Fort-based Superb Nook is barely 500-metres away from Bombay Home, the headquarters of the Tata Group. However the first assembly between the restaurant’s spine Parvez Patel and the late industrialist Ratan Tata occurred 1,700 kilometres away, in Jamshedpur.
“Tata Metal hosts its annual perform in Jamshedpur, and we’ve catered for them twice through the years,” shared Patel, including that he first met Ratan Tata a couple of quarter of a century in the past.
“He had come for the perform and we had been dealing with the catering. Once I noticed him, I greeted him with ‘Sahebji,’ as we Parsis do. He responded, and I adopted up with ‘Jamva Aavo Ji’ (a typical Parsi/Gujarati invitation to eat). He smiled.” Did he praise the meals? “He didn’t complain,” replied Patel and laughed.
Although the web has dubbed him Ratan Tata’s favourite chef, Patel clarified that whereas he has met the industrialist on a number of social events and was at all times struck by his humility, they’re removed from being buddies or having any type of private relationship.
“Although he by no means visited the restaurant himself, Ratan Tata frequently despatched his driver to choose up dishes like khatta-meetha masoor dal or berry pulao, together with lagan-nu custard. The motive force would come as soon as in about each three months to get it packed for him, and this went on for a stable 10 years,” Patel shared.
Superb Nook’s fashionable khatta-meetha masoor dal (makes use of a particular sugarcane vinegar that’s sourced from Navsari, Gujarat. “Once we Zoroastrians fled Persia and got here to Gujarat, our delicacies advanced, and this dal is a mirrored image of that,” he defined, including that spices like turmeric and cumin weren’t initially a part of their delicacies however had been adopted over time.
Returning to Tata, Patel talked about that he stopped ordering a couple of decade in the past. “Our meals is a bit spicy, as Parsi meals needs to be, and maybe he couldn’t proceed with that food regimen,” he added.
Inside Superb Nook, a 39-year-old institution in Fort
Patel, who celebrated his seventieth birthday earlier this week, is a well-built man with a ardour for each meals and bikes. At his 550-sqft Superb Nook, together with the mezzanine flooring, he’s parked his Yezdi bike between the tables — a motorcycle that’s ridden a few of the highest motorable roads in India, beginning with Khardung La Go (at an elevation of 17,582 ft) in Leh in 2002. “On the time, it was thought of the best motorable street. Then, with GPS, we realised Marsimik La (18,314 ft) was larger, so we went there. Not too long ago, Umling La (19,024 ft) took the title, so two mates and I rode there final October,” he instructed The Indian Categorical.
In the case of his entry within the resort business, Patel shared that it occurred after he noticed a number of mates within the business residing a glamorous life. Impressed by them, he pursued a two-month course at The Oberoi resort, following which he was employed by them.
The journey of the restaurant at Hornby View, an Artwork Deco constructing in Fort, started as Superb Motors—a storage for Yezdi bikes. In 1985, the storage closed after the corporate stopped manufacturing of Yezdi bikes, and proprietor Boman Irani’s spouse, Mrs Gulcher B. Irani determined to remodel the area right into a snack bar.
“She would make one dish a day—like Prawn Curry or Dhansak—and serve it with rice. It did very properly,” shared Parvez Patel, a household buddy of the house owners. “A 12 months or two later, she determined to show it right into a full-fledged restaurant and requested me to return on board.” Patel, who noticed this as a golden alternative to be his personal boss, has been managing Superb Nook ever since. He’s now certainly one of its three companions, together with Mr and Mrs Irani.
“We began as an genuine Parsi restaurant. The recipes got here from my mom, aunts and grandmother,” he shared, including that the enterprise was thriving, a lot in order that they determined to broaden the menu and add Chinese language delicacies someday in early Nineteen Nineties, snacks like burgers and pizza got here a 12 months later. “This was earlier than the inventory market in India transitioned to on-line buying and selling, so everybody would flock to this a part of city. We had been flying,” he reminisced.
In stark distinction to these days, the truth immediately is kind of completely different—once we visited the restaurant on Friday night, not a single buyer walked by way of the doorways between 5 pm and 6 pm. A number of elements have contributed to this decline. Whereas footfall decreased after the shift to on-line buying and selling, the largest blow got here when places of work began relocating to new complexes throughout town and suburbs.
“Demonetisation, Covid-19, and the development of Mumbai Metro Line 3 had been the ultimate nails within the coffin,” he defined. The Metro building has barricaded the entry from Dadabhai Naoroji Highway. “Of the regulars we had, solely 10 p.c nonetheless come. We introduced down our menu to 50 per cent, providing solely Parsi delicacies and sandwiches. Nonetheless, we do see a brand new crowd, particularly school college students who view us as a pocket-friendly hangout,” he added, expressing hope that enterprise will revive as soon as the Aqua Line building is accomplished. “We hope to reintroduce Chinese language, together with pizza and burgers, as soon as the Metro is up and operating.”
What’s subsequent for Superb Nook? “I don’t know. Our youngsters aren’t ; they see it as gadha majduri (exhausting labour) and would reasonably work comfortably of their air-conditioned places of work,” he laughed.
He added that they lately employed somebody to deal with their social media, although they’ve but to see any vital influence. “We’re simply taking issues as they arrive,” he concluded.
The place: Hornby View Constructing, close to Fort fireplace brigade, Ballard Property, Fort, Mumbai
When: 9 am – 6 pm, Tuesday to Sunday
Meal for 2: Rs 700
