In a city that prides itself on speed – local trains that never pause, lunches eaten between meetings, cafés optimised for quick turnovers – Cafe NUR feels almost defiant.
Tucked away in South Mumbai, not immediately visible from the main road, NUR does not announce itself loudly. It doesn’t rely on neon signage, discounts on delivery apps, or viral gimmicks. Instead, it asks for something rare in today’s dining culture: time. Time to cook, time to eat, time to sit, and time to remember what food once meant.
Co-founded by Saud Javed and Rahil Khan, Cafe NUR is built on a deceptively simple idea: serve honest, traditional Indian food cooked the way it was meant to be cooked. No seed oils, MSG, or artificial colours. No frozen meats. Basically no shortcuts.
What emerges from this philosophy is not just a café, but a quiet revival of heritage cooking in modern Mumbai.
“I Like Real Food”
When asked how the idea of Cafe NUR first came about, Saud doesn’t launch into a business pitch. He talks about eating.
“I like to eat good food,” he says, plainly. “But not food that’s overdone or overstyled. I like food that’s clean, simple, and real.”
For Saud, fine dining has never meant tiny portions drizzled with sauces and labelled as gourmet. His idea of indulgence is rooted elsewhere – in meals that feel complete, nourishing, and grounded.
“I don’t like food where you get one piece of chicken and some sauce on it, and that’s called fine dining,” he says. “For me, fine dining is quality food. Real food.”
This preference naturally drew him toward Indian heritage cuisine, particularly Mughlai food – slow-cooked dishes that rely on technique, patience, and depth rather than excess.
“Indian cuisine is an art,” Saud says. “There is no finer cuisine in the world.”
He cites biryani as an example – a dish that travelled from Persia across regions, cultures, and centuries before being perfected in the Indian subcontinent.
“It may have started elsewhere, but the art of biryani was perfected here,” he explains. “I consider it Indian.”
Not Just Another Biryani Place
Mumbai is no stranger to Mughlai food. From legendary establishments like Bade Miyan to countless neighbourhood joints, biryani and kebabs are everywhere. So what makes NUR different?
Saud is clear: philosophy.
“There are many people serving biryani,” he says. “But philosophy makes the food different.”
At Cafe NUR, the menu is deliberately concise. The cooking methods are traditional. The pace is slow. The food is prepared fresh every single day.
“Our biryani, nihari – these are slow-cooked dishes,” he explains. “You cannot make them in half an hour or one hour. They take time.”
This is why biryani often sells out early. This is why customers cannot be promised instant service. And this is exactly how Saud wants it.
“We don’t prepare food in advance just to serve faster. If it’s finished, it’s finished.”
Oil-Free Mughlai: A Radical Choice
One of Cafe NUR’s most radical decisions is also its quietest: the food is made in ghee and is completely oil-free.
“In Mughlai food especially, people assume oil is essential,” Saud says. “But we avoid oil completely.”
He explains that much of what people associate with heaviness in Indian food actually comes from poor-quality ingredients, frozen meats, processed elements, and excessive fats added to compensate for a lack of flavour.
“When you cook fresh ingredients properly, slowly, you don’t need oil to hide anything,” he says.
NUR also avoids MSG (commonly associated with Chinese food but widely used across cuisines), artificial colours, and unnecessary additives.
“We were blessed to eat good food at home,” Saud says. “So whenever we ate outside, we always felt something was lacking.”
Many of the recipes at NUR are passed down through generations – unchanged, unmodernised, and unfiltered.
Compliments That Matter
While social media buzz and influencer visits have brought visibility, Saud measures success differently.
“The biggest compliment for us is when someone brings their parents or grandparents back,” he says.
Guests often tell the team that the food reminds them of their nani’s or dadi’s cooking – meals they grew up eating, flavours they thought were lost to time.
“When elders come and say, ‘This is the kind of food we used to eat,’ that means everything to us.”
In a city obsessed with what’s new, NUR has found loyalty in what’s remembered.
Why This Location?
Finding the space that would become Cafe NUR took three years.
“Getting a property in Mumbai is not easy,” Saud says. “Landlords, regulations, NOCs, competition – it’s a lot.”
Several industry insiders discouraged the location, warning that the café wasn’t visible enough from the main road.
“Very well-known restaurant owners told me, ‘I don’t know how people will come here,’” he recalls.
