Mumbai - Bombay

India Gate

Bombay, also known under the local form Mumbai (pronounced /mʊmˈbaɪ/; marathi: मुंबई, Mumbaī, AFI: mʊmbaɪ), is the capital of the federal state of Maharashtra on the India.

Understands

To buy

Visa and Master Cards are widely accepted in stores in the city. Many commercial establishments also accept American Express, Diners and other cards. However, some small businesses or family stores cannot accept these cards and only accept cash. There are many ATMs and many debit cards are also accepted. If you have a bank account or credit card with a bank in India, you don't need to carry too much cash. If you are a foreigner, it is a good idea to carry some cash to avoid charges while using your credit or debit card.

In general, prices in Mumbai are higher than the rest of India, even though they are still much lower than Westerners.

To eat

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The dining experience at an upscale restaurant in Mumbai is more or less the same as anywhere else in the world. If you search hard enough, you will find cuisine from practically every part of the world represented in the city. But to get a real flavor of what's unique to Mumbai, you will have to go a little lower down the scale and experience the street food and Irani cafes. That is what is described here. For individual restaurants and other places to eat, go to the individual district pages.

Don't leave Mumbai without trying:

  • Vada pav (the Indian veg burger): known to be the dish of Mumbai
  • Gujrati, Maharashtrian, Managlorean special and Kerala Thali
  • Indian Chinese
  • Goan seafood
  • As many different kinds of chaat (Bhelpuri, Pav Bhaji etc.) as your stomach can handle
  • Kebab rolls, Pattis, Keema
  • Indian sweets- milky, delicious concoctions (try the kulfi falooda at Badshah's in Crawford market)
  • South Indian food from an Udupi restaurant
  • Bread Maska (Bread & Butter) from an Irani Cafe
  • Kingfisher Blue beer
  • Alfanso Mangoes during summer season

Specialty restaurants

Tourists are suggested to use local Business search engines through the Internet or telephone for easy and accurate listing of the places or cuisines of interests in the location of choice. Popular search Engines include Justdial [1], Burrp [2], AskLaila [3], etc. The search engines shall provide the address, contact details, and user ratings (if available) of the specific eatery (if name is provided), or list of eatery catering to the specialty (eg Seafood, Pubs, Chinese Food, etc.) depending on the location suggested (eg Worli, Bandra, South Mumbai, etc.)

  • Seafood, Apurva (Fort right off Horniman Circle). If you want to eat some authentic Indian (Konkan) sea food you must visit the Bharat Excellensea. It is located next to the Horniman Circle and the Reserve Bank of India. It is becoming pretty expensive. In the slightly higher price range, Trishna (at Kala Ghoda in Fort) and Mahesh Lunch Home (also in Fort) are very popular among both locals and tourists.

North Western

  • Peshawari, Andheri, (at Maratha Sheraton). It's sister restaurant Bukhara in Delhi has been recognized as the best Indian restaurant across the world. Try tandoori jhinga, the kebab platter, sikandari raan (leg of lamb), and mangoes and ice cream (only during summers), Kebab Corner (Hotel Intercontinental), Copper Chimney (Worli) Khyber (Kala Ghoda), and Kareem's Malad Link Road in Malad W.

