24 September,2026 07:22 AM IST | Mumbai | Hemal Ashar
The Gallops restaurant at Mahalaxmi Racecourse. File pic/Satej Shinde
The Food & Beverages (F&B) stayer at Mumbai's Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Gallops, has its license taken away following a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection at its premises on Tuesday. Turf regulars are betting on the restaurant re-opening soon. Gallops has its loyalists - both racing professionals and regular patrons - who have walked through its classy door, and mulled over profundities of life as they took in the picture postcard view of the race track outside.
[popcorn number="Sept 22" desc="Day Gallops's licence was suspended" class="Default"]
A paanwallah just outside the Gallops restaurant, adjacent to the ticket booth and turnstiles, has packed up too, following the action and food license suspension. The post-prandial paan was a must for so many race course regulars post a Gallops meal; it was like the final flourish on a signature.
Horse owner Shiven Surendranath laughed as he said at the outset: "This does not mean Gallops is closing down. I have been a regular, frequenting the place at least once every week, and especially relish the dori kebab of mutton and chicken, which was a food festival dish and then stayed on the menu. The galouti kebab is a winner too. As soon as it reopens, I am going back," he concluded with conviction, underlining the sentiment that here is the place so many go to when they are hungry enough to eat a horse⦠or a kebab.
The paanwallah Vinod Singh said hesitantly, "We have been here for decades. My father came to Mumbai from Pratapgarh (Uttar Pradesh) and started this paan outlet here. Today I am 45; I have taken over. I come here daily from my home in Virar, selling paan from 12 pm to midnight. Gallops patrons relish my paan, so do race-goers, and the hot sellers are the saada paans, Kolkata meetha, and magai." Asked about whether he will look for another space temporarily to pitch his paan stall, Vinod said, "No. Where else will I go? My spot is here." Asked whether he visits the races, Singh laughed, "I can see all the races including the coveted Derby, from my vantage point here." Vinod called Mahalaxmi and Gallops his "karta-dharta" and said he will re-open when Gallops does.
Legendary racing trainer Pesi Shroff said, "I do not know about these FDA raids, which seem to be the talk of the town. Everybody is for cleanliness and compliance, yet it has served customers/patrons for years, and I have never heard of anybody falling ill eating this food." Pesi said he has been eating here for years. "I have never found a dirty dish, unclean crockery or cutlery, or spoilt food. So, I have a question: are these restaurants so bad, or can one ask them to improve in some aspects, without suspension and shutdowns? I understand when you shut it down, you make the news. I am not a restaurant owner, but I can say that I have never fallen ill after eating at Gallops."
Ace jockey and now trainer, Malesh Narredu, said he and other Gallops patrons will raise a toast with the restaurant's signature âMelba toast' - the wafer-thin toast with a terrific crunch ân' punch - once the outpost re-opens. "The late ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh, who was also a horse owner, used to be at the race course for morning walks. After that, a few of us would have tea together here. Then, he used to order a few extra pots of milk with the mint tea, put the milk in an empty water bottle and add sugar to it, taking it with him. He would give that to a few poor kids at the Haji Ali signal in the mornings," explained Malesh. "I was so touched when I heard about that."
