Manek Chowk Nights

By day a jewellery market. By night, the most democratic dining experience in India. After 9pm, Manek Chowk transforms into 200 metres of food stalls stretching from the old clock tower to the haveli wall. Come for the Jain pizza. Stay for the falooda.

The stalls set up around 9:30pm and run until 2am, sometimes later. Most of them have been here for decades — the same families, the same recipes, the same prices (give or take inflation). The pav bhaji is cooked on a flat iron the size of a dining table. The sev puri counter moves so fast it looks choreographed.

There is nothing chic about Manek Chowk and that is precisely the point. Everyone is here: the mill-owner family from Paldi, the CEPT students, the street vendor from Kalupur who finally has a night off. Eat standing up. Order in Gujarati if you can.

— Ananya Mehta · Visited monthly