Nestled in the heart of Frazer Town on the famous Mosque Road is a slice of the city’s history so unassumingly located that you would miss it entirely if you were walking or driving fast enough. And yet, Albert Bakery is one spot you would always want to stop by and taste their array of confectionaries. Bangalore is famous not only for its music and climate but also, over the years, for its food and Albert Bakery has been a major player in the city foodscape forever. The 112-year-old bakery is easily the city’s oldest and has been upholding a gastronomical tradition over the decades.
A thriving hotspot, the bakery is open only from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. and is sometimes so packed that there are traffic snarls on Mosque Road.
And for those who frequent the street during the festive season of Ramzan, if you haven’t stopped at Albert Bakery to grab a bite of their goodies, then everyone will tell you that you haven’t lived life to the fullest.
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Mohammad Sabir Faizan, the son of the proprietor Nawab Jan, says they strive to uphold the traditional baking practises. “We have always opened from 3 to 9 p.m. because we make the confectionaries fresh in the morning. Other bakeries may belong to a chain of supplies so they add preservatives and improvers which we never do. We make batches that are sufficient for each day.”
Established in 1902 by Sabir’s great grandfather Mohammad Yacoob, the bakery was initially a godown in Sangam lane off Kamaraj Road. “We used to deliver only buns and bread. That used to be the usual catering back then. We cycled down the roads with baskets of bread and buns delivering it to people in the locality. We shifted to Mosque Road in 1921 and since then we have stayed here,” recalls Sabir.
When my grandfather Mohammad Ibrahim was around, they had bread, biscuits, rusks, tea biscuits and other regular items. “It was only after my father Nawab took over that he introduced the kova naans, coconut cherry cookies, mini cocktail samosas and other specialities.”
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From delicious hot kova and keema naans and mini cocktail samosas to butter salt biscuits and coconut cherry cookies, Albert Bakery boasts of a variety of foodstuffs that make mouths water at the mention of the bakeries name.
On the name, Sabir says back in the early 1900s, “My great grandfather felt it would appeal to everyone if it had an English name. There is a common misconception that the shop was started by some foreigner called Albert. We had a lot of Britishers as customers so a common name like Albert would make it easy to relate to and the name stuck.”
Being the fourth generation in this line, Sabir hopes to carry this legacy forward. “We may launch an outlet elsewhere but all the production will always be here. We don’t want to expand much because of the freshness factor. We will never compromise on quality.”
A bakery like Albert in a city like Bangalore is a blessing, says Sabir. “There were no shops in this area when we started. Now there is a huge boom in development. The city has helped us come up. We also have a lot of competition so that helps us strive to be more creative and innovative. We are proud to be part of Bangalore’s rich cultural and culinary heritage.” The bakery’s other specialties are the hot cross buns on Good Friday, marzipan Easter eggs on Easter Sunday, non-alcoholic plum cakes for Christmas and brain puff for Ramzan.
They also have daily specialties like the chocolate lava cake, chicken Swiss and mayo rolls, tarts, quiches, banana and grape muffins, chocolate croissants and donuts and pizzas.