The Slackers Cafe

Calling Mumbai my most favourite city in India and not having dined in an Irani Cafe is a monstrous miss. Which is why on the recent visit to Pune the first meal was planned here. Being a vegetarian that day wasn’t very limiting as the vegetarian omelette was really delicious and so was the paneer bhurji, a perfect replacement for a Parsi Akuri. After sampling all this, along with a very sweet and strong Irani chai was a great breakfast experience, but what beat it was the Irani black chai with mint accompanied by some dates, truly remarkable combination, that I loved, and the best part was it was complimentary, at least I think it was. Having tried the bun maskas from the chai chains in Bengaluru, had not prepared me for the OG bun maska here, the super soft pillowy bread hiding creamy yellow butter was absolutely stunning, no wonder classics such as this stay relevant even today. The vegetable cutlets were superbly well made, the thin crispy layer with a beautiful filling that was masaledar and had a tinge of chaat masala high on amchur / dry mango powder. The chili cheese toasts were a different league altogether, red chilli flakes and cheese stuffed soft white bread is what very good mornings are made up of, salty cheese, spicy chili, balancing white bread, fantastic toast with chai. My first experience at an Irani cafe and I loved the whole experience of dining in a place of historical significance, from classics such as bun maska and Irani chai, can’t wait to head to Mumbai soon , for indulging in a full blown meal from Irani Cafes.