But Saud and Rahil trusted their instinct. Rahil lived nearby. The area had history. And NUR didn’t want to scream for attention.
“Sometimes the right people will find you,” Saud says.
They did and in numbers far greater than expected.
Overwhelmed, Not Unprepared
One of the few mistakes Saud openly admits to is underestimating the response.
“We were completely underprepared,” he says with a laugh.
Initially, there were only two tables outside. Staffing was minimal. Saud himself cleared plates, managed orders, and handled operations on the floor.
“I didn’t even know if those two tables would be occupied,” he says.
Within weeks, Cafe NUR was full every evening.
Today, reservations are essential. Walk-ins face waiting times. Yet the quality remains uncompromised – a non-negotiable for the founders.
Old Mumbai, Not Instagram Mumbai
The café’s interiors reflect the same philosophy as its food.
“We were tired of seeing the same beige, grey, minimalist cafés,” Saud says. “They feel dead.”
Instead, NUR embraces colour, texture, and nostalgia. The space draws inspiration from old Mumbai, particularly the Irani cafés that once defined the city’s social fabric.
Mumbai’s Irani cafés – simple, welcoming spaces serving chai, bun maska, and hearty meals – were never about trends. They were about consistency and community. While many still exist, few have evolved with care.
“We’re not trying to reinvent anything,” Saud explains. “We’re just bringing back what was missing.” At NUR, you can sit down for chai without pressure. You can eat biryani without ceremony. You can linger.
What Does “NUR” Mean?
The name “NUR” comes from Arabic and means light – divine, pure light.
“We wanted the food to have that quality,” Saud says. “Pure, honest, divine.”
That meaning extends to the ambiance, the cooking, and even the way guests are treated. “It’s not just about feeding people,” he adds. “It’s about how they feel when they leave.”
Sourcing With Integrity
Quality begins long before food reaches the kitchen.
Saud comes from a background that made him deeply aware of meat sourcing and grading. Cafe NUR works with suppliers whose families have been in the trade for nearly a century.
“They can look at a live animal and tell you exactly how much usable meat will come out,” he says. “And they’re rarely wrong.”
While much of the best-quality meat is exported, NUR insists on sourcing the highest grade available locally – despite higher costs.
“Hotels often buy lower grades because they’re price-conscious,” Saud explains. “We’re quality-conscious.”
A Team That Feels Like Family
Behind the scenes, Cafe NUR runs on something rarer than efficiency: loyalty.
“We have a very strong core team,” Saud says. “Some people have known me since I was a kid.” This sense of family is intentional. Saud believes hospitality begins internally.
“You have to treat your staff the way you want your guests to be treated,” he says. “Only then will that care reach the table.” Even today, one of the owners is almost always present at the café. Not for control – but for connection.
“It changes the morale of the staff,” Saud explains. “And guests feel it too.”
No Obsession With Expansion
In an era where restaurants chase valuations and multiple outlets, Cafe NUR is in no rush.
“We’re not in the game of opening ten or twenty branches,” Saud says. “We’re happy serving the best food from one place.”Expansion, if it happens, will be slow and intentional. Delivery-only models hold little appeal due to high aggregator commissions, which Saud refuses to pass on to customers.
“If we expand, the experience has to stay the same,” he insists.
What Keeps Him Going?
Running a restaurant is intense. Saud admits it’s one of the hardest businesses he’s ever been in. “If money is your only motivation, you won’t survive,” he says. “This is hospitality. You have to want to serve people.”
Creativity fuels him – through food, décor, marketing, and storytelling. Outside the café, Saud finds balance in horse riding, while Rahil channels his energy into motorsports. “It’s funny,” Saud says. “Our café is about slowing down, but both of us love speed.”
For First-Time Visitors
Saud doesn’t want guests to arrive with expectations.
“I don’t want them to know anything,” he says. “I want them to experience it.” If they leave feeling lighter, physically and emotionally, NUR has done its job.
A Quiet Message to Mumbai
For Mumbai’s food lovers searching for soul food, Saud has a simple message:
“Be more conscious about what you’re eating. Less about discounts, more about quality.”
Cafe NUR is not trying to change the city’s food culture overnight. It’s doing something subtler – and perhaps more powerful.
It’s reminding Mumbai that sometimes, the most radical thing you can do is cook slowly, eat mindfully, and remember where you come from.
