Simple, yet special at Gajanan Vada Pav, Vishnu Nagar

Founded in 1978, Gajanan Vada Pav is famous enough to be considered a landmark says Divakar Shetty. Shetty has been looking after the shop, which his father founded, since 1980.

Although the shop sells only one kind of vada pav—the traditional one—it does stand out. Why? It’s chutney. A delicious mix of besan and chillies, its consistency is similar to imli chutney.

Says Shetty, “Our chutney is special. Others have tried replicating it but I am sure they won’t succeed. They will not be able to match our taste.”

One vada pav at Gajanan costs Rs10. He needs 100 kilos of potatoes every day and about 200-250 ladis of pav.

“But it is difficult to say how many vada pavs I sell. Some have samosa or bhaji pav. Some have just vada and no pav.”

There is perpetually a crowd in his shop. “So much so that there are times when a few customers take advantage and slip away without paying,” he says.

Shetty’s father, who used to work in a restaurant, had initially started a farsan shop. He started selling vada on the side. But soon the demand for vada picked up so much that the focus shifted entirely to that.

Shetty’s shop has enjoyed patronage of Marathi actors such as Kiran Karmarkar, he says.