Friday, March 24, 2006

Britannia & Co, Bombay - Berry Pulao and Good Parsi Food

"Mildew-covered strange old buildings", are the words that come to mind each time I'm in Ballard Estate. The reason for today's visit - food, more specifically a type of food , even more specifically a restaurant and to be honest one particular dish - Berry Pulao . What am I talking about you say ? - good ole' Britannia of course. At the corner of this hugely commanding wonder of oxidation, the War Memorial and opposite New Customs House, where "new" is a tag the building has long grown out of is "Britannia & Co - ." A restaurant whose philosophy is "There is no love greater than the love of eating," puts everything into perspective for me, another self affirming moment in my short life.

Even though you count the Parsi joints in Bombay[well in India] on your fingers, Edward VIII, Ideal Corner, Jimmy Boy, Paradise, Piccolo just to name a few, but out of all these places Britannia & Co is pretty special. I'm not taking about their fabulous Dhansak which I would count as the best dhansak I've ever eaten after Dorabjee's Poona of course - it's their Berry Pulao. A dish that makes them unique. As BusyBee famously said, "If it's Berry Pulao, it must be Britannia."

Britannia and Company Restaurant,
Wakefield House,
11 Sprott Road,
16, Ballar Estate (Pier);
(91-22) 22615264.
Open for lunch, snacks and drinks
Monday through Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but lunch only 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Closed Sunday.
No reservations or credit cards.

Read the Entire Photoblog here

2 comments:

  1. u got it real rite...nice introspective writing...

    ReplyDelete
  2. The owner has finally agreed to shut it down. He has made a pact with his children (who have left lucrative careers abroad to help their father) that they will not close the place down as long as he is alive.
    So after he passes away, his children have the permission to close britannia down and move on. :(
    Frankly, I have eaten there as little as three times. More than the food, I just loved the ambience. I love old Irani joints. Looking down from the top level, I could see families enjoying their meal with each other.
    This one will also close if no one comes up with a bright idea and make the old man rest in peace.

    ReplyDelete

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