Which are the famous ones, and can I work there?

Old Bombay cafes worth seeing — and not for laptops

The Irani cafes and institutions people mean when they say Bombay cafes. Most of them score badly as workplaces, and that is not a criticism — they were built to turn tables, not to host a laptop for three hours. Go for an hour, eat, and leave the laptop in the bag.

7 cafes · ranked by overall score

1. 1CandiesPali Hill · Bandra2.7Mumbai institutionFour decades of Bandra on several floors and a terrace. Closed Mondays, crowded weekends, worth both.
2. 2Ideal CornerFort · South Bombay0.9Parsi foodA twelve-table Parsi lunch room with a menu that changes by the day of the week. Get there by one.
3. 3Kyani & Co.Marine Lines · South Bombay0.7Irani cafe1904. Marble tables, slow fans, bun maska. The oldest room on this map and the least interested in changing.
4. 4Cafe MondegarColaba · South Bombay0.4Irani cafeMario Miranda drew on every wall here in 1932 and the jukebox never really stopped. Loud, and unapologetic.
5. 5Leopold Cafe & BarColaba · South Bombay0.4Irani cafeSince 1871. Keeps its bullet marks on the wall as a memorial and its doors open until midnight.
6. 6Cafe MilitaryFort · South Bombay0.4Irani cafeOne of the last real Irani cafes in Fort. Berry pulao, bare walls, no concessions.
7. 7Yazdani BakeryFort · South Bombay0.4Mumbai institutionDiesel-oven brun maska since 1953, in a building that started life as a Japanese bank.