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We asked some distinguished Bombay friends where to find the best Pau Bhaji in Mumbai
5 BOMBAY FRIENDS. 5 PAU BHAJIS.
Our friends’ very best bites.
We asked some distinguished Bombay friends with enormous knowledge of the city, where to find the best Pau Bhaji. These wonderful, charming, impossibly cool and kind souls are the best sort of Bombay companions, we are grateful for them all.
ABOVE: Our Up-to-date Pau Bhaji – bettered with more bite, ginger-garlic and smoky-roasted vegetables
A clattering of three-compartment trays, a rhythmic mash of bhaji against a hot tawa. A sizzle, a slow-flowing rivulet of melted butter. A name is called, trays pass hurriedly from hand to hand, until one finally reaches you.
Behold Bombay’s beloved Pau Bhaji. Once a hearty meal for the city’s textile workers, it’s now a buttery, comforting staple. Soft pau, perfectly toasted, coupled with mixed, mashed, spiced bhaji – a butter-laden vegetable medley – served on a shiny steel tray. It’s the most simple, most delicious snack, surely best enjoyed on Chowpatty, with a view. There’s a familiar, delightful mess to it: the tearing of pau, the dunking and scooping of bhaji (topped with the fresh onion bits and squeezed over with much lime) and then, the short struggle of wiping masala’d fingers on squares of tissue paper that absorb almost. You give up, only because you’re moving on to dessert.
An after-school treat, an evening-by-the-beach accompaniment, a college first-date favourite, or a quick takeaway dinner – Pau Bhaji always sates. In a city where you can find it at almost every corner, we turned to our friends and colleagues in Bombay to give us their top spot for this buttery, spicy indulgence.
1Sardar Pav Bhaji
“Easily Sardar Pav Bhaji in Tardeo – because eating it is so damn transgressive. With all that butter, it doesn’t just hasten my impending heart attack, it gives my doctor one too. At this stage of life, I allow myself to eat at Sardar about once every decade and then dine out on the memory until my next visit.”
– Naresh Fernandes, Author, Journalist and Editor of Scroll.in
2Sukh Sagar
“Pau Bhaji in Bombay! Well, there’s two places in the city that stand out for me – very likely because I’ve eaten there the most. The first is Sukh Sagar near Girgaum Chowpatty, where the pau is perfectly crispy and just how it should be. The second would be Sardar Pav Bhaji in Tardeo. They’ve been around since 1966, everyone in the city knows about them, and eating their Pau Bhaji is like having a little spoonful of butter in every bite!”
– Aliya Curmally, Filmmaker
3Swati Snacks
“Swati Snacks has been a favourite of mine (and everyone else) since its early days in Tardeo. When they opened another outpost in Nariman Point, closer to my home, I was ecstatic. I love most things on their menu – a greatest hits album of Gujarati dishes and local Bombay staples – but I never skip the Pau Bhaji. Loaded with butter and mashed into the perfect consistency (nice and smooth), their Pau Bhaji is hard to beat.”
– Alex Sanchez, Chef and Co-founder at Americano and OTRA
4Shreejee's
“When in Bombay, if you’re after comfort food, Pau Bhaji is the way to go. It’s such a big part of living in the city. When we were little, my mum, bhaiya (brother) and I would slink away – without telling papa – to Shreejee's or High Point in Andheri for Pau Bhaji and dosas. It was the perfect after-school snack. Growing up, my mum made sure our life revolved around food. Even today, when I go back home to Bombay, there will always be at least one evening where we order-in Shreejee’s Pau Bhaji (with extra pau and onions!), lay it all out on the dinner table and dive into the spicy-buttery bhaji and conversations about life all at the same time.”
– Sanskritii S Wheatland, Dishoom Marketing-walli
5Cannon Pav Bhaji
“Cannon Pav Bhaji outside CST station is a straightforward, no-frills, classic joint with a simple menu – Pau Bhaji, chaas and the seasonal Aam Panna. Yes the bhaji and the pau slathered with Amul butter is exceptional, but the magic here goes beyond the food. It’s run by a team of Maharashtrian women, lovingly called kakus or tais, who ensure every guest is looked after with warmth. Extra pau? They almost won’t let you leave without one. The touch of Maharastrian home cooking is what makes it standout, for me.”
– Gaurav Surve, Dishoom Chef-walla
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