What started as a passion project to bring authentic, genuine Indian cuisine to one of the most famous streets in Melbourne has become a true culinary experience and stands as a great choice for your celebrations this Father’s Day.
With respectable curries and cocktails, Mukka is a fixture in Brunswick Street started by Prateek Dhawan and his brother Aditya, who came here as students to study hospitality.
Not satisfied with the range of cheap takeaway venues offering Indian cuisine, the Dhawan brothers saw a gap in the market.
“We felt like Indian restaurants were lagging behind,” says Dhawan. “We didn’t see restaurants of quality, cheap takeaway joints only, but though we’ve seen an evolution of restaurants happen, just not in Indian restaurants.
“We started doing night markets before we found the location we’re currently at in Brunswick Street. We didn’t anticipate being in such an iconic location – we loved the idea of being there.”
The fact that getting Mukka up and running was a family collaboration, with relatives and friends coming together to give the restaurant the first big lift, that personal, homely touch adds to the enjoyment and the aesthetic of the restaurant.
“It actually shows as soon as you walk in, there’s a homely feel, and you know there’s going to be good food.
“It’s all made in house, made by a family. All the recipes are my mum’s, so obviously that differentiates us to other restaurants on the street. I feel like just doing things ourselves – my dad painting, decorating the tables and walls and that – adds to the character of the restaurant and it’s shown in the food as well.”
The menu is sensational. From curry pots to tandoori street grills and lassi to street eats, there are some rare commodities to be experienced that you wouldn’t get in your typical takeaway.
The whole package, the décor, the family environment and, of course, the food is a representation of what Dhawan and his family experienced on special occasions in New Delhi, making the restaurant the perfect place for your own celebrations.
“Cities usually end up being a melting pot of lots of different food – New Delhi is one, a city of diversity.
“Each state has its own specialties and ways of preparing food, but Delhi being a capital city, it has all the different elements of those states.
“If there was any special occasion, like Father’s Day, any time we would celebrate something we would go out to eat. Goat curries, melt-off-the-bone meat dishes, that’s what we’ve tried to recreate.”
Dhawan makes it sound like going to Mukka isn’t just fulfilling a need, but to have a true culinary experience. Laughing, he says, “That’s what we’ve tried to do in Mukka. We’ve tried to bring all the different types of food we had in New Delhi on special occasions and put it in a bundle and presented it in Mukka.
“The biryani, the goat curry, the south Indian influence is in the dosa and banana leaf fish fries, and another combination of Indo-Chinese recipes representing the massive Chinese community in Kolkata.”
Get ready for your palette to start dancing, because this Father’s Day Mukka will have some very special drinks on offer to complement their fantastic meals.
“King Fisher is an iconic beer for every father in India,” says Dhawan. “We’ll have two-for-one beers. For fathers that love whiskey, we have two-for-one on a whiskey cocktail, a whiskey sour, using a very popular single malt Indian whiskey called Amrut.
“It’s a great whiskey for whiskey sour, but if you want it on the rocks, we can do that too!”
Check out Mukka this Father’s Day at 365 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. Find the menu, opening hours and more at mukka.com.au.
