For the love of Mondys

Last week, one heard of the Metro House in Colaba being issued a lease termination letter by the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPt) for violation of lease norms. The letter was received in November, and the deadline mentioned to respond to this notice is May 19. Since Café Mondegar is one among the 23 tenants of the Metro House, the eviction notice has given this joint a tad more importance than the usual, with patrons fearing it might shut soon.

If you’re one among those who has received your drinking permit from Mumbai, chances are you may have chugged one of your first beers at Café Mondegar. We’d also guess that you’re responsible to introduce Mondys (that’s what the place is fondly called) as Mumbai’s ‘iconic watering hole’ to your touristy friend, the one who set foot in Mumbai and pestered you to take them to some place where they can ‘feel the pulse of this city’. SoBoite or not, Mondys is a place one cannot miss, given its prime location (at the tip of Colaba Causeway) and the 'all-day café and bar' tag it boasts of.

Let’s just say we’re one of those who've spent hours in Mondys either on grounds of celebration, to lend an ear to a friend’s sob story or sometimes, with no occasion in hand. Whether one’s buzzed and unknowingly smiling at a neighbour’s joke (thanks to the closely-located tables); staring aimlessly at the murals painted by cartoonist Mario Miranda on their wall; digging into their tasty Roast Beef (ermm... once upon a time); standing in queue only to enter this place; or even deciding what song to request (thanks to their jukebox)… this cozy Iranian café does bring up way too many memories. 

We did visit this joint only to find out more about the eviction, but were dissed (yes, we know the press probably has got to them); the café staffers refused to divulge any information or comment on the issue. Though there’s no confirmation of it shutting shop yet, for the sake of our fellow Mumbaikars who deem this as their happy spot, we hope this place stays right where it is.

 

dna asked some of its readers to divulge their Café Mondys story and what they like or dislike about this place. Here are some of the responses we received:

This place is always so packed and crowded but that's exactly what makes it so amazing. From meeting friendly people to mid-day beers and mouth-watering food, Mondys has a sense of belonging—not to miss the quirky graffiti on the walls and the sweetest servers. It's almost like heritage to Colaba and I cannot imagine Mumbai without Café Mondegar!

 

Mondys is all about good beer, good music and good food. I will miss waiting for a table, drinking chilled beer, relishing beef roast and admiring the cartoons on the wall. I really hope this place doesn't shut down.

 

I visited Café Mondegar for the first time when I was a student at St. Xavier's and I've been going back ever since. The space has been central to many of our celebrations, reunions and farewells. We took a bit of Mondegar back with us whenever we wrote each other messages on the Mondegar postcards. The place is special as it evokes fond memories and helps create new ones. Food and drink are only accompaniments.

 

Café Mondegar is an iconic place in Mumbai, which is not just a favourite among Mumbaikars but is also a part of every tourist's itinerary. I have insane memories of fun, laughter, fights, drunken incidents at Mondys from my college days. Mondys will be missed for its awesome crowd—a mix of locals and expatriates, where we all could cosy up in the small space with its tables packed tightly, bonding over pitchers of Kingfisher draught beer and the jukebox belting out songs from the 90s.

-Asha Gopal, works at Worli

 

Metro House Pvt Ltd. is over a century-old landmark building (built in 1870) on Shahid Bagat Singh Marg (Colaba Causeway).