In Your Neighbourhood: How Eros Building is reclaiming its place in South Mumbai and its food map

A building the city wouldn’t let go of

Commissioned by Parsi businessman Shiavax Cawasji Cambata in 1935 and designed by architect Sohrabji Bhedwar, the Eros Cinema opened to the public on February 10, 1938. Inspired by a statue of Eros Cambata encountered in Piccadilly, London, the building he created in Bombay was widely considered even more striking.

Described in Bombay Deco as the epitome of design, style and finish at the time, Eros was once the city’s most glamorous cinema address, screening English films and drawing students from nearby colleges like Jai Hind, Sydenham, KC and HR.

Its decline, said Akshat Gupta of Metro Realty Group, who, along with his partner Atul Rawat, signed a 30-year lease with the Cumbata family, began in the 1990s, with the fall of single-screen theatres and years of piecemeal functional changes. Then, a few years ago, when a green curtain went up around the Eros Theatre for restoration, it sparked an unexpected outpouring of emotion from Mumbaikars. The fear, as many expressed then, was not change, but erasure.

Gupta remembers that moment clearly. “We were inundated with calls and messages, not just from friends and citizens, but even from ministers’ offices,” he said. “We had to clarify that we were not demolishing the building, but restoring it.”

What that episode revealed, Gupta believes, is the sense of collective ownership attached to landmarks like Eros. “Buildings like these don’t belong to one person. They belong to the whole city,” he said.

The restoration work by Metro Realty Group began in 2019 with conservation architect Kirtida Unwalla, guided by extensive photographic documentation of the building. “Wherever anything needed to be replaced or added, we made sure it stayed within the Art Deco language, whether it was lighting or detailing,” Gupta said.

The larger vision, he added, was to bring the site back as an entertainment hub. “Today, with an estimated 1.7 to 2 million people crossing the junction daily, the building sits at one of South Mumbai’s busiest human intersections,” he said, adding that the building is slowly unravelling itself.

“Swadesh set the tone. Everything that’s come in since has only added to it. People often stop to tell us how happy they are to see the building lit up again, especially at night.”

Eros, re-entering public life

Eros reopened to the public in February 2024, when the original 1,200-seater single-screen theatre was reborn as a 305-seater IMAX cinema on the second floor, operated by PVR Inox. Around it, the building has gradually begun to fill out again, repositioning the Art Deco structure in Gupta’s words as an “entertainment magnet”, drawing in cinema-goers alongside food, retail and cultural spaces.

Early last year saw the opening of Swadesh, a retail destination offering curated handcrafted luxury products by Nita Ambani, along with an intimate NMACC Theatre Cafe. In July, the building became home to Wagamama’s India debut, a 136-seater outpost of the global ramen chain. Poetry by Love & Cheesecake and Coffee Island followed, quietly building steady footfall.

In February, The Rameshwaram Cafe will further add to this evolving mix, occupying nearly 8,000 sq ft across a ground-floor standing-quick service restaurant and a first-floor family dining space.

“We were hunting for a space in Mumbai for nearly two years, from Juhu to Bandra, Ghatkopar to Borivali,” said Raghavendra Rao, who co-founded the restaurant chain with his wife, chartered accountant Divya, in 2021.

“About a year ago, when we saw the Eros Building, we knew we had found it.”

“For us, South Indian culture and heritage are central. When you bring that into a space like Eros, which is itself a heritage structure, the two add value to each other,” he said. Location, he added, played a crucial role.

“Mantralaya is nearby, Marine Drive is close, this is a tourist destination, and Swadesh is right next door. People already flock to this neighbourhood.” The cafe plans to operate from 5 am to 2–3 am.

It was a similar instinct that led chefs Dhriti Mankame and Mehul ‘Sabby’ Sabharwal to choose the building for Hearth, their debut restaurant. The duo had spent over a year searching for a space, primarily in Bandra.

“Dhriti had become our unofficial broker for Bandra,” joked Sabharwal. “We had almost given up for the day when our broker brought us here. The moment we walked in, we both knew this was it.”

