Fort’s hidden gem: Parsi Cafe unveils tales of history, cinema and Irani flavours

Tucked away within the busy commercial precinct of South Bombay are concealed chapters of history. Preserving one such lesson from the past is Fort's Zoroastrian Irani eatery - Café Excelsior. One of the last few places of its kind, Excelsior stands as a testament to Parsi culinary heritage.

Following a spat with the taxi driver, this writer arrived at the café at 1 pm. Or, rather - barged into the café in hopes of some respite. At first glance, the place looked lazy, as if in a state of comatose. The café was half full of middle-aged professionals, college students, and a family - basking in the languorous shades of the diner.

Far from the optic perfection, the wall paint inside the café has begun to chip off and the fans creak while hanging from the lofty ceiling. Qutubuddin, the sole waiter attending to patrons, hurries toward me, presenting the menu with a whimsical smile - a stark juxtaposition to the prevailing drowsiness in the café.

Quaint charm of Café Excelsior
Upon entering, your eyes will inevitably be drawn to vintage wooden clocks ticking on the walls. On the way to the mezzanine floor, hand-painted signs reflect the star delicacies from the menu. "Salli Boti", "Bheja Fry", "Mutton Dhansak", "Chicken Cutlet" and the likes are up for grabs.

Ardeshir Mazkoori - the third-generation owner christened after his grandfather (the café's founder) personally painted these frames. "My grandfather passed away when I was born, so I was named after him. He was a very hard-working man. When he moved to India from Iran, he initially worked at another Irani restaurant in the area."

Mazkoori continues, "After gathering enough funds, he and his brother started Café Excelsior in 1919. In the beginning, it was only one-third the size of what it is now. Interestingly, they used to serve meals in the compound of Excelsior Cinema to compensate for the lack of space," Mazkoori reminisces. His father, Gustasb Mazkoori, managed the place for nearly 60 years, and Mazkoori took charge in 1996 after his father's passing.

Café Excelsior is now 105 years old. Mazkoori grins as he recalls the times he stormed the café as a kid. "I cherish the memories of visiting the café in my childhood. We would enjoy ice cream or anything else we could indulge in. It was delightful to run around the place knowing we were in our own café."

It is this nostalgia that also attracts old customers back to Excelsior. Perhaps, that's why Mazkoori has made an effort to preserve it as much as possible. "I carefully consider before making any changes to the décor because people who have moved abroad return to revisit their memories. Many families visit the café and fathers often point out the tables where they proposed to their child's mothers," Mazkoori tells Midday.

In the past, Café Excelsior featured a booth system on its mezzanine floor, popular among couples for the privacy it offered. However, this changed when Mazkoori took charge of the café. During the time when cinema halls allowed outside food, people would often choose chicken rolls and mutton sandwiches to enjoy during their film outings at Excelsior.

DN Road primarily served as an office area, attracting office-goers who preferred using forks and spoons before the introduction of the dabba system. The old Excelsior cinema hall, which closed down in 1969, never screened Indian films. Instead, it would display posters for movies scheduled two years later, reflecting the extended duration it took to bring films to India back then. The café heavily relied on the crowd attending the nearby theatre.

Weaving new elements into the historic joint
Six years back, the revitalisation of one of Mumbai's oldest single-screen cinema halls took place. Originally established as Novelty in 1887, it underwent reconstruction in 1909 and was later renamed as ‘New Excelsior' in the 1970s. Two years ago, it was given a new lease of life under the name Mukta A2 Excelsior which continues to be the same.

Simultaneously, across the road, a redevelopment project had taken place involving an old building that houses one of the departments of Siddharth College. It's noteworthy that the rehaul maintained the architectural integrity of the area. Amidst these transformations, a constant remained - the retro charisma of Café Excelsior, situated between these two historic landmarks.

The sole transformation, or more accurately, expansion, over the years has been the menu. Mazkoori believed it was crucial to sustain the place. In addition to Parsi specialties like salli boti, cutlets, and patra ni machchi, they also offer Chinese and Lebanese dishes.

The head chef, consistent for the past 40 years, remains unchanged. "If the hands change, the food and taste changes invariably," believes Mazkoori. Similar longevity is seen in the manager, Nityanand Karkera, a friend of Mazkoori from Bharda High School, who has been with Excelsior for an extended period.

Patrons of Excelsior
Despite Mazkoori's education in commercial art at Sir JJ School of Art and his establishment of an advertising agency, his heart remained with the café. Opting to carry on his father's legacy, Mazkoori shares, "Uddhav Thackeray would often come here to enjoy kheema pav during his college days; he was my junior at JJ." The café attracts notable figures, including movie stars attending premieres, many of whom have developed friendships with Mazkoori.

"Irrfan Khan visited the café once and we were stupefied. In another instance, Riteish Deshmukh and Vivek Oberoi dropped by and tried cutlets and gravies. Later, they invited me to their vanity vans to discuss the spices and ingredients used in our food," chuckles Mazkoori.

Listing down more prominent names, he indulges us with A-listers who have dined at the café. "Bollywood's revered King - Shah Rukh Khan came over for a chicken roll during the release of Chennai Express. Also, Sanjay Dutt frequented the café when he visited the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) office. Comedian Mehmood and his brother were regular customers."

Perhaps, being next to one of the most magnificent cinema halls in Asia is a stroke of luck. The latest film shot here was A Gentleman, featuring Sidharth Malhotra. Singer Himesh Reshammiya also spent an entire day at the café, he informs.

"Due to our proximity to Azad Maidan, many top-class cricketers dine here, including Sandeep Patil and his father Madhusudan. Sandeep enjoys our cutlets and mutton masala. Politicians like Jitendra Awhad, Ashish Shelar, and Jaya Jaitly, writer Anil Dharker, and artist MF Husain, who had a reserved table, used to visit," he shares.