Must Try Street Food in Mumbai
Are you looking for the best street food in Mumbai? I’ve got you covered!
Street food is a quintessential part of Indian culture. Indians tend to eat dinner later so keep themselves satiated with frequent snacks throughout the day. Mumbai also has a large workforce with long commutes, so street food provides on-the-go nourishment for those with long days (often from 7am to 9pm).
Although Delhi probably holds the crown for best food city in India, Mumbai has plenty of amazing street food to enjoy so you can get a proper taste of Indian flavors and culture.
While in town, don’t miss Mumbai’s iconic Parsi cafes, which serve unique dishes like berry pulao. Or, if you are looking for a more elevated dining experience with delicious Indian food, you should go to Masque Mumbai for their incredible 10-course meal.
17 Flavorful Street Foods in Mumbai
If you want to indulge in some tasty street food in Mumbai, here is what you should not miss!
1. Vada Pav
As ubiquitous as a burger in America, vada pav is an essential eat when visiting Mumbai or Maharashtra. Consisting of a bun (pav) with a deep fried potato as the patty (vada) in the middle. It is served with spicy and sweet chutneys.
Other variations include Samosa Pav (fried pastry with a savory filling of potatoes, onions, peas, and spices in a bun) and Bhajiya Pav (veggie fritters in a bun). Try all 3!
2. Pani Puri
Also known as gol gappa or puchka in other parts of India, this is a type of chaat. Pani means water, in this case tangy water and puri is a crispy shell.
I think of Pani Puri as gazpacho in a crispy shell. Meant to be eaten in a single bite as a hollowed out puri (deep fried thin crispy bread in the shape of a sphere) with potato / chickpea filling with a flavorful soup-like liquid.
3. Pav Bhaji
This staple Bombay street food consists of buttered bread (pav) and a mix of mashed vegetables (bhaji), battered down on a large buttery pan. Usually served with raw onion and lemon. Depending on where you get your Pav Bhaji from there will be slight tweaks such as what spices are used and in what quantity.
4. Bhel Puri
Another type of chaat that consists of crispy puffed rice, a mix of vegetables (such as potatoes and onions), herbs and spices, and tamarind sauce. It is served with various accompaniments including sweet & sour chutney, green chutney, and spicy red chutney. It can be both dry or wet, as per preference.
5. Sev Puri
Another popular chaat dish. This one consists of wheat crackers that are loaded with spiced potato, onion, tomatoes, and tangy chutneys. It’s a great any time snack!
6. Kebab Rolls
For people who prefer meat, Bombay has iconic kebab roll places like Ayub’s, Bade Miyan and the stalls at Mohammad Ali road. Tender juicy minced meat, often lamb or chicken, cooked on a grill or over an open flame, either served with roomali roti or as is with onions and mint chutney. Oh what a treat!
7. Street Sandwiches
Mumbai is known for its street sandwiches, usually served toasted from a sandwich grill. There are famous sandwich stalls located outside local colleges such as St. Xaviers, Mithibai, HR/KC, where you’ll often spot students grabbing a snack between classes.
Unique to Mumbai, one type of sandwich called the Bombay Street Sandwich, featuring beets, potatoes, fried onions, cucumbers, and mint chutney between three slices of white bread, is served like a club sandwich.
8. Vadas
Vadas are fried batter that can be made of potato or lentils. Similar to doughnuts in shape and texture, vadas are crispy on the outside and soft inside. There are variations of vada all around the country like Medu Vada in Mumbai and Sambhar Vada in the south or vada served with coconut chutney!
9. Chili Cheese Toastie
Pretty much exactly as it sounds; a toasted sandwich with bread, butter, green chutney, cheese, peppers, onions, and various spices. It’s so popular that even Starbucks sells it, but I recommend trying it from a traditional street vendor instead of the chain coffee shop.
10. Ragda Pattice
Another popular chaat dish. The ‘pattice’ is the crispy mashed potato patties at the base of this dish, which are then topped with chickpeas and various spices.
11. Misal Pav
A traditional dish from Maharashtra. Misal is a spicy curry made of sprouted lentils and topped with farsan (salty snack bits). You can use the pav to scoop up the misal.
I tried this specialty dish at a popular local spot, Vinay Health Home, that serves traditional Maharashtrian food.
12. Chole Bhature
This dish is popular in the north, so if you’ve visited Delhi and Amritsar you’ve likely already tried it but you can find delicious chole bhature in Mumbai too. Large puffed bread (bhature) served with chole (a chickpea curry) with onions and lemons on the side.
Virat Kohli, a beloved Indian Cricket player from Delhi who follows a strict vegetarian diet, touts chole bhature as his cheat meal because it is that delicious!
