Colaba

Colaba was two of the seven islands: Colaba itself and Old Woman’s Island, a corruption of Al-Omani, the Arab deep-sea fishermen who worked the water. They were joined to Bombay by the Colaba Causeway in 1838, and the Causeway is still the spine of the place.

What came after was military and commercial. The British kept a cantonment at the southern end, which is why the barracks and the officers’ housing are still there. The Sassoon family built Sassoon Dock in 1875 — the first wet dock in western India — and the Koli fishing community worked out of it, as they still do. The Taj Mahal Palace opened in 1903 and the Gateway of India in 1924.

The Koliwada behind the dock is a working fishing village inside South Mumbai. The Causeway is the city’s best-known shopping street. And the lanes between Regal Cinema and the Museum hold most of Mumbai’s contemporary art galleries. All of it fits in about two square kilometres.

Name	Where	What it is known for
Sassoon Dock 1875	Colaba	Built by the Sassoon family; the first wet dock in western India. The fish trade is busiest at dawn.
Colaba Koliwada	Colaba, behind Sassoon Dock	A working Koli fishing village inside South Mumbai.
The Taj Mahal Palace arcade 1903	Apollo Bunder, Colaba	The oldest luxury retail address in the country, inside the hotel.
Colaba Causeway 1838	Colaba	Built to join Colaba to Bombay; now the best-known shopping street in the city.
Colaba gallery district	Colaba	Contemporary galleries near the Museum and Sassoon Dock.
Hotel arcades	Colaba, Nariman Point	Small luxury arcades inside the Taj, Oberoi and Trident.

Name	Where	What it is known for
Western Naval Command	Colaba	The Navy holds much of the southern tip. Large areas are closed, which is why Colaba has stayed low-rise while the rest of the city went up.
Afghan Church 1858	Navy Nagar, Colaba	St John the Evangelist, built in memory of the dead of the First Afghan War. The spire is the landmark at the end of the peninsula.
Colaba Observatory 1826	Colaba	One of the oldest geomagnetic observatories in the world; the readings taken here are part of the global record.
The Gateway of India 1924	Apollo Bunder	Completed in 1924 to mark the 1911 royal visit, and the point the last British troops left from in 1948. The launches to Elephanta go from beside it.
Cusrow Baug 1934	Colaba Causeway	A large Parsi residential colony on the Causeway; gardens, low blocks and a fire temple inside.

Name	Where	What it is known for
Colaba Causeway craft shops	Colaba	Textiles, brass and craft alongside the clothing stalls.
Phillips Antiques 1860	opposite the Regal Cinema, Colaba	Prints, maps, silver and colonial-era pieces; one of the oldest antique dealers in India.
Le Mill 2010	Colaba	A multi-brand luxury store stocking Indian and international designers.
Kala Ghoda boutiques	Kala Ghoda, Colaba Causeway	Smaller independent designer stores through the art district.
Hotel delicatessens	Taj Colaba, Oberoi Nariman Point	Bread, cheese and cold cuts sold to walk-in buyers.
Hotel arcade jewellers	Taj Colaba, Oberoi Nariman Point	Fine jewellery for the hotel trade.
Hotel arcade beauty counters	Colaba, Nariman Point	International skincare and fragrance.
Colaba and Fort licensed shops	Colaba Causeway, Fort	The oldest licensed wine and spirits retail in the city.

Name	Where	What it is known for
Leopold Cafe 1871	Colaba Causeway	Now as much a landmark as a restaurant; Continental and Indian on one menu.
Cafe Mondegar 1932	Colaba Causeway	Mario Miranda murals, a jukebox, beer and Continental plates.
Olympia Coffee House 1918	Rahim Mansion, Colaba Causeway	An old Irani room; kheema, bheja and nalli for breakfast.
Ling’s Pavilion 1991	Mahakavi Bhushan Marg, behind Regal Cinema, Colaba	Cantonese. Corn curd, prawn wontons in burnt garlic, claypot rice.
Golden Dragon 1974	The Taj Mahal Palace, Apollo Bunder	Sichuan; one of the first fine-dining Chinese rooms in India.
Bademiya 1946	Tulloch Road, behind the Taj, Colaba	A pavement kebab stall since 1946; baida roti, seekh kebab and rolls after eleven at night.
New Martin Hotel 1940s	Strand Cinema lane, Colaba	A tiny Goan room; sorpotel and pork vindaloo. One of the last of its kind south of Mahim.
Paradise 1940s	Colaba Causeway	Parsi food in Colaba; dhansak, patra ni machhi, sali boti.
Delhi Darbar 1971	Colaba and Grant Road	Mughlai and biryani, long-running.
Kailash Parbat 1952	Colaba	A Sindhi chaat house, running since Partition.
Woodside Inn 2008	Colaba, opposite Regal	A pub kitchen doing European comfort food and craft beer.
Indigo Delicatessen 2006	Colaba	All-day deli and grill; the original Colaba room set the format.
The Table 2011	Colaba	Californian and modern European; produce from the restaurant’s own farm.
Basilico 2007	Colaba	Casual Italian with a deli counter.
Busaba 2002	Mandlik Road, Colaba	Thai and pan-Asian in a small room off the Causeway.
Theobroma 2004	Colaba Causeway	The patisserie chain that began as one small Colaba shop.
Cusrow Baug Asian kitchens	Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Colaba	Small rooms carrying Chinese, Thai and Japanese on one menu.

Worth knowing

• The Causeway is walkable end to end in twenty minutes, and worth walking rather than driving.
• Bargain on the pavement; the arcaded shops are fixed-price.
• Sassoon Dock is at its most remarkable before seven in the morning.
• Silver jewellery on the Causeway is largely genuine silver, but check the stamp.
• Mondays are quieter and several shops shut.
• Bademiya runs late; it is a stall before it is a restaurant.

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