draught beer in mumbai

i've been passing through mumbai for many a year but have somehow always failed to spot this place, even though it's literally only a couple of minutes from where i always stay.

'cafe universal'
299 s.b.singh road
fort, mumbai

was returning from colaba having just found out my internal flight was non-existant and strolled past this place. lovely wooden decor, countless white spinning fans, pleasant staff and rather empty. oh, look, a sign says 'draught beer'...so, with no immediate plans i opt to pop in, plant my arse and order a draught kingfisher.

now i need to put this in perspective. i hadn't slept for 36 hours, the only liquid i'd consumed before this was a warm kingfisher in colaba and i'd been walking all day only to find out that i has lost a flight. i was thirsty, parched, dizzy, not quite the full shilling.

my beer arrives. glistening in the glass. nice frothy head. i pick it up...oh, it's cold, sooo cold, well, 'ice cold in alex' had nothing on me in that moment. glorious.

so there you have it. if you fancy a proper, cold beer to help wash the dust from your throat, in relaxed surroundings, you'd do a lot worse than trying out cafe universal.

they also have a menu which i would imagine being a godsend to those who've been on the go for some time and would like more western-influenced cuisine (maybe similar to leopolds - although i haven't returned there for years) there was a steady flow of reasonably affluent indians popping in and indulging in the chinese offerings from the menu and, although i don't eat meat, the two masive chicken sizzlers that i watched get brought to a table (in a wheelbarrow), looked like they should easily feed 4 people each and did look like fine fodder.

one very cold draught kingfisher - 45rs.

slurpity burpity.

btw, which airline did you intend to fly? can't be Jet, eh?

Speaking of draught beer in Mumbai, try the RC draught at Sailor Restaurant, opp. Strand Book Stall, P.M. Road, Fort.

was supposed to be jet, yes, but unfortunately they let me down.

they were very polite about it, though.

i left there feeling sorry for them.

Next time you plan to have a beer, check out Mondegar's at Colaba ( right next to Regal). Great beer n food !!

I love this place. The address is Cafe Universal, 36 Adi Marzban Path, It is the lane behind S.B.Road.
The food is good too.

Is that with or without glycerine.?

Does Royal Challenge have a lot of glycerol in it? I had three one evening and had a killer headache next day. Three Kingfisher have never done that to me.

The name says it all, Hal, really. :-) I stay clear of that stuff. Don't know if it is the glycerine/glycerol, I think KF has that too, but something in Royal Challange is bad, real bad and nasty.

Update , ca.2012 , this has to be around 110 rupees now.