Swati Snacks, the favourite restaurant of Mukesh Ambani – Indian billionaire and Asia’s second-richest man – reveals its ingredients for success
- The humble quick-service eatery in Mumbai has had everyone from Bollywood stars and cricketers dine at its tables since the 1960s
- Its traditional homestyle recipes are drawn largely from Gujarat, and its sev puri, paani puri and bestselling panki are among the dishes fit for a billionaire
When the humble quick-service restaurant Swati Snacks in Mumbai recently began trending on Indian Twitter, the reason was simple: Asia’s second-richest man, Mukesh Ambani, had identified it as his favourite place to eat.
The Indian billionaire, 64, revealed his love for the eatery on the autobiography of its owner Asha Jhaveri, eponymously titled Swati Snacks.
“We are three generations of the Ambani family who cannot live without ordering from Swati Snacks every week,” reads the industrialist’s quote on the book’s grey-yellow cover.
Perhaps the appeal for him lies in the restaurant’s repertoire of regional Indian delicacies, mostly from the western state of Gujarat from where the Ambani clan hails.
But Ambani is only one of many celebrities, from Bollywood stars to cricketers, to have dined at its tables since in opened in 1963.
The eatery’s menu is based on traditional recipes from Indian homes, says its second generation owner Jhaveri, 76, who took over the reins from her mother and founder Minakshi when she died in 1979.