Leopold Cafe

2021-09-13T13:55:05Z

2409:4042:2D98:FF85:450D:D89D:2E7A:A601: /* In popular culture */

{{for|the ice-cream parlor in Savannah, Georgia|Leopold's Ice Cream}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox restaurant
| name = Leopold Cafe
| logo =
| image = LeopoldCafe gobeirne.jpg
| image_caption = Leopold Cafe
| slogan =
| established = {{start date and age|1871}}
| current-owner = Iranis, Sherezad Dastur, New York City, Pers and Company.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.today/20130711003620/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-01-29/news-and-interviews/36615786_1_leopold-cafe-terror-attacks-mumbai-attacks|title = RGV to launch song at Leopold Cafe - Times of India}}</ref>
| head-chef =
| food-type = multi-cuisine
| dress-code =
| rating =
| city = [[Mumbai]]
| state = [[Maharashtra]]
| postcode =
| country = [[India]]
| seating-capacity =
| reservations =
| other-locations =
| other-information = Open Daily 7:30am-12am<ref>[http://www.leopoldcafe.com/leopoldcafe.limetray.com/about-us.html About Us], Leopold Cafe. Retrieved on 2018-12-21.</ref>
| website = {{URL|https://leopoldcafe.com|leopoldcafe.com}}
| coordinates = {{coord|18.9142|N|72.8241|E|type:landmark_region:IN_source:kolossus-dewiki|display=inline,title|format=dms}}
}}
[[File:LeopoldCafe2 gobeirne.jpg|thumb|Interior, September 2007]]

The '''Leopold Cafe and Bar''' is a restaurant and bar<ref name=nyt>[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/world/asia/15mumbai.html Boozy and Raucous, a Cafe Defies Terror, THOMAS FULLER, New York Times, DEC. 14, 2008]</ref> on [[Colaba Causeway]], in [[Colaba]] area of [[Mumbai]], India, located across from the [[Colaba]] [[Police station]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blonnet.com/life/2004/12/24/stories/2004122400130300.htm |title=Mumbai's Culture Square – For the Foodie |first=Shrilanka |last=Mehta |work=[[Business Line]]|date=24 December 2004 |access-date=7 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202161312/http://www.blonnet.com/life/2004/12/24/stories/2004122400130300.htm |archive-date=2 December 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&q=leopold+cafe+mumbai |title=Map of Colaba Causeway, Apollo Bandar with Leopold Cafe}}</ref> It gained its main popularity after the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]] as it was one of the first sites attacked.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hv8CviTH0MlF4XlDTJa6S_fHBtxAD94N71EO1 |title=A look at the main places targeted in Mumbai}}</ref>

==History==
It was founded in 1871 by [[Irani (India)|Iranis]] (a term used for Zoroastrians in Mumbai who arrived in India in 19th century, as opposed to "[[Parsi]]s"). These Zoroastrian Iranians came to India in the late 19th and early 20th century, and many of them opened restaurants now often termed [[Irani café]]s.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4485523.stm India's Iranian cafes fading out, Jayshree Bajoria, BBC News, 27 April, 2005]</ref> It first started out as a wholesale cooking oil store and over the years has variously been a restaurant, store and pharmacy (hence the name "Leopold Cafe & Stores"<ref>[http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-09-18/news/54068100_1_yrf-yash-raj-films-phonographic-performance-ltd Yash Raj Films' asks hotels like Four Seasons, JW Marriott to pay for its music By Maulik Vyas, The Economic Times, Sep 18, 2014]</ref>).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23953040-5002031,00.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912080420/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23953040-5002031,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 September 2012 |title=Cafe confidential |newspaper=[[The Australian]] |date=5 July 2008 }}</ref>

Prior to the terrorist attack, it was particularly known as a popular hangout for foreign tourists. After the attack, it is also now also popular with many Indians to commemorate the spirit of defiance. The Leopold Cafe has preserved some of the signs of the attack as a memorial, whereas at the [[The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel|Taj]] and Trident, the damage from the attacks has been repaired.<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Leopold-remembers-scars-of-26/11-attack/articleshow/6985398.cms Leopold remembers scars of 26/11 attack, Anahita Mukherji, TNN, Nov 25, 2010]</ref>

It uses an [[Achaemenid Persian Lion Rhyton]] as a part of its logo to indicate its Zoroastrian affiliation.

