Steaming Idlis or crispy Medu Wada, Dosa’s or Uttappas, Upmas or Sheera’s it has to be Mani’s Snacks. Situated in the quadrant bang opposite Ramnarain Ruia College, Matunga, near Dadar-Hindu Colony. Mani’s is one place in Mumbai where you get the best in South Indian snacks.
My association with this little joint that can sit just 30 people at a time dates back to nearly two decades now when I was in college. It was the usual haunt to hit for a platter of Idli-Wada combo that came with the delicious chutney or sambhar as per request, what’s more the Superlative (S-with a cap and bold) sambhar and chutney came unlimited and you could go for up to three helpings before the waiter would raise his eyebrows, and you had to hesitantly stop at that delicious mischief.
I have never ceased to visiting the place ever since. Despite tight schedule and deadly deadline, I deliberately make a trip towards the college road at least once in two months to drop in at Mani’s for a small bite, even on a full stomach. Mani’s serves one of the best in South Indian snacks and though nothing frilly about its serving nor a long drawn menu; it serves Idli, Medu Wada, Batata Wada, Sada Dosa, Masala Dosa, Rava Masala Dosa, Mysore Sada Dosa, Mysore Masala Dosa, Uttapam, Onion Uttapam, Mysore Uttapam, Uppama, Sheera, and a few more stuff. Also add to this tea and filter coffee, the hot beverages on its menu. The joint also has on offer those special, tiny yet mouth freshening Madras Paan.
Since it can sit only 30 people at a time, Mani’s effectively uses the adjoining footpath, which is much bigger, with a spread of chairs. The joint has a very familial look and legacy, in fact the waiter who served me as a college kid still works and serves me today when I have a teenage daughter accompanying me. The servers are very efficient and brisk in serving and tending to your needs, the moment the chutney or sambhar is finished in your plate, you would have the waiter asking you if you need more. The place being a student haunt through the day, is very cheap and never a burden on the pockets.
Mani’s has the reputation of being the haunt of Marathi stage artists, stalwarts like Mahesh Manjrekar, Yateen Karyekar (Iqbal’s father in Iqbal), Sanjay Narvekar (Dade futya in Vaastav) to name a few. Since its close proximity to Matunga Gymkhana one can expect that even the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Kambli may have chanced upon it.
As an end note, I would like to recall the experience of an old couple, in their sixties sharing a table with us on a Sunday. The old couple kept ordering one delicacy after the other – during my presence itself they had finished with three of the snack items. I could not help, but probably astonishment was written on my face, for the old gentleman with a smile explained to me that they were visiting the place almost after six months. The lady clarified that they were actually living in the Dadar-Hindu Colony before shifting to the distant suburb of Nalasopara, as inhabitant of this neighbourhood they frequented the place and relished the food there. So it was obvious they were reliving each of those taste they could before they would end the day to leave back for Nalasopara. Pray… ‘this sounds like us some two decade down the years I announced my wife.’