Morning Chai & Bun Set
One Irani chai, one bun maska, one Shrewsbury biscuit. The set the regulars have ordered since the fifties, at a fifties-ish price.
₹99dine-in · daily till 10 AM
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Fort · Mumbai · Since 1936
Chai in a glass, bun maska on a saucer, and nobody hurrying you
An Irani café on Bazaargate Street: bentwood chairs, checkered tablecloths, mirrors that have seen ninety years of gossip. Chai brewed since dawn, kheema pav at 8, berry pulao at noon, mawa cake all day.
1936The year Rustom's grandfather opened the doors
7 AMFirst chai poured, every single day
4.6Google rating · 3,400+ reviews
3rdGeneration behind the counter
Dhansak Thali
Chicken or mutton dhansak, brown rice, kachumber, one kebab, a raspberry soda and a slice of lagan nu custard to finish.
₹449per person · 12 – 4 PM
10% off your first WhatsApp order
Skip the apps and their commissions. Order from this page with code KAYANI10 and we take 10% off the bill.
10%off · orders above ₹799 · code KAYANI10
Sundays, high tea & classes
Things that happen under the mirrors
Dhansak on Sunday, a tiered high tea at four, a photo walk through Fort, and Perin's mawa cake class. Book below or message us.
Sundays · 12 – 4 PM
The Sunday Dhansak Lunch
Perin's dhansak, brown rice, kebabs, kachumber and lagan nu custard, served family-style at the long table under the mirrors. One sitting, no rush, raspberry soda included.
₹649per person · 24 seats · book by Saturday
Reserve for Sunday
Daily · 4 – 6 PM
Parsi High Tea
A tiered stand of bun maska, khari, Shrewsbury biscuits, mawa cake, chicken sandwiches and a pot of chai for two. Add a caramel custard for good measure.
₹599for two · add custard ₹120
Book a table
Saturdays · 8 AM
Vintage Café Photo Walk
Ninety minutes with photographer Farhad through Fort's Irani cafés, Gothic arcades and Bazaargate, ending back here with breakfast. Bring any camera, including a phone.
₹1,200per person · includes breakfast · 8 walkers
Enquire on WhatsApp
Second Sunday · 10 AM
Mawa Cake Baking Class
Perin teaches the mawa cake from reducing the milk to the last cardamom pod, in our bakery. Take home a box of six, the recipe and the paper cups.
₹1,800per person · 6 seats · aprons provided
Enquire on WhatsApp
Since 1936Fort, Mumbai
Our story
Ninety years on Bazaargate Street
Khodadad Kayani arrived from Yazd in 1934 with a samovar and a recipe for chai. He rented a corner shop opposite the fire temple, put in bentwood chairs, marble tables, and mirrors on every wall so he could watch the room while he brewed. Kayani & Co. opened on a Tuesday morning in 1936, and the chairs are still the same chairs.
His grandson Rustom runs it now, with Perin in the kitchen, Farhad at the counter and Aban in the bakery. The menu has grown a little, the prices have grown a lot less than they should have, and the rule from 1936 still holds: nobody is asked to leave until they have finished their chai.
- Chai brewed in the original copper kettle, from 7 AM
- Bread baked on the premises, twice a day
- Mutton and chicken from the same Crawford Market butcher since 1971
- Dhansak on Sundays, patra ni machhi when the pomfret is good
- Mirrors, marble and bentwood, unchanged since 1936
- Zero-commission direct ordering on WhatsApp
Rustom Kayani
Third-generation proprietorTimings & getting here
Shutter up at seven, down at half past nine
Daily · 7:00 AM – 9:30 PM
Hours this week
| Day | Open |
|---|
One continuous service, 7 AM to 9:30 PM. Breakfast dishes are available all day. Kitchen last order 9 PM; chai and bakery till the shutter comes down.
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Delivery & pickup
Within 4 km: Fort, Colaba, Churchgate, Marine Lines, Kalbadevi, Ballard Estate. Chai travels in a steel flask; custards in their bowls, returned on your next visit.
Avg. delivery
Delivery fee
Minimum order
Pickup ready in
The chai card
Every glass of chai earns a stamp. The seventh is on the house. Pick up a card at the counter, or tell us your number on WhatsApp orders and we keep count.
Getting here
36 Bazaargate Street, opp. the old fire temple
Fort, Mumbai 400001
Five-minute walk from CSMT (Fort exit) and from Churchgate. Bazaargate Street is one-way; parking at the Cross Maidan lot. Buses 1, 3 and 66 stop at the corner.
Get directionsGood to know
Ground floor, no steps. High chairs and a smaller bun for children. Cash, UPI and cards accepted. We do not take phone bookings on Sundays: message us instead.
Why Kayani
Old café, firm rules
Brewed, not boiled
The chai steeps for twenty minutes in the copper kettle Khodadad brought from Yazd. It tastes like it did in 1936 because it is made the way it was in 1936.
Baked in the back
Bun, brun, mawa cake, khari and Shrewsbury biscuits come out of our own oven at 5 AM and again at 3 PM. Nothing is bought in.
Sit as long as you like
One chai buys you the table for the morning. Newspapers on the rack, ceiling fans on, no music. Fort's oldest co-working space.
Direct, not through apps
Order from this page and we skip the 25% commission, which is why bun maska is still ₹60 and not ₹90.
The people
Who's behind the counter
Rustom Kayani
ProprietorThird generation. Opens the shutter at 6:40 every morning, tastes the first kettle, and knows which regular sits at which table.
Perin Irani
Head of KitchenForty years of dhansak, berry pulao and lagan nu custard. Her recipes are in a notebook nobody else is allowed to read.
Farhad Mistry
Counter & ChaiRuns the counter, the copper kettle and the Saturday photo walks. Has an opinion on every cricket match since 1996.
Aban Daruwalla
BakeryUp at 4 AM for the mawa cake and the bun. Teaches the baking class and never gives away the cardamom ratio.
Regulars say
Overheard at table six
I have had breakfast here every working day for six years. Kheema pav, two chais, the newspaper, and Farhad pretending he does not know my order. Nothing in Fort comes close.
Aditya SawantBallard Estate · Weekday regular
Ordered the Sunday dhansak for eight on WhatsApp; it arrived hot, with the brown rice packed separately and a note about the kachumber. My Parsi mother-in-law approved, which never happens.
Neha KulkarniColaba · Family orders
The mawa cake tastes exactly like the one from my childhood in Dadar Parsi Colony. I came for the photo walk and left with three boxes and a chai card.
Dinaz MehtaDadar · Photo-walk guest
City Food AwardsBest Irani Café, South Mumbai · 2025
Traveller India Guide50 places that define Mumbai · 2024
Living Heritage RecognitionLiving heritage of Fort · 2022
Kitchen Hygiene Rating5 stars · independently audited
Reservations
Keep a table
Weekdays are walk-in; Sunday dhansak and the high tea fill up. Tell us when, and we'll confirm on WhatsApp.