Vegetarian Food Paradise - Shree Thakar Bhojanalaya

There is an Irish proverb, “Laughter is brightest in the place where food is good’. A Mumbai institution since 1945, Shri Thakkar Bhojanalaya is one such place. The joy and aromas in this small eatery in Kalbadevi are its USP. With the quality of food remaining the same, the amount of spices and oils not any more than in home food and the servers serving as if you were a guest at their own home; this is a place that has its loyal patrons whose tribe is only growing.

I was introduced to this quaint little eatery by father and his younger brother (Chacha). The two brothers love to visit this place as they get to eat their favourite Gujarati and Rajasthani foods in the form of a thali and customised to their tastes. So while Chacha likes his food spicy, Papa prefers it medium. Come to Thakkar Bhojanalya and not only these two but me who eats minimal spices also has an awesome time. So all their vegetables and curries are made to cater to people with different spice levels and the menu changes daily. In fact, the family that own this place also gets their meals catered to from the restaurant.

The starters and desserts listed for the day 

Yesterday I decided that it was time I took Persepolis and her mother to this iconic food joint as she had never been there. Born and brought up in Mumbai, educated in institutions close to this eatery and worked in the lanes even closer; this friend of mine was oblivious to the existence of Shri Thakkar Bhojanalaya. Once she obliged me with an appointment in her calendar I decided I would waste no time and so the dinner was decided.

Reaching the place is a bit of a chore, given that it is smack in the centre of old Mumbai with narrow lanes and hand carts plying. Once there, it is your luck how long or short would be the wait. I was prepared for a twenty minute wait but fortunately it was  only a couple of minutes. A very comfortable table for three allotted to us we got the empty thalis with the endless vatis (katori) and Persepolis was super excited. She wanted to understand how much food would come our way and vowed not to eat till all her vatis were full.

The empty thali with a signal of oncoming abundance

First came the salad and the chutneys followed by the starters or the farsans as they are locally known. They were piping hot and tempting but Persepolis held on. Then came the aamras, the mango puree, and that bulldozed all temptation away. She just dug into the vati and I was smiling. The veggies and curries were delayed as aunty and I had requested for non-spicy variety. Unable to hold herself any longer, Persepolis decided that she would get the spicy lot that was already being served. And soon her thali was full. As the server with the papad walked by she stopped him to take one, not that she craved it but wanted to taste all the items on the menu. With the thali full she dug in and seeing her smile was pure joy.

The full thali where refills are unlimited! The acutal food coma begins

Soon the non-spicy food came and we were on our way to a food coma as well. Now before I move ahead, as you can see the variety of the veggies and the curries I will not spend time on that. But dear readers, you should know that the breads are also of a minimum five types – jowar roti (the one that has my preference), bajra roti (which is served with jaggery), wheat roti (with ghee), biscuit bhakri (which is delightful but heavy) and puri (yummy but deep fried). So I got my jowar roti, aunty took bajra and wheat and Persepolis took one of each! She was like a child in the playground with new toys!

I was savouring the food and taking my time with each curry. There was no place for desserts either in my stomach or in my thali. Persepolis decided that when satisfying the taste buds the sweet tooth had to be catered to first. So she took the kalajaum and the sheera. While by the end she could not eat the kala jamun she loved the coconut sheera.

Just if you thought this is where the meal was over, no. There was rice, pulao and khichdi still left to go! I had no place for anything but at the insistence of the person incharge I had a teaspoon of the khichdi and the pulao. They were delicious! Persepolis and aunty enjoyed the khichdi but post that even Persepolis had to stay stop to the food onslaught. We were full to the brim and more. It was an absolutely delicious meal served with love and at INR 700 a person it was not expensive.

The evidence of a delicious and a thoroughly enjoyed meal!

Just before we got up to leave we realised that the buttermilk had been left. Well it is supposed to be a digestive and in that light Persepolis and I drank to toast our fabulous dinner. We were all happy campers. Alighting the stairs Persepolis claimed that she would now recommend Shree Thakker Bhojanalya to anyone and everyone she met. In the next instant she had a realisation and said, “ Well I would be recommending a place that everyone already knows of.” Better late than never my friend!

Until we meet again, enjoy the food photographs and if possible a visit to this food paradise!