The India Tube - Britannia and Company

Home > Eat + Drink > Britannia and Company

18th May 2012

Images by Aashim Tyagi

Britannia and Company

by Aashim Tyagi

Boman Kohinoor is the most charming waiter I've ever met in my life. As we are being seated he insists that we start with their “unique” cooling fresh lime soda which will help us “beat the Mumbai heat! ” with a most persuasive smile that even someone callous could not resist. It's only fitting that I am dining with my father at Britannia and Company, as the story of the restaurant is also a story of another family, the one who has been running this venerable institution for the last 87 years.

With the drinks order noted Boman gently guides us through the menu and helps us choose our lunch. We asked for Patra Ni Machhi (Banana Leaf Steamed Fish with Coconut Chutney), Salli Chicken (Chicken Curry with Straw Potatoes), Chappati and Mutton Berry Pulao. The food is simple and tastes divine. Each dish stands on its own but the Mutton Berry Pulao is the unquestioned winner.After dispatching our order to the kitchen the energetic 90 year old shuffles across to the next table with more offers of the cooling fresh lime soda.

When Boman is not waiting at the various tables, he is one of the four partners that own Britannia. The others that make the quartet are his younger brother Merwan and his two sons Afshin and Romin. Afshin handles the cash counter while Romin mans the kitchen, taking over from their late mother Bachan.

It was Bachan's introduction of traditional Parsi fare such as Dhansak and especially the Berry Pulao that transformed the 87 year old establishment. In 1982, Bachan spiced up the bland Iranian Zereshk Pilaf to appeal to the Indian palate but retaining the Iranian barberries, still imported from Iran, as a central ingredient giving birth to their now popular Berry Pulao. This simple but exquisite dish has kept most of us who have had it once coming back for more.

The list of Britannia faithfuls is prolific and long indeed! To know more Afshin invites me to sit with Boman, who is taking a well deserved break sitting at the back and sipping on Raspberry soda (another Britannia favorite!). Boman transforms from our waiter into a proud owner sharing some of his cherished moments from the long history of Britannia. From his father Rashid's humble beginnings, the success and rise in the 80's thanks to his wife and now at 90, the reason why he still continues to come in every day - to meet new people and enjoy a good meal at Britannia!

As I'm about leave into the Mumbai afternoon, Boman insists that i have another glass of the heat-beating fresh lime but only this time it's on the house.