Mumbai: Street Food Tour & Evening Bazaar with Train Ride

4.95

(151 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I remember is the blur of colors and voices as we squeezed onto the local train — not as chaotic as I’d feared, but definitely a little wild for someone used to quiet commutes. Our guide, Priya, grinned and handed me a napkin (“You’ll need this later,” she said). We rattled along toward Chowpatty Beach just as the sky started turning gold, and you could already smell spices drifting through the open windows. The city felt wide awake even though it was almost sunset.

We spilled out onto the sand where families were picnicking, kids chasing each other around vendors selling bhel puri and pav bhaji. I tried bhel puri first — crunchy, tangy, sweet — and got half of it on my shirt. Priya laughed and showed me how to eat it without making a mess (I still failed). There was something about eating with my hands right there on the beach that made everything taste brighter. The breeze carried a mix of sea salt and frying onions; honestly, I didn’t expect Mumbai’s street food tour to feel so much like joining someone’s evening ritual.

After that we jumped into a share cab (which is its own adventure), weaving through traffic to Bhuleshwar Market. It was loud — people haggling over flowers, bangles clinking together, shopkeepers calling out prices. We stopped by a Jain temple tucked between stalls; inside was quiet except for the soft shuffle of socks on marble. Outside again, our guide pointed out snacks I’d never heard of — pani puri (the “challenge” is real; don’t wear white), chicken rolls sizzling on hot plates, kebabs smoky enough to make your eyes water.

Somewhere near Minara Masjid the smells got richer — cardamom, grilled meat, something sweet I couldn’t place until Priya steered us toward Bori Mohalla for ice cream. Mrs Ice Cream Walla has been churning fruit flavors by hand for over a century; the mango one tasted like summer in a bowl. By then my feet hurt and my head was spinning from all the new flavors, but walking back through those narrow lanes with sticky fingers felt oddly peaceful. I still think about that view of neon lights reflected in puddles after the rain.