Cafe Mondegar ( a.k.a. Café Mondegar and Mondy's) is a popular landmark and tourist attraction of

Colaba Colaba (; or ISO 15919, ISO: Kolābā) is a part of the city of Mumbai, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai while the other three are Worli, Bandra and Malabar Hill. During the Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was ...

, Mumbai. Famous Indian cartoonist and painter

Mario Miranda Mário João Carlos do Rosário de Brito Miranda (2 May 1926 – 11 December 2011), also known as Mario de Miranda, was an Indian cartoonist and painter based in Loutolim, Goa. He had been a regular with ''The Times of India'' and other news ...

painted

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s (his cartoons) on all inner walls and entrance ceiling of the restaurant.

History

Cafe Mondegar was started in 1932 by

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

Zoroastrians (Parsi settlers in India) as an

Irani café Irani cafés are Iranian-style cafés in the Indian subcontinent. They were originally opened by Zoroastrian Irani immigrants to British India in the 19th century, fleeing Safavid persecution or looking for better economic prospects. In India, M ...

. The current building (Metro House), then housed a hotel called ''Apollo Hotel'' and the café was started in the reception area of the hotel. By the mid 20th century, the café introduced a

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays a user-selected song from a self-contained media library. Traditional jukeboxes contain records, compact discs, or digital files, and allow user ...

, (first in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

) and was simultaneously converted into a restaurant. By the 1990s, Cafe Mondegar was refurbished,

s were painted on the walls & ceiling, and the restaurant was converted into a bar. Café is owned by Yazdegardi family and Rusi Yazdegardi / Hoshang Yazdegardi are the Managing partners of the business.

Location

Cafe Mondegar is situated in the ''Metro House'' in

Colaba Causeway Colaba Causeway, officially known as Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, is a commercial street, and a major causeway or land link between Colaba and the Old Woman's Island in the city of Mumbai, India. It lies close to the Fort area, and to the east of ...

, 450 meters North-West of

Gateway of India The Gateway of India is an arch-monument completed in 1924 on the waterfront of Mumbai (Bombay), India. It was erected to commemorate the landing of George V for his coronation as the Emperor of India in December 1911 at Strand Road near We ...

, 200 meters North-East of

Leopold Cafe The Leopold Cafe and Bar is a restaurant and bar on Colaba Causeway, in Colaba area of Mumbai, India, located across from the Colaba Police station. It was one of the first sites attacked in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. History The Leopold Cafe ...

and 400 meters South of

Elphinstone College Elphinstone College is one of the constituent colleges of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, a state cluster university. Established in 1856, it is one of the oldest colleges in Mumbai. It played a major role in shaping and developing the edu ...

in Mumbai.

Murals

In the 1990s, owner Rusi Yazdegardi asked

to draw

s (cartoons) on two opposite walls; i.e. the wall adjacent to the main entrance and wall opposite the main entrance. Both walls have different themes, one dedicated to ''Life in Mumbai'', the other dedicated to ''Atmosphere in the Café''.

sketched his drawings on canvas before their being rendered on the restaurant walls with the help of students from Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art under his supervision. File:Cafe Mondegar bar with mural.JPG, Cafe bar with murals File:Cafe Mondegar, Colaba Causeway, interior wall murals.jpg, Murals on restaurant walls File:Cafe Mondegar jukebox.JPG,

Jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays a user-selected song from a self-contained media library. Traditional jukeboxes contain records, compact discs, or digital files, and allow user ...

in Café Mondegar

References

{{Tourist attractions in Mumbai Coffeehouses and cafés in India Restaurants in Mumbai Indian companies established in 1932 Murals in India Restaurants established in 1932

History

Location

Murals

See also

References