On the first of every month, at precisely 11 am, a certain subsection of Mumbai’s elite pull out their MacBooks for the Hunger Games of hospitality. The prize? A seat at a 650-sqft restaurant tucked above a sandwich shop in a dodgy Bandra bylane, serving exactly 12 people a night. A restaurant so maddeningly elusive it’s made grown men cry and their wives lie. It’s called Papa’s.
These days, it feels easier to get tickets to a Taylor Swift concert or score a quota Mini Kelly at Hermès than getting a table at your favourite restaurant. And just last month, Time magazine made it even harder by putting Papa’s on their 2025 World’s Greatest Places list.
The Bandra eatery is the brainchild of Hunger Inc Hospitality, the team behind The Bombay Canteen and O Pedro, steered by chef Hussain Shahzad. Conceived as a tribute to their late partner, Floyd Cardoz (who they called Papa ji), it has ignited a wildfire of hype since it opened a year ago.
My first visit was in February last year, days before it officially opened. And I’ll admit I completely underestimated what a culinary juggernaut this tiny place would become. Today, acquaintances presume I hold a golden key to Papa’s, probably because I’ve visited seven times in the past year. Well, one was technically for a party, but who’s counting? (Clearly, me.) During my latest visit, chef Hussain let it slip that no one has eaten there more often than that. I can’t tell if he said it with admiration or concern. So, how exactly have I accomplished this? Find out on The Nod.
