Famous Street Food of Mumbai: 12 Dishes and Where to Eat Them

The most famous street food of Mumbai includes vada pav, pav bhaji, bhel puri, pani puri, sev puri, ragda pattice, the Bombay sandwich, frankies, misal pav, kebab rolls, falooda and the ice cream sandwich. Most of these cost under Rs 200 a plate and are sold near railway stations, beaches and busy markets across the city.

Mumbai’s street food grew around its mills, trains and long working hours. People needed food that was cheap, filling and quick to eat standing up. That is why so many of these dishes come wrapped in a pav or served on a small paper plate. Below are 12 dishes worth trying, what each one actually is, and well-known places that have served them for decades.

Mumbai street food at a glance

1. Vada pav

Vada pav is a spiced potato filling dipped in gram flour batter, deep fried and placed inside a soft pav. It is usually served with a dry garlic chutney, green chutney and a fried green chilli on the side. It is the city’s most common quick meal and is often called the Mumbai burger.

Ashok Vada Pav near Kirti College in Dadar West is one of the best-known stalls. Its founder, Ashok Vaidya, started selling snacks outside Dadar station in 1966, and he is widely credited with popularising vada pav. Anand Stall near Mithibai College in Vile Parle is another long-time favourite with students.

Best for: A cheap, filling snack on the go, especially near a local train station.

2. Pav bhaji

Pav bhaji is a thick mash of potatoes, tomatoes, peas, capsicum and other vegetables cooked with pav bhaji masala on a large flat tawa. It is served with pav toasted in butter, chopped onion and a wedge of lemon. The common story is that it began as a quick, cheap meal for textile mill workers.

Sardar Pav Bhaji at Tardeo is famous for its heavy use of butter, and the queue often spills onto the pavement in the evening. Cannon Pav Bhaji, near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), is popular with office workers in south Mumbai. Sukh Sagar near Girgaon Chowpatty has served pav bhaji since 1962 and stays open late.

Best for: A proper dinner that still feels like street food.

3. Bhel puri

Bhel puri is a mix of puffed rice, sev, boiled potato, chopped onion, tomato and coriander, tossed with sweet tamarind chutney and spicy green chutney. It is made fresh in front of you and has to be eaten quickly, before the puffed rice goes soggy.

The bhel stalls on Girgaon Chowpatty and Juhu Beach are the classic places to eat it, usually in the evening by the sea. Ask the vendor for less or more spice, as most will adjust the chutneys on request.

Best for: A light evening snack at the beach.

4. Pani puri

Pani puri, known as golgappa in north India, is a small hollow puri that is cracked open, filled with potato or ragda, and dipped in spiced, tangy water. The vendor hands them to you one at a time, and you eat each in a single bite.

Elco on Hill Road in Bandra West is one of the city’s best-known places for pani puri. It fills its puris with ragda and potato and is known for steady taste and fast counter service even at peak hours. Many residents also swear by the stalls near Chowpatty.

Best for: Anyone who likes sour and spicy flavours.

5. Sev puri

Sev puri uses flat, crisp puris instead of hollow ones. Each puri is topped with boiled potato, onion, three kinds of chutney and a thick layer of fine sev. Dahi puri is a close cousin, where the hollow puris are filled and then topped with sweet curd.

Chaat stalls at Juhu Beach are a common place to try sev puri. Almost every chaat counter in the city also serves it, so you rarely need to travel far.

Best for: Sharing a plate with friends.

6. Ragda pattice

Ragda pattice is a plate of shallow-fried potato patties covered in ragda, a curry made from dried white peas. It is finished with chutneys, onion, coriander and sev. It is more filling than most chaat and works as a light meal.

You will find ragda pattice at most chaat counters in Mumbai, including many of the same stalls that sell pani puri and sev puri. Ask for it hot, as the patties are best straight off the tawa.

Best for: A chaat plate that can replace a meal.

