Wenger's is 100. Delhi has changed. Its appetite for the bakery hasn't

Wenger's, naam toh suna hi hoga. As the iconic Delhi bakery turns 100, we revisit the stories, celebrities and generations of customers that have made it a part of the capital's cultural memory.The legendary Wenger's turns 100 this year.We grow up learning that nothing is irreplaceable. People leave, places shut down and businesses make way for newer, shinier versions of themselves. However, nothing contradicts this phrase better than Wenger’s, a bakery standing tall in the heart of Delhi, serving people with love and graciousness and continuing to do so even when there’s almost a new bakery in the block every day.If you are a usual suspect, you know this, and for everyone else, Wenger’s is never empty—be it a Monday, a hot, sultry day or a holiday. You will never find fewer than 25-30 people hovering around the glass counters, making serious gastronomic decisions.Wenger’s turns 100 this year. Or, more accurately, it marks a century of the name, the building, the food and the idea that Delhi can have a place it returns to without needing a new reason every time. There are newer bakeries. There are more fashionable bakeries. There are bakeries with vegan menus, gluten-free offerings and the kind of interiors designed specifically to be photographed before the food is eaten.Wenger’s has none of that urgency. Wenger's is located right in the heart of Delhi. (Photo: Author) You come here for the eclair because you have always liked the eclair. You come for the shami kebab because your father did. You buy a cake because someone in your family has been buying one from Wenger’s for as long as anyone can remember. Wenger's sells about 400 items now. (Photo: Author) And if that is not enough, you come here for Mr Charanjeet Singh, a warm octogenarian who is the manager of the iconic bakery. When asked if he plans to retire, he has a simple answer: “I don't feel the need.”It is difficult to think of a better way to summarise Wenger’s and what it means to Delhiites today.The making of a legendary bakeryWenger’s began in 1924, when Jeanne Sterchi Wenger and H.C. Wenger established a catering outfit to serve the British Army stationed at Kashmere Gate. In 1926, it formally opened as a bakery, confectionery and tea room. The capital was being built, and Wenger’s was introducing its residents to a new kind of food.French bread. Swiss chocolates. European pastries. Tea-room culture.The original offering was hardly the sprawling menu of today. There were four varieties of pastry—chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and pineapple—along with bread, sponge cakes, shortbreads and tea cakes.By the time Wenger’s moved to its Connaught Place premises, the bakery had become part of the social life of the new capital.The building, designed by Sir Robert Tor Russell, housed not just the bakery and confectionery but also a ballroom, a private party venue and a European-style coffee shop and restaurant. There were dances, official dinners, weddings and musical evenings. Wenger’s was a place where people came to eat, but also a place where Delhi came to see and be seen.The Tandon takeoverIn 1944, the Wenger's retired and sold the business to Brij Mohan Tandon, who had already spent nearly two decades with the company. The business then became a family enterprise, carried forward by his three sons, Ranbir Singh Tandon, Om Prakash Tandon and Anup Kumar Tandon.Today, the third generation—Aman Tandon and Atul Tandon—runs Wenger’s. Aman Tandon is not particularly interested in grand theories about why Wenger’s has survived. He says it is the quality of the food, the service and good word-of-mouth reviews that have kept them going. A customer told us, "The food is to die for." (Photo: Thanks) It is a rather old-fashioned answer in an age of algorithms, influencers and businesses that announce every new product on social media. But it is also probably the correct one.Wenger’s has never had to persuade Delhi that it exists. Delhi has been doing the advertising for it for years now. People of different age groups still visit the establishment for their iconic shami kebab and patty. (Photo: Author) A celebrity hotspotOver the decades, the bakery has had its share of famous customers. And guess what? Sonam Wangchuk was also one of them.Others included M.F. Husain, Khushwant Singh, Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Farooq Abdullah, Sheila Dikshit, L.K. Advani, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Shobha Deepak Singh, Shekhar Kapur, Kapil Dev, Sanjeev Kapoor and Gautam Gambhir.M.F. Husain, Aman recalls, would arrive around 10:45 every morning and wait for the first batch of hot patty to come out of the oven at 11. MF Hussain was a regular at Wenger's. (Photo: Getty Images) Sheila Dikshit once called Aman to say she wanted to record ‘Walk the Talk’ with Shekhar Gupta at Wenger’s. The bakery opened specially for them early that morning.There have been film stars, politicians and sportspeople. Some came regularly. Others came once and became part of the bakery’s long list of stories.But celebrity is not what has sustained Wenger’s.The man who has seen it all, almostCharanjeet Singh has worked with Wenger’s since 1965. He is 82. He has spent 61 years behind the counter, serving generations of customers who have grown up, had children and returned with them. Charanjeet Singh is 82 and has no plans to retire. (Photo: Author) He has watched Delhi change from behind the counter. He has seen customers arrive as children and return as adults. He has seen those adults bring their own children. He has seen the bakery become part of family rituals that nobody thought to formally document because, at the time, nobody imagined those rituals would one day be history.Several people we met at the bakery speak about Singh with the same affection with which they speak about the bakery. He is, in a way, another Wenger’s institution.The building may be a landmark. The food may be legendary. But places are often remembered through people.The taste of coming backDr Kamini Singh, a regular, has been coming to Wenger’s since 2010. She was studying at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, then and now teaches there. Her college regularly orders cakes from the bakery. The reasons for returning are simple: the taste, the classic atmosphere and the memories associated with the spot. Dr Kamini Singh is a regular at Wenger's. (Photo: Author) We also spotted another visitor, Deepak from Udaipur, who was at Wenger’s for the first time. His wife, who is from Delhi, had told him about the bakery. When we spoke to him, he had already tried their vegetable patty and was about to bite into their tangy lemon tart. He mentioned that these were recommendations from people who had visited the place earlier, including his wife. Deepak with his wife from Udaipur. (Photo: Author) People around us had a lot to say about the food, the vibe and the service, but we happened to get a deeper insight from Surinder Dheer, national president of the Federation of Indian Traders, who has known the Tandon family for years.He is someone who has travelled widely enough to have sampled food from some of the country’s best-known bakeries and confectioneries. He has been to Flurys in Kolkata. He has tried the offerings at five-star hotels. But Wenger’s, he says, has no competitor.“I've tried everybody, but none of them has come to this level so far,” he says. Surinder Dheer, national president of the Federation of Indian Traders. (Photo: Author) He adds, “Right from Mrs Gandhi (Indira) to the first female President of the UN General Assembly, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, everyone spoke highly of this place.”While speaking to multiple people about their fondest Wenger’s memories, we stumbled upon Deepti Thakur, who is from Gurugram. She says, “Fame is all him (Singh). I was probably two years old when my dad first brought me to the store, and I still come. I'm 48 now. I have a daughter, but I am yet to get her here. We are now in Gurugram, so this is quite tough to come. But yes, today was an exceptional day, and I thought a Delhi trip is totally incomplete without a Wenger’s trip. Kudos to this man (Singh).” Deepti Thakur has been coming here since she was 2. (Photo: Author) Delhi keeps coming backWenger’s has seen Independence. It has seen prime ministers change, governments come and go and political parties rise and fall. It has watched Delhi expand from a carefully planned capital into a sprawling, impatient metropolis.It has seen famous people arrive at the height of their fame. It has seen generations of customers grow old. It has seen the city discover new foods, new restaurants and new ways of eating.While the city outside has changed almost beyond recognition, inside Wenger’s, someone is still waiting for a patty.- EndsPublished By: Tiasa Bhowal Published On: Jul 19, 2026 12:10 IST