International kitchen

  • Sushi, Sushi Café (Santa Cruz West). Sushi Café is a cozy little place. The decor, including the furniture, is all-white. Here, you can get 20 pieces of those delicious, delicately-flavored chunks of white rice rolled with fresh fish and vegetables for just Rs 600. The food is as much a feast for the eyes as it is a treat for the tongue. They also do home delivery all over Mumbai. Sushi Café, Shop No. 1, Ground Floor, Sainara Building, corner of North Avenue and Linking Road, Santa Cruz (West), Tel: 98336-50503, www.sushicafemumbai.com.
  • Chinese Food, India Jones, (Hilton Towers Mumbai), Mainland China (Saki Naka), Ling's Pavilion (Colaba), Golden Dragon (Taj Mahal Hotel), Great Wall (Renaissance), Spices (JW Marriott), China Gate (Bandra), China White (Bandra). Bandra offers a range of Chinese Restaurants ([4]. Royal China at VT (behind Sterling Cinema serves some of the best DimSum the city has to offer). The new CG83 at Kemps corner is brilliant and the signature restaurant of Nelson Wang. Also new is Henry Thams. The food is brilliant as are the prices, however the bar is much more popular than the restaurant.
  • Oriental Combination, India Jones (Hilton Towers Mumbai), Pan Asian (at Maratha Sheraton), Seijo, and Soul Dish (Bandra), Joss (Kala Ghoda) has some of the best East Asian food in the country and at moderate prices (compared to hotels). San Qi at the Four Seasons (Worli) combines East Asian and South Asian cuisine quite well.
  • Japanese food, Wasabi by Morimoto (Taj Mahal Hotel, Colaba) is Mumbai's best and most expensive restaurant, but Japanese food is on the menus of most Pan Asian restaurants like Tiffin (The Oberoi, Mumbai), Pan Asian (Maratha Sheraton), India Jones (Hilton Towers Mumbai), and Spices (JW Marriott ), Origami (Atria Mall Worli). Also Japengo Cafe at CR2 Mall in Nariman Point serves up some sushi. Tetsuma, adjacent to Prive (probably best nightclub in town) serves an average sushi but other dishes are worth a try. Best to go there for a cocktail and a few starters. 'Tian cafe' at Juhu is also a good place for sushi. Try the Teppanyaki restaurant at Tian.
  • Italian food, Shatranj Nepoli (Bandra, Union Park), Little Italy (Juhu next to Maneckji Cooper school), Don Giovanni's (Juhu, opposite JW Marriott), Mezzo Mezzo (at the JW Marriott), Vetro (at The Oberoi, Mumbai), Celini (at the Grand Hyatt), Mangi Ferra (Juhu), Taxi (Colaba), Spaghetti Kitchen (Phoenix Mills, Parel).
  • Lebanese food, Picadilly, at Colaba Causeway, deserves mention for being the only restaurant to serve Lebanese food. Try their shawormas. Cost for a meal for one Rs 100-200. Alcohol is not served.
  • Parsi, Their ancestors originating from Iran, the Parsis are a special community of people that one would associate Mumbai with. Parsi food is based on ancient Persian cooking. Go to Brittania at Ballard Estate or Jimmy Boy close to Horniman Circle.

To drink

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Pubs and bars

A recent police crackdown (June 2012) on many popular bar and clubs is underway, so be cautious when visiting lower to mid range bars. Mumbai is one of the most liberal cities in India when it comes to attitudes to alcohol. Bars exist at virtually every street corner and many of them advertise themselves as "family" bars and restaurants, which indicates that they are primarily restaurants where one can also have a drink. Other places are primarily bars, some of them might be sleazy. In South Mumbai and in the Western suburbs, you are likely to find many places where foreigners hang out.

Mumbai is much more accepting of women drinking than the rest of India. A woman ordering a drink is unlikely to raise eyebrows even in mid-range bars, though if you are alone, you might need to look out for your safety.

Nightlife in Mumbai spans the gamut from performances at five star hotels to discos. Dance bars which involve young, fully clothed women dancing mostly to Hindi film and pop music, have been shut down by the government for corrupting the morals of those who frequent those places. While the state high court has ruled that the crackdown was illegal, it will be a while before they open again as there are some technicalities involved to be sorted out.

Indian beer

In Mumbai, alcohol is much more accessible than many cities in India.

Sleep

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Taj Mahal Hotel at night

It is very difficult to find good budget hotels in Mumbai. If you are a tourist or a business traveler, you may have to stay in South Mumbai, which is where both the business district and the touristy areas are. Lack of space means that even the cheapest hotel charges stratospheric tariffs. The state of public transport and traffic means that it is not really a good choice to stay anywhere else. In any case, things aren't much better if you are looking for hotels close to the airport. You should be looking at the Western suburbs in that case. There are many guest houses at Colaba, where you find most of budget foreign travelers stay. Other budget hotels are found near railway stations, such as Dadar or Santa cruz, but most of them are absolute dumps. One safe and economical place to stay in Mumbai is the YMCA. Reasonably priced accommodations are available at the Colaba, Bombay Central, Andheri, and CBD Belapur Branches.

One inexpensive alternative is to live with a local family as a paying guest. A list of available families can be obtained from the Government of India tourist office (91 22 2220 7433) opposite Churchgate train station.

On the other hand, if money is of no object, you can stay at the Taj in Colaba (the oldest in India), the Leela Kempinski, the ITC Grand Maratha, or the JW Marriott Mumbai, Renaissance Mumbai Hotel & Convention Center. Hotel listings are in the district pages.

To camp

Whether you want to hang around with your close friends, spend some time with your family or wan to get away from concrete jungle, you an find plethora of places nearby Mumbai. You can try out letscampout.com for more options on camping near Mumbai.

Camping can be done safely in places like -

  • Lonavala
  • Tungarli Lake
  • Valvan Lake
  • Rajmachi
  • Mahableshwar
  • Matheran
  • Kaas Lake
  • Panchgani
  • Kashid & Phansad

Deal with