Bademiya — Indian Hospitality Magazine
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Bademiya

Colaba's midnight kebab institution — Mumbai's most famous street-side grill since 1946

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Mohammed Yaseen Arbi

Founder · Est. 1946 · Colaba, Tulloch Road, Mumbai

Bademiya was established in 1946 — one year before Independence — as a street-side kebab stall behind the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel on Tulloch Road, Colaba. Mohammed Yaseen Arbi set up his grill on the pavement, and South Mumbai's night-time crowd — the after-dinner seekers, the Taj Hotel guests looking for street food, the Colaba wanderers — found the kebabs. The stall has not moved since.

The street-side operation — folding tables, plastic chairs, and the smoke of the open grill — became Colaba's most democratic dining experience. The Taj Hotel's five-star guests and the backpackers from the nearby hostels sat at the same tables and ate the same seekh kebabs, distinguished only by their appetite. The food was and remains the equaliser.

Bademiya now operates both the original street-side stall and a nearby sit-down restaurant, but the outdoor stall on Tulloch Road — with its charcoal grill, its neon-lit signage, and its after-midnight crowd — is the establishment that the name refers to. The restaurant is a concession to air conditioning; the stall is the real thing.

Bademiya — additional image

“The grill has been here since 1946. The street has been here since the British built it. We bring the meat. The night brings the customers.”

What Defines Bademiya

Seekh Kebab Roll— Minced meat kebabs wrapped in roomali roti with onions and chutney — Mumbai's late-night food in its most essential form.
Chicken Tikka— Marinated, grilled over charcoal, and served with precision. The smoky flavour is from the coal, not from a flavouring.
Boti Kebab— Mutton pieces marinated and grilled. The substantial order for the serious midnight appetite.
Tandoori Chicken— Whole chicken, marinated, and cooked in the clay tandoor. The preparation that demonstrates the stall's heat management.
Bheja Fry— The offal preparation that distinguishes serious Mughlai from sanitised versions — brain, spiced and fried.

The Experience

The experience is the street: the smoke from the grill, the sound of meat on charcoal, the plastic chairs on the pavement, and the knowledge that behind you is the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and in front of you is a ₹100 kebab roll. The contrast is the point. Midnight is the optimal hour.

Rated & Reviewed By

Condé Nast Traveller India · Zomato 4.1★ · Lonely Planet Mumbai · BBC Travel

Editorial Notes

  • The street-side stall is the authentic experience; the indoor restaurant is an alternative but not a substitute.
  • The proximity to the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel creates one of Mumbai's most significant dining contrasts — five-star luxury and ₹100 kebabs within a two-minute walk.
  • The stall operates until 4 AM; the after-midnight crowd is specific and loyal.
  • Recommended for hospitality students studying street food as legitimate hospitality and the luxury-street-food adjacency model.

Getting There

Nearest railway station: Churchgate (Western Line, 15-minute walk south). The stall is on Tulloch Road, behind the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Colaba.