Love Mumabi’s Pav Bhaji? These Spots Should Top Your List

If you are in Mumbai and confused about where to head for the city's best pav bhaji, these are Mumbai's best spots

Contributed By

Muskan Kaur

December 21, 2025

The best pav bhaji in all of India!

Pav bhaji commands fierce devotion across India. No matter where you’re from, tasting Mumbai’s classic at a bustling stall—steam rising and butter melting into a spiced medley—leaves a mark. Pav bhaji isn’t pretentious and never aspires to be. It’s vibrant, bold, comforting, unapologetically messy, and intricately woven into the city’s daily life.

Born on Mumbai’s streets as a quick, hearty meal for mill workers, pav bhaji has since become a citywide obsession that cuts across neighbourhoods, incomes, and generations. Whether at famed khau gallis, beachside stalls, or cafés and restaurants each adding their signature, pav bhaji is found everywhere in Mumbai. Yet, what truly unites its devotees is the particular ritual with which locals enjoy it: a bhaji—rich, spicy, and velvety, finished with a generous knob of butter, a squeeze of lime, and slivers of finely chopped onion—paired with pav that’s golden and crisp outside, soft enough to soak up every bit of gravy.

If you are not from Mumbai and feel lost about where to find the best pav bhaji—or simply crave a taste of comfort and chaos—here are five spots that showcase the city’s finest.

Sukh Sagar

Sukh Sagar isn’t just another pav bhaji stop—it’s known for radically shaping Mumbai’s obsession with the dish. Founded in the early 1960s on Girgaum Chowpatty, Sukh Sagar became a landmark by transforming local dining: it introduced approachable, quick vegetarian meals and accessible service at a time when restaurant outings were mostly reserved for formal occasions.

Its pav bhaji, in particular, played a key role in cementing the dish’s reputation beyond street stalls. Generously buttered and reliably spiced, it appealed to families, college students, beach crowd, and late-night diners alike. The cheese pav bhaji, fresh and dripping with butter and cheese, is a popular choice from Sukh Sagar. It’s hard to resist—one of the most scrumptious meals you can have in Mumbai. If you’re hungry, driving around at 2 am, and love street food, this must be on your go-to list.

Address: Sukh Sagar Building, Gamdevi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rd, Chowpatty, Girgaon, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400007

Timings: Monday to Sunday (10 am–2 am)

Amar Juice Centre

If there’s one name that comes up with pav bhaji in Mumbai, it’s Amar Juice Centre. On the busy stretch of Vile Parle, Amar has gone beyond its “juice centre” roots to become a dependable spot for comfort food. For many Mumbaikars, this is where you arrive post-movie, post-party, or simply when you crave something hot, buttery, and satisfying.

Amar’s pav bhaji is classic in all the right ways. The bhaji arrives rich and well mashed, prepared on a tawa until the vegetables combine into a spicy, flavorful blend. Generous butter gives it richness. Served with buttery, golden pav, lime, and chopped onions, it’s a plate that doesn’t reinvent but delivers tradition well.

In a city that never sleeps, Amar Juice Centre is known for dependable, crowd-pleasing pav bhaji.

Address: Shop Number 1, R.N. Cooper Hospital Compound, 3, Gulmohar Rd, beside Cooper Hospital, JVPD Scheme, Vile Parle West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400056

Timings: Monday to Sunday (11 am–3 am)

Bhagwati Veg Restaurant

What sets Bhagwati apart is its refusal to overcomplicate things. The pav bhaji here is straightforward and deeply comforting: well-cooked vegetables mashed into a smooth, luscious bhaji, balanced spice levels, and a generous hand with butter. Served with soft pav toasted on the tawa, chopped onions, and a squeeze of lime and green chilli, it’s the kind of pav bhaji that doesn’t need variations to impress.

Over the years, Bhagwati has grown from a modest local eatery into a bustling restaurant that draws crowds from across Mumbai. Families, students, and long-time patrons fill its tables, many ordering pav bhaji as a default rather than a decision. While the menu includes a wide range of North-Indian and Indo-Chinese vegetarian staples, pav bhaji remains one of its most ordered and most talked-about dishes. And if you’ve ever wanted to eat the opposite of pav bhai—masala pav—which is bhaji inside a pav, this is also where you must try it first! Go with friends and family, because you’re sure to love everything.

Address: Chandiwala Arcade, New Link Rd, opp. D’mart, Bangur Nagar, Goregaon West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400104

Timings: Monday to Sunday (9 am–12:30 am)

Shiv Sagar

Shiv Sagar occupies a very specific place in Mumbai’s pav bhaji map—not as a single cult address, but as a citywide constant. What began in the late 1990s as a modest vegetarian restaurant near Churchgate gradually grew into one of Mumbai’s most recognisable restaurant chains. Long before casual dining became a buzzword, Shiv Sagar had already mastered the formula: familiar food, quick service, and flavours that didn’t change depending on the branch.

What makes Shiv Sagar particularly important in Mumbai’s food culture is accessibility. With outlets across South Mumbai, the suburbs, and even other cities, it introduced generations to restaurant-style pav bhaji at a time when street food and sit-down dining were separate experiences. For many families, Shiv Sagar was where pav bhaji shifted from being something eaten standing on the street to something ordered at a table—clean, balanced flavours, and perfect for group dining.

And of course, the pav bhaji itself never misses. It represents the version of the dish that countless Mumbaikars grew up with. And in a city that thrives on food nostalgia, Shiv Sagar’s pav bhaji continues to feel like a safe, satisfying haven!

Address: Juhu Princess Building, Juhu Tara Rd, near Juhu Beach, Juhu, Santacruz (West), Mumbai, Maharashtra 400049

Timings: Monday to Sunday (9 am–12 am)

Udupi 2 Mumbai

Udupi 2 Mumbai may be best known for its crisp dosas, filter coffee, and South Indian fare, but for many regulars like me, its pav bhaji is an equally strong reason to pull out a chair. Part of the larger Udupi restaurant tradition that has shaped vegetarian dining in Mumbai for decades, Udupi 2 Mumbai represents a meeting point between regional South Indian food culture and the city’s love for street-style classics—pav bhaji included.

The bhaji features flavours that feel rounded rather than sharp. The pav is lightly toasted, soft enough to mop up the bhaji, and served with the familiar accompaniments of chopped onions and lemon. Udupi 2 Mumbai’s strength has always been consistency across a wide-ranging menu. You’ll see tables ordering masala dosa, uttapam, paneer dishes, and pav bhaji side by side—a reflection of how seamlessly the restaurant fits into Mumbai’s everyday eating habits. It’s the kind of place people return to repeatedly, knowing that whatever they order will taste good.

A tip from a Mumbaiker would be to never skip on their filter coffee (even with pav bhaji). It is a dream!

Address: Besides Papillon, Shop no 4/5 Harzabai House, Ram Ganesh Gadkari Marg, Vile Parle West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400056

Timings: Monday to Friday, (7 am–1 am), Saturday & Sunday (7 am–1:30 am)

Also read: Craving A Burger? These Are The Best Ones To Devour In Mumbai

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