advanceindianews.in
The mood at Cafe Mysore in Mumbai is jubilant after owner Shanteri Nagesh Nayak, 75, received a warm welcome from Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant Ambani at their wedding on Monday. The newlyweds touched his feet and expressed that the entire Ambani family looks forward to the food at Cafe Mysore every weekend.
Established in 1936, Café Mysore is arguably the oldest Udupi restaurant in Mumbai. Located in Matunga, it has a loyal customer base who flock to the two-storey restaurant from across the city for its soft and fluffy idlis, crispy Mysore masala dosa, flavourful rasam and mouthwatering sheera.
Going back in time
According to legend, in pre-independence India, a young A Rama Nayak stowed away on a boat from Mangalore to Bombay shirtless and became a formidable figure in Matunga, successfully running several restaurants in the neighbourhood.
“After losing his father, he and his mother came to Bombay. They stayed at the Rama Krishna Ashram and cooked there in exchange for their stay. Later, he started working as a cook, got married and moved to a chawl in Brahmanwada. He was so good at his job that the owners appreciated him,” Shanteri recalls of her father-in-law, adding that he was a celebrated man when she got married and joined the family in 1975. “Between 1942 and 1960, he took over several hotels to manage them, which was a common practice at that time, and Café Mysore was one of them.”
The restaurant was much smaller in size back then and was in a dilapidated state. The late A Rama Nayak renovated it and handed it over to his son Nagesh Rama Nayak in 1973-74. Shanteri’s husband Nagesh, an engineer from the Veermata Jijabai Institute of Technology (VJTI), is credited with expanding the restaurant.
“He was a visionary and had many ideas — he introduced the three-cavity plate for efficient serving, hot water utensil washing, steam boilers for cooking and he himself designed the spiral staircase to save space. The first major renovation came in the early 1980s,” said his son, Naresh Nagesh Nayak, 44, who currently owns the restaurant and looks after its day-to-day operations. “When he passed away in 2009, my mother, one of the first graduates in her village near Mangalore, took over the reins of the restaurant and ran it efficiently along with my sister Neha. I took over during the Covid period,” added Naresh, who added a digital kiosk at the entrance and a hands-free wash station at the restaurant, to keep up with the times.
Mysore Coffee and the Ambani Family
It was during his father’s time that Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani (then a student of the Department of Chemical Technology at the University of[ahora TIC]), began to frequent Mysore Coffeea tradition that continues to this day.
Naresh recalled his earliest memories of Mukesh Ambani dining at the restaurant“I was just seven years old and was sitting on the manager’s lap when he pointed to the television screen which showed two young gentlemen and then a table in the restaurant. Those gentlemen were Mukesh and Anil Ambani, and my young brain couldn’t comprehend how someone could be in two places at once,” he laughed.
He recounted another instance where Mukesh Ambani had dinner upstairs in the air-conditioned section with his wife Nita and three children. “When they finished eating, the staff rushed to get the car, but Mr Ambani calmly walked with his children, took out a hundred rupee note and bought balloons for them from a street vendor,” he shared. “Mr Ambani has remained humble and still treats everyone as equals. Even the children reflect his values. They did not have to touch my mother’s feet, but the way they treated her made me cry,” he added.
To this day, Cafe Mysore food is delivered to Ambani’s residence every weekend and the order is placed and collected in advance by his food and beverage team. Payment is made immediately. “Mr Ambani has only talked about one brand in the media that is not his – Cafe Mysore,” Naresh added proudly.
Mantra for success
Over the years, many restaurants in Udupi have had to close down. While Naresh admits that business is not what it was before Covid, he also shares that his boiler runs non-stop from 6 am to 10 pm, churning out fresh plates of idlis, his most popular item, of which they sell over a thousand a day.
When asked about his success motto, Naresh said, “We aim to provide honest value to the customer at the right price,” a practice that has been in place since his grandfather’s time. “We do not compromise on the quality of ingredients; be it flour, oil or spices, they are ground, cold-pressed and milled at home. We buy milk multiple times a day, starting at 5 am, to ensure it is fresh. We also listen to our customers and cater to their demands, even offering products like peri peri dosa,” Naresh added.
