“We used to hang out at Mondy’s every Friday”; “It’s the place we had most fun during college”; “You simply must go there once” – it seems like everyone in Bombay has a fond recollection of Café Mondegar. Intrigued, I followed my friend’s directions and walked down from Regal towards Colaba Causeway. At first, I saw this signboard hanging over a corner jewellery shack. A closer scrutiny revealed a door to an ancient looking café.
Café Mondegar is crowded, to put it mildly. Most guests were tourists; a significant number looked like aged hippies. The café itself looks like it has seen better days. But the Mario Miranda caricatures on the walls are still funny; and they play good music. The menu below the glass top on the table has plenty of variety – Chinese, Continental and Indian. But almost everyone in Mondy's was drinking beer. I stayed clear of the universal favorite (can’t stand the smell or the bitter taste!) and ordered myself an average garlic bread and a heavenly hazelnut cappuccino.
Don’t go to Mondy’s looking for great food. Go there for the ambience, for music, for the colorful mélange of people. Or as any Bombay-wallah will say “Go there for the old times’ sake”.
Café Mondegar is crowded, to put it mildly. Most guests were tourists; a significant number looked like aged hippies. The café itself looks like it has seen better days. But the Mario Miranda caricatures on the walls are still funny; and they play good music. The menu below the glass top on the table has plenty of variety – Chinese, Continental and Indian. But almost everyone in Mondy's was drinking beer. I stayed clear of the universal favorite (can’t stand the smell or the bitter taste!) and ordered myself an average garlic bread and a heavenly hazelnut cappuccino.
Don’t go to Mondy’s looking for great food. Go there for the ambience, for music, for the colorful mélange of people. Or as any Bombay-wallah will say “Go there for the old times’ sake”.
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