Inside A Cafe-Bar That Aims To Transport You To Prohibition-Era Mumbai

This may be an extremely hedonistic take, but I think you know a city well not when you can commute in it without Google Maps, but when you know where to find booze there on a dry day. With my newfound freedom in cities like Pune & Hyderabad after leaving my small town, discovering dingy bars and street food joints that were open till morning became one of my favourite adventures. Especially on strikes and dry days, there'd always be that one aunty you could rely on for a Calrsberg or bhurji pav. 

India during the prohibition wasn’t too different. After independence, Mahatma Gandhi, who saw alcoholism as a disease rather than a vice, wanted the nation to go dry. But it translated into only a few states banning alcohol with others sticking to a partial ban. And as we know what repression does, the dry states started producing the most amount of homegrown alcohol. In Bombay, which was one of the first few states to begin total prohibition, illegal alcohol spread with such ferocity, that by 1964 there were “...more places in Bombay where alcohol was on sale, illicitly of course, than before prohibition when sale was legal” according to an NY Times article from that year. From drums of mash fermenting rotten fruit and potato peels concealed in manholes to distilled moonshine or ‘snake juice’, like it was called at the time, being smuggled in leather pouches by women pretending to be pregnant and false bottoms of milk cans, the lore goes deep. Eventually, alcohol was treated how pot is right now in the west - where you could get a doctor to attest that as an addict, you need a limited amount of it to avoid physiological damage and get a ‘permit’. And since people with these permits needed to get their drinks somewhere, ‘permit rooms’ came into existence. 

As a tribute to the same, a UK-based speakeasy chain aims to transport you to 70s Bombay. Permit Room by Dishoom, a restaurant group inspired by the Irani Cafes of Bombay, is a cafe-bar that embodies the underground drinking culture of the prohibition era. With franchises in Brighton, Cambridge and an upcoming one in Oxford, Permit Room is your go to spot to indulge in bar snacks, irresistible curries, sharing platters and cocktails. 

At the all-day-bar & cafe, breakfasts can look like a naan topped with your choice of savory fillings, with a refreshing marmalade mimosa. The lunch hour isn’t enough for the endless cripsy chaats, salads, samosas, curries, sides or a Chicken Pick-Me-Up. As the sun begins to set, the bar comes alive at the Permit Room with the DJs spinning everything from funk and punk to hip-hop and disco, reminiscent of the legendary jam sessions at Rang Bhavan that once graced Bombay's music scene in the 70s. The evening menu also offers a hearty dinner with indulgent specials like the Jackfruit Berry Pulao or house favourites, Aunty’s Anda Curry with Chilli Butter-Bhutta.

And of course the cafe-bar wouldn’t live up to its name without the spirits - But unlike the limited options from the dry era Permit Room offers everything from expertly crafted cocktails to a carefully curated wine list; something to suit every palate. Beer enthusiasts can delight in the rotating selection of local brews, accompanied by the snacks from the menu that I think were curated  by keeping the tradition of chakna in mind. However if you crave a taste of home being a teetotaller, raspberry soda & lassis have got your back. 

As a zillennial, it wouldn’t be accurate for me to call a place like Permit Room nostalgic because the entire prohibition era started and ended before me and our generation. But for the younger Indian diaspora in the UK and the natives there, it’s an exciting hub for diving into the history of a newly-independent India. We love the stories our parents tell of a time that was so different from the digital age that it almost feels alien. Permit Room by Dishoom aims to do the same through the art of gastronomy. It also ties different eras through the underlying thread of community, resilience and ingenuity - whether it was the 20th century or the 21st, we’ve always known how to have fun despite the invisible hand of the man. 

Follow Permit Room here.

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