This is the second of the five-article series of blog posts about Bombay’s Iranian Bakeries and Cafes. If you want to read it in a single, scrollable long-form format, you can access it here.

You’ve seen these places in movies, in talk shows and in food-and-travel shows. These high-ceilinged buildings with their antique wooden construction. The marble-topped tables and walls ornated with huge mirrors. Glass jars full of candies and cookies. A vintage clock ticking so loudly you can hear it amid all the chatter. A separate, family-only section, usually on a floor above the main cafe, away from the chitter-chatter, the gossip and the scandal of the usually-collegian crowds that occupy the lower sections.

A colourful chalkboard menu highlighting various delicacies, the usual suspects being Brun Pav, Muska Bun, Dhansak, Lagan nu Custard, Keema Bread and Mawa Cake among others. Red and yellow bottles of freshly prepared and brightly-coloured raspberry and pineapple sodas! Most importantly, the smell of freshly baked bread and the strong and sweet Irani Chai! In the months when the Bombay-breeze is at its finest, the smell will lead you to these cafes.

Symbols and pictures depicting their Iranian heritage are present throughout these cafes. First off, the names. Most of the cafes are named after traditional Iranian names or surnames. The Yazdani Bakery, the Sassanian Boulangerie, Merwan and Co. and Kyani and Co. all named after traditional Iranian names, surnames and places. Through most of these cafes, you would see depictions of various fire temples, old photographs of how the Iranian cities looked like, and religious symbols such as the Farr-e Kiyani and images of Zoroaster.

The Yazdani Bakery has a wall dedicated to these images and items from the bakery’s past. Among many other things on the wall, you’d find some interesting family memorabilia as well. Various degrees of the family members ornate the wall. Among these degrees is one that proves that those who run the place are qualified in the art of Bakery and Confectionary skills! Sitting behind a 60-year old bread-cutting machine, Mr Tirandaz, who manages the Yazdani bakery tells us that he loves to bake! While most of the baking at his bakery is done by the staff, he ensures that at every opportunity possible, he walks into the kitchen to bake some bread himself!

Some modern-day elements have also found a place among with these images over the years. In some of these cafes and bakeries, you’d find certificates of praise from various rating website. There are framed newspaper cuttings, as well as advertisements from the early days of the cafe (The ad-man in me was thrilled by the ad copy). At Britannia and Co. you can also find a letter expressing gratitude and praise from Queen Elizabeth II, addressed to one Mr Kohinoor. Flags of Iran, India and Britain hang next to each other at the cafe. A life-size cutout of Prince William and Dutchess Kate is also present, commemorating their visit from a few years ago.

Summing up, these Irani bakeries and cafes have a colonial-era feel. In terms of aesthetics, all these bakeries have a similar look and feel! Up next, we take a look at the food which makes these cafes so special! Keep reading.

• Introduction: Documenting Bombay’s Irani Bakeries and Cafes
• The Irani Cafe Experience: Bombay’s Iconic Bakeries and Cafes
• The Taste of Iran: Food at the Irani Bakeries and Cafes of Bombay
• Meeting The Showrunners: Men Who Manage Mumbai’s Iranian Bakeries and Cafes
• Curtain Call? The Disappearing Irani Bakeries and Cafes of Bombay