13. Frankie
The now extremely popular frankie comprises a curry-like filling either made of chicken, mutton or paneer rolled up in a paratha often with an omelet. The original frankie in Mumbai is Tibb’s frankie, started as one stall in Juhu but now found in every part of Mumbai.
14. Sing Dana and Chana Zor Garam
Sing dana is roasted peanuts and chana zor garam is roasted chickpeas. These are often sold at traffic signals or along sea side promenades in Mumbai as a quick, energy providing snack.
15. Tawa Pulao
Tawa pulao is a Mumbai specialty, often served at pav bhaji stalls, cooked on the same pan. ‘Tawa’ means a large pan and pulao is a type of Indian rice dish mixed with vegetables. Listen for the sizzling sound of the rice on the hot tawa when you order this.
16. Falooda
A quintessential dessert in Mumbai, this is served in a tall glass with kulfi (Indian ice cream), condensed milk, glass noodles, nuts and more! You can think of it as an Indian ice cream shake.
17. Gola
As you walk across Mumbai you will encounter stalls with colorful liquid bottles and large blocks of ice. These gola stalls serve flavored ice slushies, to beat that punishing Mumbai summer heat!
Where to Eat Street Food in Mumbai
The Indian concept of a ‘nukkad’ or street corner, often with a chai stall and a snack fare, serves as an area to meet up for kids in the neighborhood, office goers to make deals and for others to get a bite as they pass by. Keep a lookout for these gathering places on your way around Mumbai.
In addition to street stalls, which are harder to pinpoint on Google Maps, there are some local establishments that offer traditional street food. If you are traveling to Mumbai be sure to enjoy street food in some of these classic places.
Girgaum Chowpatty & Juhu Chowpatty
These popular Mumbai beaches have a plethora of food stalls. The stalls here cover everything you would eat in a meal from chaat as a starter to pav bhaji or tawa pulao as a main. Finally, finish off your meal with some sweet fare like kulfi, falooda or flavored gola (ice slushie).
Around the railway stations
The railway stations of Mumbai are its lifelines and if you walk by any railway station, you will see a ton of food and activity. Some highlights include the food stalls opposite Mumbai CST (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus), Malad station (MM Mithaiwala), Andheri and Borivali. They serve most of what is mentioned above and more!
Bademiya
In the bylanes of Colaba it started out as a stall but has expanded to a large restaurant. They are known for their kebab rolls, which you can give a try on a stroll around Colaba, a walkable neighborhood in Mumbai.
Ayub’s
This casual restaurant also has really good kebab rolls. It started as a stall and its popularity grew it into a restaurant with multiple branches.
Delhi Ke Famous Nagpal’s Chole Bhature
For a taste of the north in Mumbai, stop by Delhi Ke Famous Nagpal’s Chole Bhature. They offer a unique style of chole bhature which includes slices of paneer in the dough.
Elco Restaurant
One stop restaurant to try many classic street food items. It started as a pani puri stall and now is a restaurant with a wide variety of menu options. Since pani puri is a cold dish, it is safer to try from a restaurant like this instead of a street stall since they have refrigeration and use filtered water.
FAQs: Street Food in Mumbai
Breaking down some common questions about street food in Mumbai.
Is it safe to eat street food in Mumbai?
If you haven’t lived locally, your stomach is likely not adjusted to the local bacteria so you’ll need to be careful about what you eat. I advise finding stalls that are using bottled water (especially for foods such as pani puri which is not heated before serving).
Also, street food vendors may not have refrigeration and food can attract bacteria if sitting out at ambient temperatures for too long. A good rule of thumb I follow is to find foods that are heated enough to kill bacteria through the cooking process.
What is the most popular street food in Mumbai?
Mumbai and Vada Pav are often said in the same breath. It’s also referred to as the Bombay Burger. It’s the number one street food not to be missed on your travels in Mumbai.
What is chaat?
Chaat is a snack which usually has a combination of sweet and spicy with a lot of texture and crunch. Pani Puri, Bhel Puri, and Sev Puri are all types of chaat.
What is pav?
Pav is a bun, used differently depending on the food it is paired with. Everyone has a train to catch in Mumbai, so the idea of combining pav with different dishes is a way to make your meal easy to eat on the go.
TL;DR: Must Try Street Food in Mumbai
Between the energetic busyness of the city and the social aspect of eating, street food is a highlight of Mumbai. Intermittent snacking along with chai is also a key part of social meetings and Indians are extremely social people. There are a lot of must try street foods in Mumbai but if you only have time for a few, try a vada pav and pick a few other favorites off this list and enjoy!