Matunga is in Dadar

In the middleclass neighbourhood of Hindmata in Dadar East where markers of old cotton mills and BDD chawls are fast disappearing Krishna Vilas Hindu Hotel appears to be the only permanent fixture The Shri Samarth Ashray Vishranti Gruha a decadesold restaurant situated only a few hundred metres away was the other popular watering hole But the pandemic as ruthless as it was put the brakes on many such ageing but flourishing cultural spaces in the localityLate Shekhar Shetty who ran Krishna for nearly 40 years was known most for his usal and misal pav that he served at Prabhakar eatery in the Dadar East neighbourhood The dishes have made a comeback on Krishnarsquos new menuKrishna known among locals as KV and Krishnarsquos Bar almost bit the dust too But its owner Shreyas and his brother Swaraj Shetty determined to revive their father Shekhar Shettyrsquos over 40year eatery have gone back to their familyrsquos roots in the Udupi district of Karnataka to relaunch the space as a South Indian breakfast joint Krishnarsquos Cafe Veg Express ldquoThe idea was to bring Matunga to Dadarrdquo says 38yearold Swaraj who remembers feasting on vadasambar idli and dosa at Ram Ashraya and its likes as a child ldquoBut there was nothing like this for residents of South Mumbai Many of them had to travel all the way to Matungardquo he recalls Krishna he feels could become that bridge to draw more residents from the South to experience authentic Udupi fareShreyas Shetty right and brother Swaraj at Krishnarsquos Cafe in Dadar East formerly known as Krishna Vilas Hindu Hotel which their father first took over in the late 1970s The restaurant was known for its nonveg meals and bar before it relaunched as a South Indian breakfast eatery late last year PicsPradeep DhivarWith a brand new name and novellooking blue signboard that reflects the sky Krishna Cafe which first opened as Krishna Vilas Hindu Hotel in 1960 has retained most of its original charmmdashits marble wall cladding and grey kota stone flooring for instancemdashbut its kitchen and menu have undergone a complete overhaul Where bangda masala fry was once washed down with a glass of chilled beer the waiting staff all dressed impeccably in blue Tshirts now spell out other specials when taking ordersmdashneer dosa upma kanchipuram idli goli and bhajji all best enjoyed with kaapi filter coffeeItrsquos taken both Shreyas and Swaraj the architects of this new enterprise a lot of rethinking and strategising before attempting the shift especially because itrsquos the bar and affordable nonveg meals that brought in the workingclass crowd to the restaurant It also meant moving away even if slightly from their late fatherrsquos vision But some risks feels Shreyas are worth takingMasala dosaTheir father Shekhar Shetty who was the eldest in the family moved to the city from Udupi in the early 1960s ldquoHe had just lost his father then and had to make the shift so that his other siblings could continue their studiesrdquo shares 40yearold Shreyas In Bombay he began waiting tables in his unclersquos restaurant Shri Samarth also in Dadar ldquoHe worked there for nearly 15 years In those days there was no concept of a restaurant manager so my father practically did the same job day in and outrdquo adds ShreyasSada rava and kanchipuram idlisIn the mid1970s Shekhar decided to move away from his unclersquos restaurant business and start out on his own ldquoItrsquos around this time that he came across Prabhakar a small eatery in the same neighbourhood and took it on lease from its owner Within a short span of time Prabhakar became really popular among the locals especially the mill workers in the areardquo shares Shreyas The eatery was known for its usal and misal pav in all of Dadar but they also served typical Maharashtrian snacks including vada pav poha and kanda bhaji At one point the eatery was run by Shekhar and his three brothers making it a familyrun enterprisemdashldquomy father had managed to bring all of them brothers to Bombay While one of them would handle the accounts others would work in the kitchen They would grind their masalas on their ownrdquo Prabhakar continued to serve residents for nearly seven years before the original owner took back the space But Prabhakarrsquos success led Shekhar to invest in a restaurant of his ownmdashin the late 1970s he bought over Krishna Vilas Hindu Hotel a wellknown lunch home in the areaSheeraldquoWhen my father took over the first change he made was to include Mangalorean dishes on the menu So kori rotti mutton sukka fish gassi and other nonveg meals started being served This took off in a big wayrdquo Five years later in 1985 the restaurant also expanded to include a bar ldquoI think my father was just catering to the demand at that time A lot of people in the Hindmata locality lived with large families in crammed spaces They really had no place to escape to or enjoy a drink Our place became their second homerdquo says ShreyasSwaraj who now resides in Sion but grew up just a stonersquos throw away from the family restaurant in Dadar shares how in the early 1990s students from the nearby colleges would visit their lunch home for a quick beer ldquoThis became their regular haunt I think itrsquos the student crowd that began to call us KVrdquo The area also had a lot of government employees and Gujarati traders who were the loyal clique that dropped by the restaurant every evening after work ldquoSome of them have been patronising us for nearly two decadesrdquo shares Swaraj adding ldquoThe place became a unique melting point where you had people from all walks of life visitrdquo Over a period of time they expanded the menu to include the Indian Chinese cuisine and North Indian favourites like tikka masla and butter chickenIn 20122013 when Shekhar became unwell Shreyas who has done his PG in hospitality operations from an institute in Lucern Switzerland and was working in the UK decided to return to Mumbai to manage the family business When his father passed away in 2018 Shreyas took charge with Swaraj who works in the startup space helping him with the marketing The brotherrsquos would have continued to run the lunch home as is had it not been for the pandemic The restaurant remained shut for nearly six months after the first lockdown opening up for its patrons only in November 2020 But the second lockdown threw a spanner in the works forcing them to think of a relaunch plan ldquoIt hit us in unprecedented ways A lot of our staff members went back and didnrsquot returnrdquo says Shreyas Swaraj adds that with joints like theirs which were patronised purely for the vibe the place had to offer having an online presence didnrsquot really do much for their business ldquoWe could also sense a general change in mindset of people as well The lockdown taught us that simple things and simple food matteredrdquo shares ShreyasThe brothers felt that it would be interesting to recreate the Matunga breakfast experience in Dadar ldquoThe idea was to keep it simple and affordablerdquo Krishna Cafe reopened in September with a wide vegetarian fare that harks back to their own familyrsquos journey in the restaurant business The menu has pure ghee dosas comprising nearly 30 varieties including cocktail utappa methi and set dosa and the staple rava and masala dosa In the snacks section therersquos sheera idli vada and misal and usal pav they were once most known for Therersquos also vegetarian lunch and upvas food sabudana khichdi and vada served during the rest of the day Of all the things this writer enjoyed from the menu we thought it was important to make a mention of the often ignored side accompaniments the sambar and chutney that go well with most South Indian breakfast meals If these go wrong so does the meal The chutney from Krishnarsquos had the right amount of sweet and spice while the sambar was perfectly tangy and went well with the soft neer dosas Long after we had eaten our dosa and idli we continued to polish off remnants of the chutney and sambar from our plate The Mangalore buns deepfried fluffy puris made using yogurt bananas and flour and usually had with chutney was also a delicious offering We enjoyed it plain ldquoThough the pandemic has been a dampener the feedback has been positiverdquo says SwarajShreyas admits that oldtime customers are yet to warm up to fact that Krishnarsquos no longer serves chicken and alcohol ldquoEverything is very new for us Though we have been here all these years I feel the same anxiety my father might have experienced when he took over Krishna Itrsquos like starting over againrdquo