of lentils and vegetables, crispy on the outside and tender from within Chicken Farcha (Rs 280) from its ‘Day’s Special’ section on the menu.

The service was quick, the portion sizes were big and the food was wholesome. Even in the maddening rush, the staff is alert, ready to tend to every need, whether it is another bottle of beer, an additional serving of gravy or bill.

While the restaurant has always been a regular joint for meat eaters who frequent this neighbourhood and it continues to be, Khosravi recently added a handful of options for vegetarians like this writer.

around town: cafe military, the 90-year-old irani cafe once frequented by m f husain, madhubala continues to lure kheema lovers in mumbai

irani cafe

60-year-old Sheriar Khosravi, the third-generation restauranteur. (Express Photo by Pradip Das)

“At times, people who don’t consume meat or egg are accompanying their friends who choose to eat here. And it was gruesome to those vegetarians who had no choice except that of a drink or a dessert on the menu so I added a few items,” said Khosravi. What appealed to us is that even though the options are limited, they haven’t compromised on taste. This writer tried their Veg Pulav (Rs 160) and it was at par with Biryani at some of the good restaurants.

“When I was young, my father told me that the job begins in the kitchen and ends at the cash counter. When I started coming here regularly, I would always be in the kitchen. To date, I don’t buy any readymade spices. I handpick them and get them pounded,” he shared as he called for the packets of his masalas. The minute he opened them, we got a lovely whiff of black cardamom, cinnamon and black pepper among other spices.

“There are many Parsi/Irani food joints in the city, even in the neighbourhood, what keeps us going is our taste, quantity and quality,” shared Khosravi.

around town: cafe military, the 90-year-old irani cafe once frequented by m f husain, madhubala continues to lure kheema lovers in mumbai

irani cafe

Even in the maddening rush, the staff is alert, ready to tend to every need, whether it is another bottle of beer, an additional serving of gravy or bill. (Express Photo by Pradip Das)

Among the list of celebrities who have dined here are M F Husain, Madhubala, Nutan and Saif Ali Khan. “Once music composer Vanraj Bhatiya was dining here. After finishing his meal, he shook my hand and said that this is the best Kheema he has ever had,” he recalled, adding that they treat them no differently.

Even though the lunch hours look good, we were told that the overall demand has witnessed a decline post-Covid-19. “The business is about 50 or 60 per cent of what it used to be. We used to open the restaurant at 8.30 am. Now we open it at 10.30 am,” he said, adding that earlier they would be busy during breakfast hours, followed by lunch and then again in the evening for tea and snacks. “It is no longer the case. But it is the hope of a better tomorrow that keeps me and many of my friends in the neighbourhood keep going,” added Khosravi who is looking at opening the restaurant on Sundays as well. Joining him soon in continuing to run this landmark restaurant would be his son, Ronish, an engineer by profession.

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