Mumbai | Grant Road’s century-old Irani Café B Merwan & Co shuts, a lifetime of memories remain

In 2014, mid-day had reported when the cafe had come close to shutting down, only to reopen after ‘repairs’. However, this time we fear it might be for real. When we reached out to members of the close-knit community of Parsi-Irani cafe owners, they had only heard of the news as it spread through loyal patrons. 

Several shared that it marks the end of an era for the city’s Irani cafe culture. The fraternity and Mumbai will be poorer, no doubt. Foodies will rue not being able to eat their mava cakes and bun-maska-chai one last time.

The cafe is known for its mawa cakes and such is the demand that they are usually wiped off its shelves by afternoon. While the old timers may remember the glass-topped wooden tables, unique Irani chairs, red chequered table cloths and of course, the food with wistful fondness, the café’s offer an easier on the wallet experience than so many others.

Grant Road is one of the oldest stations in the city, and there was a time when there would be a Hack Victoria (horse-driven carriages) and a taxi stand outside the station. Trains were known to stop at the station, just a little bit longer so people could buy items from Merwan.”

Changing times, contemporary problems, spiralling real estate prices, the paucity of getting restaurant staff, the unwillingness of the newer generation to take over the mantle from the older generation, and a host of other factors have combined to cause Irani café’s to go off Mumbai’s gastronomic map.

With one more café going kaput, it is a reminder to us that holding on to this slice of life is especially challenging for these Cafes are slipping away like the maska on the brun paav they dish out.