Two Vintage Ice-cream Parlours in Mumbai

I never thought that the two words I love so much, vintage and ice cream, could come together in such a tempting and delicious avatar. This is the story of two vintage ice-cream shops, one city, and it’s crazy humid weather which makes you crave for ice-cream for all meals of the day!

1. Taj Icecream

Pure Gold!

One sweltering afternoon after spending considerable part of the morning trying to locate “Chor Bazaar” and then exploring every nook and cranny of it, I was parched to death and was ready to plonk myself on the next vintage seat I could lay my eyes on. Taking pity on my sorry state, one of the shopkeepers told me about a 120 year old ice cream shop in the vicinity. It was almost as if he was breaking a pact by revealing about its existence :D. Intrigued and instantly energized at the prospect of ice cream, I delved deeper into this locality which was getting unsettling with every step. After crossing a street full of car scrap shops and a street full of butcher shops (it is called Mutton Street for a reason!) and almost abandoning my wild goose chase, I reached my destination. Without mincing my words I would describe it as a decrepit shack. But all my hesitation vanished once the old Grandpa at the counter beckoned me in with a beaming smile. And when he told me that the shop was started by his forefathers, the authenticity of the vintage claim was established without a doubt. The moment the visibly delicious bowl of strawberry ice cream was served, I realized that I had stumbled on a gem. The ice cream was creamy with chunky bits of real fruit creating an explosion of flavor in my mouth. The fruit is not artificially sweetened and is amazingly fresh. In fact I never had tasted this pure and fresh strawberry ever before. The ice cream here is all about the flavor and the purity of the fruit. After tucking in two bowls of strawberry and mango ice cream each, I slowed down at my third bowl of the highly recommended seethaphal (custard apple) to find out more about the history of this place. Turns out it is in fact more than 120 years old and the best part is they still use the traditional method of making is cream by hand in a sancha, no gadgets involved! The method of preserving fruits so that you have natural Alphonso mango in your in your ice cream all year round is a family secret. In fact this old shop tucked away in the interior of Mumbai seems to its best kept secrets.

Address: 6/40, Khara Tank Road, Bohri Mohalla, Bhendi Bazaar, Mumbai

Hidden treasure

2. K.Rustom & Co

Finger licking good!

It is such a surprise that I stumbled on two vintage ice cream shops in the same trip to a city where I lived six years! Either everyone who knew did not want to share the goodies or I was living under a rock which is a more reasonable explanation for my ignorance. So anyway after a long and tiring day of walking around Kala Ghoda area of Mumbai, I headed to Pizza by the Bay for a nice quite dinner. On my way I noticed a considerable crowd milling about a shop which at closer inspection turned out to an ice cream shop. Now obviously I could not walk past an ice cream shop which  (a) looked old and (b) had so much crowd and so I joined the queue to the counter. It was such a contrast with my previous encounter with an ice cream shop, while Taj Icecream was practically deserted, this one was filled to the brim. Maybe it was crowded because it was a Sunday but the wait heightened my anticipation. Expecting a brief history of the place at the counter was my folly I guess as all I got for my enquiry was that “haan bahut purana hai”! After all can’t blame him, he had a line of ice cream hungry patrons to serve. A quick google search later revealed that this shop had started in 1953 and started off as a chemist and general provisions store.  The sheer number of flavours available here are so confusing and the fact that they have almost equal number of flavours of lassi doesn't help the cause. So I decided on roasted almond and gingerly took the first bite of the ice cream sandwich that was handed over. The crunch of the wafer with the creaminess of the ice cream full of delightful burst of roasted almond flavor was pure bliss. And when I thought it couldn't get any better, I got candied almonds! This was a lesson on how different textures contribute to the overall eating experience. After having another sinful portion of lemon this time, I made my way to a walk on the Marine Drive. The taste had to be savoured and preserved and I had to make space for dinner!

Address: On the same line as Pizza by the Bay, diagonally opposite Ambassador Hotel, Churchgate, Mumbai

nothing fancy about the place, but delicious ice cream