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

Tucked away within the busy commercial precinct of South Bombay are concealed chapters of history Preserving one such lesson from the past is Fortrsquos Zoroastrian Irani eatery ndash Cafeacute Excelsior One of the last few places of its kind Excelsior stands as a testament to Parsi culinary heritageFollowing a spat with the taxi driver this writer arrived at the cafeacute at 1 pm Or rather ndash barged into the cafeacute in hopes of some respite At first glance the place looked lazy as if in a state of comatose The cafeacute was half full of middleaged professionals college students and a family ndash basking in the languorous shades of the dinerFar from the optic perfection the wall paint inside the cafeacute 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 smilemdasha stark juxtaposition to the prevailing drowsiness in the cafeacuteQuaint charm of Cafeacute ExcelsiorUpon entering your eyes will inevitably be drawn to vintage wooden clocks ticking on the walls On the way to the mezzanine floor handpainted signs reflect the star delicacies from the menu ldquoSalli Botirdquo ldquoBheja Fryrdquo ldquoMutton Dhansakrdquo ldquoChicken Cutletrdquo and the likes are up for grabsArdeshir Mazkoori ndash the thirdgeneration owner christened after his grandfather the cafeacutes founder personally painted these frames My grandfather passed away when I was born so I was named after him He was a very hardworking man When he moved to India from Iran he initially worked at another Irani restaurant in the areardquoMazkoori continues ldquoAfter gathering enough funds he and his brother started Cafeacute Excelsior in 1919 In the beginning it was only onethird 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 fathers passingCafeacute Excelsior is now 105 years old Mazkoori grins as he recalls the times he stormed the cafeacute as a kid I cherish the memories of visiting the cafeacute 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 cafeacuterdquoIt is this nostalgia that also attracts old customers back to Excelsior Perhaps thats why Mazkoori has made an effort to preserve it as much as possible ldquoI carefully consider before making any changes to the deacutecor because people who have moved abroad return to revisit their memories Many families visit the cafeacute and fathers often point out the tables where they proposed to their childrsquos mothers Mazkoori tells MiddayIn the past Cafeacute 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 cafeacute 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 ExcelsiorDN Road primarily served as an office area attracting officegoers 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 cafeacute heavily relied on the crowd attending the nearby theatreWeaving new elements into the historic jointSix years back the revitalisation of one of Mumbais oldest singlescreen cinema halls took place Originally established as Novelty in 1887 it underwent reconstruction in 1909 and was later renamed as lsquoNew Excelsiorrsquo 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 sameSimultaneously across the road a redevelopment project had taken place involving an old building that houses one of the departments of Siddharth College Its noteworthy that the rehaul maintained the architectural integrity of the area Amidst these transformations a constant remained mdash the retro charisma of Cafeacute Excelsior situated between these two historic landmarksThe 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 dishesThe head chef consistent for the past 40 years remains unchanged ldquoIf the hands change the food and taste changes invariablyrdquo 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 periodPatrons of ExcelsiorDespite Mazkooris education in commercial art at Sir JJ School of Art and his establishment of an advertising agency his heart remained with the cafeacute Opting to carry on his fathers legacy Mazkoori shares Uddhav Thackeray would often come here to enjoy kheema pav during his college days he was my junior at JJ The cafeacute attracts notable figures including movie stars attending premieres many of whom have developed friendships with MazkooriIrrfan Khan visited the cafeacute 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 foodrdquo chuckles MazkooriListing down more prominent names he indulges us with Alisters who have dined at the cafeacute ldquoBollywoodrsquos revered King ndash Shah Rukh Khan came over for a chicken roll during the release of Chennai Express Also Sanjay Dutt frequented the cafeacute when he visited the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI office Comedian Mehmood and his brother were regular customersrdquoPerhaps 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 cafeacute he informsDue to our proximity to Azad Maidan many topclass 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