Paris Bakery to New Persian Bakery: Mumbai’s Breakfast Map
One of these days, rise before Mumbai rubs its eyes awake, and take a walk around the town. Let the aroma of freshly baking bread and buns serve as your GPS, as you navigate the city’s bakery map. Watch as the most humble ingredients are transformed into pure culinary joy — think patties, puffs, khari (flaky pastry) puffs and the likes.
As for which bakeries to head to, here are a few chef picks.
1. Maska Bakery
The menu at Maska Bakery revives both imaginary and culinary palates. Every item is precious, but F&B writer Nikhil Merchant calls the ‘Kejriwal Babka’ the poster child of the menu. “It’s a stroke of genius. It folds Mumbai’s iconic (yet somewhat lesser-known) ‘Eggs Kejriwal’ into a beautifully layered loaf.”
Maska Bakery classics include the Kejriwal Babka and the babka made with desi pesto, Pictures source: Maska Bakery
The dish’s flavours are brazen, Nikhil’s description of it proves, “The bread is infused with the quintessential chutney found at Mumbai’s street vendors, made with Bhavnagari chillies, a smattering of cheese, and layers of butter meticulously folded into the dough before being baked to a golden brown. Lightly toasted and topped with a fried egg, it’s a straight ticket to nostalgic heaven.”
2. City Bakery
According to reports, the roll call of guests at this pre-Independence bakery includes distinguished names like Asha Bhosle and Anil Ambani. What started its life as a humble shack in 1945 pushed the envelope with its shezwan rolls and walnut brownies, striking a chord with the city.
The flour mill at City Bakery begins churning as early as 4 am, and if you want to catch the pao (bread) hot and fresh, ensure you’re early.
The menu at City Bakery in Worli expands to include puffs, pastries, cheese croissants and desserts, Pictures source: (L): Deepa Netto, (R): Rishika Thakur
Sanket Shekhar Joshi, executive chef, Avatara, Mumbai, identifies himself as a hardcore fan of the cheese croissants here.
“As a child, early mornings meant visits to the temple near Crawford Market. On the way, we passed by City Bakery in Worli, which opened around 5 am. The aroma of freshly baked cheese croissants was irresistible, they were served straight from the oven, warm and flaky. It remains one of my fondest food memories,” he reminisces.
3. Paris Bakery
At this whimsical Marine Lines bakery, you can taste heaven on a shoestring budget. We’re referring to the coveted milk buns, which make a rare cameo on the menu. The buns are made with condensed milk and raisins, and retail for around Rs 25.
The bakery’s history dates back to 1985 when it earned a name for itself in the neighbourhood with its cashew macarons and cake toast. As the current owner, Danish Nejadkay shared in one of his interviews, “Paris Bakery was started by a Parsi family in 1955. My father entered into a partnership with them in 1963.”
Through the years, they’ve remained fastidious to their recipes. While the milk buns enjoy their moment in the sun, the khari biscuits and Shrewsbury cookies, too, are incredible, says chef Amandeep Singh, executive sous chef, The Westin Mumbai Garden City. “The aroma of freshly baked food here is irresistible. It’s a place where simplicity meets tradition, and every bite feels like a tribute to Mumbai’s Parsi heritage,” he shares.
4. New Persian Bakery
The past and present live side by side at this storied bakery in Mumbai’s Dadar. Since 1934, when the family started it, after emigrating from Persia, they have attempted to build a business hinged on authenticity, and their menu has held its sway over the city’s food choices.
At New Persian Bakery, the menu favourites are the cakes, pastries and the nankathai biscuits, Pictures source: (L): Diya, (R): Tanuj Sane
From all the items, it is the eggless mawa cake and eggless nankathai (Indian shortbread cookies) that appeal to chef Sourabh Das. For him, the cookies evoke nostalgia. “These were the first baked goodies my mother fed me. Even my first birthday cake was prepared by them.” He adds that the nankathai became his first lesson in baking during culinary school.
5. The Bread Bar
Chef Sushil Multani loves himself an idyllic morning with his kids at The Bread Bar in Chembur. His order is usually constant: almond croissants and quiches. Bread Bar is the brainchild of chef Rachi Gupta, who trained at the École Nationale Supérieure de la Patisserie in France.
The menu at The Bread Bar includes classics such as quiches, pastries, and other bakes, Pictures source: (L): Akshada Desai, (R): The Bread Bar
Following a slew of internships in Europe, she returned to India to establish The Gelato Bar and The Bread Bar. A menu cult classic here is the Turkish eggs.
6. Yazdani Bakery
Yazdani Bakery gained a place in Mumbai’s memory around the 1950s, when Merwan Zend acquired a share in an Iranian restaurant (at the very spot Yazdani now stands).
History is reconceived in the decor through the vintage posters and family photographs. While the iconic mawa cake is touted as a must-have, the menu is laden with flavourful classics. Chef Amandeep loves the brun maska (buttered hard-crusted bread) and apple pie.
Yazdani Bakery has been delighting Mumbaikars with its classics of which the mawa cake is the most iconic on the menu, Pictures source: (L): Pranav Panat, (R): Kevin
He indulges in memories linked to these, “The brun maska, crusty on the outside and soft inside, paired with Irani chai, is nothing short of a ritual. Their apple pie, baked in a rustic, homely fashion, is the closest Mumbai gets to an authentic, no-frills European-style pie. I still remember the first bite—it tasted like nostalgia, served with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon.”
7. American Express Bakery
The 117-year-old bakery’s name was borrowed from its quick delivery services to American cruise ships. Its menu is decked with classics like the bread pudding, cream rolls, hot cross buns, and mango pots de crème.
Food connoisseur Kunal Vijayakar lauds it for its inventive take on snacks and desserts. He has fond memories of feasting on the bakery’s chicken and mutton patties with his grandfather when he was a child. “They haven’t changed,” he says in his video visit to the place. But what tugged at Kunal’s heartstrings was the lemon Swiss roll. “Making sponge is not just an art, it’s a science,” he points out, as he feasts on the cream-filled sugary roll.
Edited by Vidya Gowri Venkatesh
Sources
Bakeries ka baap by Ashwini Gangal, Published on 1 December 2008.
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