A couple of tables from where we sit at Matunga's Café Gulshan, is where actor Shilpa Shetty landed her first Bollywood film. "She was a student of Podar College, and one of the many who spent more time here than in the classroom," laughs Kazim Rahimpur. He remembers Shetty sitting with her mother at their sister establishment, Snowpoint, next door, when they received the confirmation call. "All they told her was that she would be cast alongside a Khan." The movie was the 1993-hit Baazigar starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. Rahimpur, 56, and his brother Mohammed Ali, are reservoirs of such trivia. Eighty years of running an establishment comes with its share of stories.

In a fast-changing hospitality landscape, Gulshan is a relic with its bentwood chairs and lazy ceiling fans that whir at whim. The large wooden closets that once lined the walls have been discarded in favour of giant mirrors. The old colonial air, however, belies its rebel streak. "Until three years ago, we had the distinction of being the only eatery to offer non-vegetarian food in a neighbourhood dominated by vegetarians," says Ali with pride about the café that opened in 1940. A stone's throw away are legendary South Indian eateries, including Ram Ashraya, Mani's Lunch Home, Ayyappan Idli Stall and A Rama Nayak & Sons. The Rahimpurs bought the place in 1965 and chose to retain the original name. "My grandfather, who had emigrated to India from Yazd in Iran, purchased the restaurant from a certain Mr Gulshan, who owned a large number of hotels in the area. He ran the place from 1940 to 1964 before selling it to us." The family also opened the first cake shop of the neighbourhood by sourcing a variety of bakes from Venus Cakes. It's a tradition they continue. A section of the restaurant was also converted into a grocery store to hawk breads, chips and essential goods. "It was my father's wish that we offer affordable, everyday items at the restaurant. The reason we still serve them [at these prices] is out of respect [to him]. In fact, we have a license to run a pharmacy, but don't store drugs since there are enough medical stores around," says Rahimpur.