If you have lived in Kolkata all your life, you can be sure to experience some really good biryani and some amazing mutton curry. Shameless plug here – Kolkata is really up there when it comes to amazingly tasty Mughlai and Bengali food. However, in Mumbai, Parsi food comes very close, and sometimes, it even outdoes the cuisine back home.

 

 

 

So it’s no surprise that we have been hunting down Parsi places. We love the food and while everybody knows the holy food trinity of Brittania’s, Jimmy Boy’s, and Military Cafe, our next place, Sassanian, was a bit of a find since it isn’t as well known as the others. Don’t let that fool you though because this joint has been around for a long long time, from 1913 in fact. This Iranian cafe has been handed down from generation to generation and is still run by the same Parsi family that opened it.

 

 

 

 

Enter the restaurant, and you enter a timeless place. Is it the 1950s? Is it the 1980s? Where are we? And more importantly, when are we? The fixtures and the place remains unchanged, from what we hear, for the past 100 years. The Cash-only signs are there, as with every other Iranian joint (although we did pay by UPI so perhaps times have changed?). The place serves Chinese and Parsi food at pocket-friendly prices. They also have fast food items like burgers and sandwiches and they have recently started serving sizzlers as well.

The day we went, we were particularly famished, thanks to a late lunch and a long drive from Andheri to South Bombay (the restaurant is located near the marine lines railway station which is in South Bombay). We ordered a full plate of chicken biryani, a plate of chicken salli, a plate of chicken farcha and some extra pav. The biryani was so wholesome and really took care of our appetite. As with Iranian biryani, there’s an outer layer of rice and inside it is this soft, moist tasty chicken mash that melts in the mouth. Chicken sali has become a favourite of ours because of how balanced it is despite being a sort of curry. Most curries are spicy or oily or just too heavy but the chicken sali shines through in its simplicity. The chicken farcha, which was minced chicken with a fried outer layer, was delicious and better than any KFC chicken you will ever have. Oh and just imagine, our bill came to just Rs 700!

Sassanian was a true sensory delight and you can tell it’s a good experience when you’re all smiles after a meal. We didn’t care that there was no AC or that the service took 15 mins (maybe more) while we got hungrier by the minute waiting. No, the wait was worth it and we were happy as can be. The total bill came to under 800 bucks (yes, we were as surprised as you) and it was worth it.

P.s. – Also keep a lookout for their “Combo” meals with both Parsi and Chinese combos. Interesting stuff! Do check it out.