American Express Bakery in Mumbai has been baking people crazy since 1908!

Offering one of the best baked goods in the city for over 100 years, American Express Bakery is no less than a gem.

How about a big flaky bite of Cheese croissants, plum cakes, Chicken Torte, Cinnamon rolls, Cookies, Pastries, Bread, and Cheesecakes? Well, if you love fresh and warm bakery items, here's a century-old bakery in Hill Road, Mumbai, that will give your tastebuds a delectable and comforting ride. American Express Bakery is indeed among those few shops in the city that doesn't really need an introduction but did you know that until 1944, this bakery used to supply cured meats, butter, and bread to the American ships at Bombay Docks? And it was their speedy delivery that made them popular with the name American Express, and it used to sell bread to Bandra Gym and the Royal Bombay Yacht Club for a very long time?

From Grant Road to Byculla, and then Hill Road

It was a talented baker Francesco Carvalho, who opened a bakery at Falkland Road, in Grant Road, out of his passion and love for baking and food and named it American Bakery. In 1938, he shifted his bakery to Byculla, where it still stands tall even today. To expand and help Carvalho with his business, all 3 of his sons, namely Joseph, Nolasco, and Sebastian, joined him.

After a short while, Joseph started importing cured meats and cheese from Europe to make the quality better. He also offered catering services during that period. Until 1944 they even supplied cured meats, bread, and butter to the American ships at Bombay Docks and due to their quick delivery, people lovingly started calling them American Express, and that's how they got their current name.

Also Read: Bandra’s iconic J Hearsch & Co., Mumbai is running successfully for the last 100 years!

Staying relevant

From 1954 to a few years ago, American Express Bakery was only selling bread. But seeing the demand and the competition, the owners decided to add a lot more than just the bread to their menu. The wooden shelves are now decked up with beautiful-looking crostini, lavash, wine macarons, plum cakes, granola biscuits, croissants, snacks, lemon tart, and much more. All these are baked in wood-fired and diesel-fired ovens, and the staff claim that there are no additives, pre-mixes, or preservatives are used for making these baked goods.

Both the bakeries in Hill Road and Byculla have a staff that's also generation old and some of them are even from UP and Arunachal Pradesh. The ambience is warm, simple, and has a vintage charm to it. The walls feature black and white advertisements of the bakery in frames and there are a few chairs as well.

This place is quite welcoming and be it any time of the day, it always smells amazing. If you adore freshly baked goods, especially plum cake, you have to head to American Express Bakery. Other than that, their Lemon tarts and Cheese croissants are also worth trying and have the ability to change the mood in a very good way.

Sit, eat, and chat here and trust us you won't regret it :)

Where:  Plot No 87, Villa Sushma, Hill Rd, Bandra West, Hill Rd, Bandra West, Mumbai.
When: 9 am to 8.30
Price: Rs.60 onwards.

Also Read: To Mumbai’s iconic Kyani & Co. that’s been successfully running for the last 114 years!

For more such stories, follow Local Samosa on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Telegram.