Around Town: Bandra’s 87-year-old Lucky Restaurant where SRK got a film offer and whose biryani is Salman Khan’s favourite
Syed Ali Akbar once took a different route to work and chanced upon the spot where he would later start Lucky Restaurant. Today, its patrons include Bollywood stars who vouch for its legendary mutton biryani and timeless charm
4 min read
Syed Safar Ali Husaini with his son S. Mohsen outside Lucky Restaurant. (Express photos by Akash Patil)On a busy night decades ago, Shah Rukh Khan was eating biryani at Lucky Restaurant in Bandra when a film producer at the next table leaned over and asked if he would like to act. Years earlier, a young Salim Khan, newly arrived in Bombay, would begin his mornings here with a cup of tea. For over eight decades now, the restaurant at the corner of Hill Road has been the backdrop of countless stories — cinematic, personal, and legendary.
The owner, Syed Safar Ali Husaini, 84, has heard them all. A self-described “Bandra boy,” he speaks fluent English, his hands trembling slightly as he talks, but his memory is razor sharp. “Lucky was established on September 9, 1938,” he said without pause, recalling the exact date his father, Syed Ali Akbar, opened its doors.
Turn of luck
Akbar’s journey began as a 12-year-old immigrant from Iran. He started out selling tea in Madanpura before moving to Pune. When a woman saint asked him to return to Bombay, saying he would prosper, he did, and started a small restaurant on Bazaar Road, opposite the fish market. “He had a particular route he took every day. One day, he tried another and saw this building that housed a car showroom. Impressed, he told a friend, who suggested renting it for his hotel. The car showroom was apparently not doing well. My father was immediately on board and paid Rs 375 as rent for three months,” Husaini recalled.
And why call it Lucky? “Because he was lucky to take that route, and lucky that the space was available,” Husaini smiled.
Syed Safar Ali Husaini started working at the restaurant when he was 10. Today, S Mohsen represents the third generation manning Lucky Restaurant. (Express photos by Akash Patil)
In those days, he added, “Milk wholesalers gave shopkeepers credit in exchange for buying from them. My father received Rs 3,000 this way and that became his initial investment.” With this, he set up a restaurant serving seven dishes: mutton biryani, keema pao, roast chaap, mutton chop, korma, dal, and tarkari.
“Our keema pao is still a breakfast favourite. And the biryani, once priced at eight annas for half a plate and Re 1 for a full, remains our signature,” said Husaini, who began helping at Lucky as a 10-year-old. “I would lift the shutters at 5 am and work till 8 am, then go home upstairs, get ready and head to school,” says the BSc Botany and Chemistry graduate from National College, Bandra.
From stars to production houses
Over time, the restaurant expanded. First came Chinese dishes, then Mughlai, and later tandoori. “A1 Grill introduced tandoori chicken to Bombay. We followed,” Husaini recalled. With time, Lucky grew into an institution, so much so that “the junction it sits on, officially Mohammad Rafi Chowk, is more often referred to simply as Lucky Junction”.
Today, Husaini’s son, S Mohsen, 57, represents the third generation. “Everybody eats here,” he said proudly. “Our staff is cosmopolitan, our diners too.” The restaurant can now seat 240 across private rooms, air-conditioned sections, and a leafy garden where cockatiels and finches sing. A hotel sits above, and in 2007, Lucky expanded to Goregaon with another restaurant and hotel.
Parked on Hill Road, Bandra, Lucky Restaurant was founded in 1937 and has since been a famous dining destination for its mutton biryani. (Express photo by Akash Patil)
The dish that continues to define them, however, is unchanged. “Our mutton biryani is the star,” Mohsen said, and the testimonials framed on the walls prove it. Salman Khan once wrote about enjoying tea and biryani here; Arbaaz Khan declared, “You can’t call yourself a biryani lover if you haven’t had it at Lucky’s.”
Stars once came in person, but now send orders through their production houses. “When Sanjay Dutt dropped by, we had to smuggle him out because of the crowds,” Mohsen laughed. “From Red Chillies to Galaxy, everyone still calls for our food.”
As for the secret to Lucky’s enduring success, Husaini doesn’t hesitate: “My father taught me three things — be honest, be hardworking, and be humble. I have taught my son the same. God gives opportunities to everyone. You just have to grab them.” Eight decades on, those words still ring true.
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