Chefs Mehul ‘Sabby’ Sabharwal and Dhriti Mankame, founders of Hearth.

The restaurant occupies a corner spot with two balconies overlooking the street. “There’s a strong character to the space,” Mankame said. “Being a heritage property, we could either try to redefine it or embrace it, and we chose to embrace it.” The restaurant retains several original elements, including the wave-like curved layout and exposed iron bars that form part of the building’s structure.

The chefs also credit improved connectivity for the renewed interest in South Mumbai. “There was a time when travelling here felt like a hike,” said Sabharwal. “But the Coastal Road has changed that.”

The duo also acknowledged Metro Realty for opening up the space. “They’ve allowed restaurateurs to shape dining spaces within the structure.” Mankame added that accessibility was crucial not just for guests but for staff. “Churchgate station is right across, the metro is a short walk away, and the Coastal Road ties it all together. It’s made this part of the city more accessible than ever.”

Inside Swadesh, the 23-seater NMACC Theatre Cafe designed by architect Ashiesh Shah has emerged as a quieter cultural anchor within the building. Calling Churchgate “the city’s true nostalgia centre and keeper of old Mumbai’s cultural memory,” a spokesperson said the neighbourhood felt instinctive when the cafe expanded beyond the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in BKC.

The 23-seater NMACC Theatre Cafe.

“With its Art Deco legacy and old-world charm, the building complements our vision of bringing India’s diverse tastes to life through a fresh lens,” they said. Within a month of launch, the cafe, said the spokesperson, had already built a loyal following, with guests returning for familiar comfort dishes.

‘A landmark every Mumbaikar recognises’

For K Hospitality Corp, which brought Wagamama to India, Churchgate was an obvious choice for the brand’s flagship outlet. “When we were identifying the ideal location for Wagamama’s first restaurant in India, the Eros/Cambata Building stood out immediately,” said Vivek Raghunath, business head, Wagamama India. “It’s a landmark every Mumbaikar recognises, with history, visibility and charm.”

He added that South Bombay’s demography played a role. “This neighbourhood has a large concentration of well-travelled, globally exposed residents. Many already had a strong recall for the brand,” he said, adding, “The Cambata Building itself is witnessing a renaissance. The presence of brands like Swadesh reinforces Churchgate’s position as a prestigious destination. Being here is not just about geography — it’s about brand stature.”

The Eros building at night (left) and anda keema parantha at NMACC Theatre Cafe.

Coming up next is a 3,500 sq ft fine-dining restaurant on the second floor, by the team behind the all-day cafe and cake shop, Poetry by Love and Cheesecake. Confirming the development, chef and co-founder Amit Sharma said, “We are currently building the space. It will be a 40-seater and is expected to open by April, though the name and cuisine are still being finalised.”

Architect Nikhil Mahashur of Walkitecture, which conducts walking tours across the city, believes the building’s design is central to its renewed appeal. “It’s one of the most beautiful Art Deco buildings in Mumbai. It’s a landmark, and its architectural value is immense,” he said.

Despite its wide, horizontal base, Eros appears towering. “The light cream facade is offset with red sandstone from Agra, repeated in ornamental details that accentuate the building. The stepped ziggurat tower rising into the sky makes the building appear taller than it is.”

Mahashur recalled the theatre’s former reputation as the city’s fanciest cinema, even hosting Alfred Hitchcock for a premiere in the 1950s. “Its resurrection was long overdue,” he said, noting that Bombay has always gravitated towards long facades.

“Now that the V-shaped Cumbata Building has opened up again with its large facade, restaurants want to take advantage of it, and people are returning to it.”

What is unfolding at the Cumbata Building is not a dramatic reinvention, but a gradual re-entry into public life, one movie, one meal, one evening at a time. As the lights come on each evening and footpaths fill once again, Eros isn’t just reclaiming its place, it is quietly resuming its role as a neighbourhood anchor — familiar, and open to what comes next.