4 o'clock in the evening - 1 coffee since morning - 3 lengthy meetings - was my equation today. Famished..as i was, I wondered what I could possibly eat to keep myself going. Cafe Excelsior was one place I always wanted to field-test but I never made a conscious effort to explore what (now i feel) i was missing.
From an old weigh instrument that is kept at the entrance to the water filled ash trays and bold signage stating 'WASH BASIN - only for customers' I found all the typical elements of an old Mumbai cafe. They even switch the fan off if a table is empty :-)
Food is nice - pani kum chai in white 'bhaigiri' cups and sandwiches - keema pao and salli keema were some of the best i've eaten so far.
With everything considered, I dont find a reason not to rate this place excellent. I'm sure that Excelsior will have the good fortume of having a lot many burrpers including me - having a lot more evening chai in their cafe.
PS - The oldest server doesn't work. He just stands and checks you out. Do not ask him to get nothing or he will bang it on your table. He did that to me but i still feel that the place is excellent.
bandraboy