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7. Bombay sandwich

The Bombay sandwich is white bread spread with butter and green chutney, layered with boiled potato, cucumber, tomato, onion and beetroot, and sprinkled with sandwich masala. It is often grilled, and many stalls add cheese on request.

Sandwich stalls near Churchgate station and on the streets of Colaba are known for it. A good vendor will cut it into small squares and serve it with extra chutney and tomato ketchup.

Best for: A quick breakfast or a vegetarian snack.

8. Frankie

A frankie is a soft flatbread coated with egg (or left plain), filled with spiced chicken, mutton, paneer or vegetables, then rolled and wrapped in paper. Tibb’s Frankie is widely credited with popularising the frankie in Mumbai in the late 1960s, and its outlets are still found across the city.

Breadkraft in Lokhandwala, Andheri West, began as a small bakery in the early 1990s and now offers well over 100 frankie and roll varieties. It is a regular stop for college students in the western suburbs.

Best for: A filling meal you can eat while walking.

9. Misal pav

Misal pav is a Maharashtrian dish of spicy sprouted moth bean curry, topped with farsan, chopped onion and coriander, and served with pav and a wedge of lemon. The thin, fiery gravy on top is called tarri or kat, and you can usually ask for extra.

Aaswad in Dadar is one of the best-known places in Mumbai for misal. Mamledar Misal in Thane is famous for a very spicy version and draws crowds early in the day.

Best for: A spicy breakfast.

10. Kebab rolls and baida roti

Kebab rolls are grilled chicken or mutton pieces wrapped in roomali roti or paratha with onions and chutney. Baida roti is a thin dough filled with minced meat and egg, folded and fried on a tawa. Both are mostly evening and late-night food.

Bademiya, on the lane behind the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Colaba, has been a late-night kebab stop for decades. The stalls on Mohammed Ali Road are the other famous option, and the area is especially busy during Ramzan evenings.

Best for: Non-vegetarian food after dark.

11. Falooda

Falooda is a chilled dessert drink made with rose syrup, milk, thin vermicelli, sweet basil seeds (sabja) and a scoop of ice cream, often topped with nuts. It is heavy enough to count as a dessert rather than a drink.

Badshah, opposite Crawford Market, is the most famous falooda shop in the city and has served it for decades. Haji Ali Juice Centre near the Haji Ali Dargah is another well-known stop for falooda and fresh fruit cream.

Best for: Cooling down on a hot afternoon.

12. Ice cream sandwich

The Mumbai ice cream sandwich is a thick slab of ice cream pressed between two wafer biscuits and wrapped in butter paper. It is simple, cheap and has to be eaten fast in the city’s heat.

K Rustom and Co., an Irani ice cream shop on Veer Nariman Road near Churchgate, has sold it since 1953. Flavours such as walnut crunch, kesar pista and paan are among the regular picks.

Best for: A sweet finish after a walk on Marine Drive.

How much does street food cost in Mumbai?

Prices change often and differ by area. As a rough guide, a hotel group’s Mumbai street food guide (Accor’s ibis magazine, checked in October 2026) lists vada pav at Rs 20 to 40, bhel puri at Rs 40 to 80, pav bhaji at Rs 120 to 200 and falooda at Rs 90 to 180. Older, well-known shops in south Mumbai usually sit at the higher end.

Tips for eating street food in Mumbai

1. Pick busy stalls. High turnover means fresher food and less time sitting out.
2. Carry cash and UPI. Most stalls take UPI now, but some older ones still prefer cash.
3. Be careful with water. If you have a sensitive stomach, choose stalls that use packaged or filtered water for pani puri, or skip the pani.
4. Go at the right time. Misal is a morning dish, chaat peaks in the evening, and kebab stalls get going after sunset.
5. Plan by area. Club Churchgate, Colaba and Crawford Market in one trip, and Dadar, Bandra and Juhu in another, to save travel time.

If you enjoy planning trips around food, read our Kolkata Durga Puja 2026 travel guide and our piece on exploring Ahmedabad after a quick flight.

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