If you are lucky, you may just catch a glimpse of 79-year-old Sooru Karkera darting in and out of the restaurant kitchen as he flashes you a warm smile. The founder of the 40-year-old Mahesh Lunch Home is simplicity personified.
An eatery synonymous with good quality Mangalorean seafood, which he has run since its inception in 1977, Sooru has now passed on the baton to his son Mahendra and rarely ever comes to the restaurant himself.
Cawasji Patel Street in Mumbai’s Fort is where this restaurant is located, and is an address, every gourmand who comes to the city invariably lands up at in the quest for good quality, fresh seafood.
“My father still takes an active interest in the restaurant even though he may not be physically present here every day. He calls up to find out how the business is doing,” says Mahendra. He adds, “Our regular patrons know him well and he is familiar with their favourite dishes; they still ask for him when he’s not around.”
Sooru came to Mumbai in the 1950s from Udupi in Mangalore in search of a job. Soon, he plunged head-long into the family-run Jay Bharat Hindu Hotel, now Shivala, at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (earlier Victoria Terminus). “He was working at an advertising firm as an accountant at the time. Owing to a crisis, my father had to take over the reins and managed to bring it back to its original position,” says Mahendra.
Sooru was forced to learn the food business, something he knew nothing about. Having mastered it, after working hard and tirelessly, he decided to branch out and launch Mahesh Lunch Home in 1977 as he wanted an eatery that “served non-vegetarian Mangalorean food and had a bar as well.”
Mangalorean food cooked home style with recipes from the family is what Mahesh Lunch Home began offering. The fresh seafood from day one, cooked with typically Konkani spices and replete with comforting flavours, was what earned this place its band of loyal customers. “My father was very particular about quality and served only the best seafood,” Mahendra says.
Fish curry, rice, fish fry and gassi have been dishes on the menu since inception and are still the fastest selling items. A menu which began with a measly 20-25 items in 1977 began to expand in 1989 when Mahendra stepped into the business to learn the ropes from his father. “By then, the food scene had evolved and people began demanding other dishes too. So we expanded our repertoire of Mangalorean dishes and also added other coastal foods, tandoori and Chinese dishes as well,” informs Mahendra.
According to him, it is the quality of raw materials and ingredients here, that set the food apart, else Mangalorean recipes are otherwise easy to find and replicate. He adds that his uncle Somnath Kuckian has worked untiringly along with his father to build the brand. “Now my cousin Adarsh helps me,” he says. And now, he is glad that his son is “showing keen interest in the business and may even study at a culinary school to gain all-round knowledge.”
Mahesh Lunch Home does not believe in hiring fancy chefs, but instead trains people who are interested and willing to learn. “We give every one equal opportunity. Even a waiting staff may land up in the kitchen tomorrow and become a chef,” says Mahendra. Such is the loyalty of their staff that a chef who retired from Mahesh Lunch Home after 30 years, willingly joined their restaurant in Manipal when called upon to do so. “Our staff is our asset and most of them leave only when they retire,” he adds.
The restaurant is also home to many regulars, who work close by and dine here every single day during lunch. From cricketers Sunil Gavaskar to Dilip Vengsarkar, actor Jaya Bachchan, politician Supriya Sule and several industrialists, this place has hosted several prominent personalities.
While new dishes are added each year to the menu, Mahendra ensures he does not arbitrarily increase the prices. “That would not be fair to our patrons,” he says. Having opened more outlets with partners in Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru, Mahendra is keen to expand further but is always on the lookout for people with a similar philosophy.
Periodic food promotions such as the Crab and Wine Festival or Seafood Festival, are what they do by way of marketing. “People are now aware of these festivals and look forward to them annually. The rest is purely word of mouth,” Mahendra explains.
He is overwhelmed when Mahesh Lunch Home is often referred to as the “Seafood institution” in Mumbai. “That is the love people have for us,” he signs off.
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