It is one of a couple of Irani Cafes that are still doing good business, while many others are fading away.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/may/10/mumbai-parsi-cafes-indian-food Mumbai's Parsi cafe culture, Rosie Birkett, The Guardian, Friday 10 May 2013]</ref>

==2008 Mumbai attacks==
The Cafe was an early site of gunfire and grenade explosions during the 2008 Mumbai attacks by terrorists on 26 Nov, at about 9:30 PM. The terrorists, perhaps an hour after landing, sprayed fire inside the restaurant from outside killing 10 persons and injuring many others. The restaurant was extensively damaged during the attacks. There were blood stains on the floor and shoes left by fleeing customers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/nov/26/mumbai-terror-attacks-india |title=Terrorists run amok in Mumbai |work=The Guardian|accessdate=28 November 2008 |date=27 November 2008 |location=London |first=Randeep |last=Ramesh}}</ref>
[[Sourav Mishra]], a [[Reuters]] reporter and one of the first media witnesses of the attack, suffered severe bullet injuries.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/asia/july-dec08/mumbaiattacks_11-26.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130326105529/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/asia/july-dec08/mumbaiattacks_11-26.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 March 2013 |title=Multiple attacks in Mumbai leave at least 78 dead |publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] |accessdate=19 March 2008 |date=27 November 2008}}</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azb-8XhTkaI Kasab's attack on Cafe Leopold, "Attack of 26/11", Eros Now, Apr 7, 2013]</ref> After spending one and half minutes at the Leopold Cafe, the terrorists walked over to [[The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel]], the main target.

The cafe defiantly reopened four days after the attack,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clHqtrDtB54 Mumbai Terror Attack Leopold's Cafe reopens after four days - Skynews Report, Dec 1, 2008]</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5260641.ece |title=Defiant Leopold café shows that Mumbai is not afraid |author=Blakely, Rhys and Jeremy Pag |date=1 December 2008 |accessdate=30 November 2008 |work=The Times |location=London}}</ref> but was reclosed on the recommendation of the police as a safety measure after two hours, due to the unexpectedly large size of crowds gathering there.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-12-01-india_N.htm |title=Cafe in India reopens; Taj hotel vows to 'rebuild every inch' |author=Siddharth Philip |work=USA Today |date=1 December 2008 |accessdate=7 May 2010}}</ref>

==In popular culture ==
The cafe was also mentioned extensively in the novel ''[[Shantaram (novel)|Shantaram]]'' and its sequel The Mountain Shadow.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/mumbaiterrorstrike/Story.aspx?ID=NEWEN20080075144&type=News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221233436/http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/mumbaiterrorstrike/Story.aspx?ID=NEWEN20080075144&type=News |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-02-21 |title=A week later, Patrons back to Mumbai's Leopold Cafe}}</ref> Shantaram is about an Australian bank robber and heroin addict who escapes from jail and flees to Bombay, as Mumbai was formerly called. Of all the very typical "Bombay" things and places mentioned in the book is the Leopold Café. The novel was the reason many patrons returned after the attack.<ref>[http://www.hindustantimes.com/books/tourists-back-at-leopold-with-shantaram/story-g7fMKdCgE0dgKEW2KA2aeL.html Tourists back at Leopold with Shantaram, Azera Rahman, IANS, Mumbai, Dec 11, 2008]</ref>

==See also==
* [[Irani café]]
* [[Café Mondegar]]
* [[Timeline of the 2008 Mumbai attacks]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Leopold Cafe}}
* {{Official website|http://www.leopoldcafe.com/}}
* [https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&q=leopold+cafe+mumbai&fb=1&cid=0,0,14124796225897690915&ll=18.923784,72.831073&spn=0.01021,0.017509&z=16&iwloc=A Map showing cafe location]
* [http://www.iranichaimumbai.com/ IraniChai, Mumbai history project]

{{Tourist attractions in Mumbai}}
{{2008 Mumbai attacks}}
{{Portal bar |Food}}

[[Category:Coffee houses of India]]
[[Category:Restaurants in Mumbai]]
[[Category:Restaurants established in 1871]]
[[Category:Indian companies established in 1871]]
[[Category:2008 Mumbai attacks]]
[[Category:Buildings associated with crimes]]
[[Category:1871 establishments in India]]

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Leopold Cafe