Why Cafe Goodluck Holds A Special Place In Every Punekar’s Heart

The familiar aroma of bun-maska hits you, reasserting Cafe Goodluck’s Iranian heritage, and we wait patiently for our table—despite the cashier consistently adding, “sirf paanch (five) minute,” to our initial wait of 15. While they may be small and to most, would not be one’s idea of fine-dining, it still isn’t all that easy getting a table for two. To us on the outside, the entire affair seemed like chaos, but give it a few minutes and you’ll notice that the place is actually a well-oiled machine, perfected over the years. Cramped tables, narrow isles, seemingly unchanged and makeshift decor; you can tell from the cafe-restaurant’s old walls that they had many tales to tell.

Founded by Hussain Ali Yakshi in 1935, Cafe Goodluck is Pune’s oldest Iranian cafe, and till this day is seen as an integral part of the city’s identity and lifestyle. This age-old business is located on Fergusson College Road, luring many Pune locals in with its classic Irani chai & bun-maska combos, with a plate of egg bhurji on the side. With over eight decades of the same style of work and food, one would wonder how this haven for all breakfast lovers has managed to have its staff overworked with the never ending influx of customers.

“For the past twenty years, our menu, the recipes and the style of cooking has stayed the same. But we still get crowds. People of all ages come here because the quality and the prices are still good,” said Goodluck’s part time manager, Mr. Yakshi. Cafe Goodluck’s menu has undergone minimum change since its opening. While its classic bun-muska and steaming cup of chai is a must have on any given occasion, their tawa recipes and biryanis are also more or less one of the main reasons why people patiently wait to get a table.

You can even watch as they roll out their parathas or roomali rotis, served alongside hearty orders of butter chicken and Nababi mutton handi. Apart from their tandoori, biryani, and tikka dishes, what really sticks out about the menu is its small list of brain dishes—from goat brain fried in eggs to brain masala (Note: Not for those with a weak stomach).

With a handful of waiters hustling about the tightly packed space, we were able to get a hold of Anand Kithne, one of Goodluck’s oldest waiters. Having started work in 1981, he tells us how the world inside the restaurant has somehow managed to stay the same, while Pune continues to evolve on a daily basis. “Goodluck has stayed the same, even the tables, but everything around it has changed so much. Since I joined, I’ve seen more college students come here and I still see some familiar faces, who’ve been visiting Goodluck.”

Regardless of all this information, how does this tiny little restaurant that refuses to change with the times, still manage to attract hundreds of people every single day? When we asked a few college students waiting patiently for a table, we understood that it was this very uniformity that promised audiences a good time! “People have been coming here for over 80 years, and the fact that Goodluck hasn’t changed their menu too much and retained most of their chefs and recipes, are exactly what people like the most. They like the consistency that the restaurant promises, it’s a feel good factor that people crave for. To a great extent its also nostalgic to sit down with your family or your friends and indulge in a classic childhood meal like your bun-muskas and omelets,” said Shanker. R. who had been a regular customer here for the past three years.

As for most Pune locals, nothing screams classic and homely breakfast in the city like sitting at one of their rickety tables scattered across the dining area, sipping on a small glass of hot chai and listening to the loud crackle of butter across the pan as the cook prepares your morning toast with muska.