Leopold is a monumental landmark in South Mumbai. Located in Colaba Causeway you cannot miss the red and white colourful signage if you are passing by. This is one café that has stood the test of time and stood by Mumbai through thick and thin for 140 years plus whether it was the freedom struggle or Indian independence and even the Mumbai terror attacks.
The café is historic and has been south Mumbai's life line for more than a century. Even though the place is one of the oldest in Mumbai it is still one of the hugely popular restaurant and Bar's both amongst locals and foreigners. The place has so many stories to tell and even today the bullet marks on the walls tell the story of the 2008 attacks. And they have still preserved the bullet marks of the walls. I have taken a lot of pictures if you see of the bullet holes in the walls.
Even though one may get a feeler that the place is slightly over rated yet the experience is worthwhile. A visit to Colaba without a visit to Leopold is like visiting Agra and not going to see Taj Mahal. I would have to say that the place somehow caters to a niche junta. The pricing is decent considering this is South Mumbai, the menu has loads of options, portion sizes are decent, cocktails are good, food tastes great and to top it all serving staff is one of the best I have come across anywhere.
Located in the by lanes of the crowded market this café must be your pit stop for refueling yourself in the middle of a shopping session. This iconic place is owned and run by a parsi family who are very passionate hosts and that reflects in the service of the restaurant. Spread across two floors, the ground floor is almost always packed and also has a beautiful display of in house bakery products. Whether it is red velvet or pies or tarts yes they have them all.
The place is always bustling with people and the ambiance is of no relevance to the ones who come to dine here more owing to the great food and the over all feel of this historic restaurant. There is a tiny staircase through the ground floor that leads to a low ceiling second floor where incidentally the in house DJ also plays some amazing pop and retro tracks.
This review comes in a little late since this is from my visit while beef wasn't banned and we reached the café for a late lunch around 3 pm in the afternoon. Our server Chirag took us on the first floor which seemed a bit claustrophobic. Nevertheless he has to be one of the sweetest and most professional servers I have come across.
We started with ordering some beer and cosmopolitans and a portion of the best chilli beef in the world. And we ended up consuming two more portions of this superb beef dish. We also ordered a superb chicken steak with some fries; Fish and chips which were pretty good and a slice of red velvet which by the way was nice too. We had such a great time that we ended up eating and drinking till 9pm. 6 hours well spent amongst great food and great company.
I would definitely recommend a visit to café Leopold if you are in Mumbai, also because I said so.
© Follow Sam on Instagram - Search for sgkatoch
© What Sam says about________ ?
© https://www.facebook.com/whatsamsaysabout
