On a cloudy Saturday afternoon, hubby and I got into the car with the intention of driving around Rylands (Athlone) looking for good Indian street food. I know where all the most well known places are: Altaf Chicken Tikka, Wembley, Golden Dish etc. but haven’t eaten at all of them. After making our way through the busy streets we ended up parking in Murton Road and decided to walk hoping to stumble upon something new. We turned the corner and walked a few hundred metres and there it was, a huge restaurant called…

Mumbai Cafe

As soon as we walked inside I knew we were going to buy food from there. They had a wide variety of dishes, very similar to Food Inn but much cleaner and brighter. The prices are extremely reasonable and we decided to order a few items to take home. After looking at the menu that is displayed on the wall we decided on three items. You place your order and pay at the till then wait for your order number to be called. We opted to get it as a takeaway but there is ample space to sit.

I was so hungry at this point I wouldn’t have minded eating in. The layout of the restaurant is very similar to other Desi restaurants. It was one large room with tables and chairs set for four, counters running along the sides of the restaurant with a station of glasses and a sink to wash your hands in one corner.

There are different sections to the menu and food is prepared accordingly. If you order food from the different sections like we did, they are not prepared at the same time. Some items are made quicker than others but overall it did not take long. I ordered a cup of masala tea while we waited which could have had more cardamom flavour but was tasty, boiled karak chai.

The first dish we ordered was Tandoori Chicken for R40. They did not have chicken pieces but only leg & thigh. It is served with salad and you have a choice between chips or roti. We chose the roti option and hubby thoroughly enjoyed it. The chicken was tender, moist and spiced well.

The second dish to arrive was the Chicken Biryani for R47 served with raita. The portion is big enough for two and is more than enough to order by itself. The biryani was spicier than I expected, there were a few pieces of bony chicken and some potato but the ratio of rice and potato was good. There was loads of masala and it was garnished with masoor (brown lentils) and coriander.

The third and most favourite dish of the day was the Masala Dosa. Unbelievably priced at R35, I would want to eat this every day. It was jam packed with spicy, soft potato and served with a light tomato based vegetable curry, coconut chutney and another spicy gravy/chutney sauce. It was piping hot and crispy when we got it but after what felt like the longest ride home the steam had made the dosa soft. I devoured my half in minutes and thoroughly enjoyed it.

We paid R134 for everything and that is the same price as ordering two Fierce whoppers from Burger King! I would recommend Mumbai Cafe if you are looking for tasty and affordable Indian food.

Information

Mumbai Cafe has three branches and are open Monday – Sunday from 10:30am – 10:30pm.

Mumbai Cafe Rylands

SHOP NO 4, RAWOOT CENTER
OLD KLIPFONTEIN ROAD,
RYLANDS ,CAPE TOWN
Contact: 021 637 9486
EMAIL [email protected]

George

69 FICHAT STREET
GEORGE
Contact: 0448744000 / 0780672690
EMAIL [email protected]

Cape Gate Mall

CORNER OF OKAVANGO & DE BRON ROAD
BRACKENFELL, CAPE TOWN
Contact: 0823737371 / 0780672690