Is Mumbai's iconic 80-year-old eatery shut down due to food safety crackdown?

Mumbai's iconic eatery, Shree Thaker Bhojanalay, has temporarily closed amid Maharashtra FDA's rigourous inspections. And this has triggered a lot of speculation on social media.Farah Khan with Shree Thaker Bhojanalay onwers (Photo: Instagram/Shree Thaker Bhojanalay)It's literally “dar ka mahaul hai” meme vibe across Mumbai currently. Oh sorry, across Maharashtra.Thanks to the “new Singham” in town, Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe. The Maharashtra FDA's ongoing statewide inspection drive has led to the closure of iconic eateries, prominent clubs, gymkhanas, restaurants and even a Blinkit store in Mumbai, owing to serious hygiene and food storage violations.So, now whenever another eatery shuts down, the first assumption is: “Lagta hai inka bhi licence gaya.” Mumbai’s iconic restaurant, Shree Thaker Bhojanalay, faced a similar fate. It recently closed its doors to customers, and the rumour mill did what it does best. There were whispers that the celebrity-favourite restaurant had perhaps shut down over food-hygiene violations, especially amid the ongoing food-safety drive.But the restaurant issued a statement clarifying any such rumours. Here's what exactly happened.On August 10, the eatery, popular for it's Gujarati thali and Rajasthani dishes, posted about the temporary closure over "a few repairs, a fresh coat of paint and some thoughtful touches." Statement issued by restaurant That led the internet into a frenzy of speculation. One user called it, "the Tukaram Munde Effect?"After the speculations went rife, the restaurant issued another statement putting an end to the rumours. It said: “We've seen some reports and comments suggesting that Shree Thaker Bhojanalay has been shut down due to hygiene or food-safety violations. This is not true.” Shree Thakur Bhojanalay issues clarification over closure (Photo: Instagram/Shree Thalur Bhojanalay) It further read: “Our temporary closure is entirely for planned kitchen upgrades, repairs and some paint touch-ups. As the kitchen is being upgraded, we cannot continue regular operations during this work.”LegacyShree Thaker Bhojanalay was established in 1945. Since then, it's been serving scrumptious Gujarati and Rajasthani flavours to all its customers. The thalis here are also a B-town favourite. Several celebrities like Farah Khan, Bhumi Pednekar, Shahid Kapoor's family — Mira Rajput, Pankaj Kapur, Shankar Mahadevan, Sara Tendulkar, Darsheel Safary and the likes have also devoured a hearty meal here. What a thali here looks like (Instagram/Shree Thaker Bhojanalay) The USP is the thali which serves an array of dishes. There's a choice of chutneys, vegetable curries, an assortment of rotis, phulkas, flatbreads and more. It's one complete meal with salads, pickle, maybe a glass of buttermilk and desi mithai too.The Maharashtra FDA crackdownThe statewide crackdown has suspended the licences of all big or small eating joints.The iconic Rustom Ice Cream, Udupi eatery Poornima Restaurant, century-old Parsi Dairy Farm, four Domino’s outlets, Noor Mohammadi Hotel and Restaurant, Cricket Club of India, RK Juhu Gymkhana, Aparna Juhu Gymkhana — and the list goes on. All these food establishments were found to have serious lapses in food safety and hygiene.Addressing the criticism surrounding the suspension of licences of several well-known eateries, Mundhe told India Today TV, “I am actually a food safety commissioner of Maharashtra, and my expectation is that this becomes a public movement where everybody of us eats safe, standard and healthy food.”Between May 25 and July 31, authorities seized or destroyed 28.66 lakh kg of unsafe food products worth Rs 55.72 crore. Officials, however, clarified that a licence suspension does not necessarily mean a permanent closure. Once the establishments address the issue, make the necessary corrections, and clear the required verification process, they can apply for the restoration of their licence.- EndsPublished By: Jigyasa SahayPublished On: Aug 14, 2026 13:34 IST