Bombay is filled with hawkers, restaurants, and upscale eating joints. The interesting thing is that Bombay caters to both strict vegetarians and non-vegetarians, and eating joints tend to maintain a fairly strict distinction in some places. If you are not used to Indian street food, then I would urge you to be careful, to stick to well-known restaurants, and to order bottled water when you eat out.
If you are a tourist, then chances are that you will stay confined to south Bombay, near Colaba, where the favorite hangout place is the ever-popular Leopold Cafe. Apparently, you can even get a chance to appear in a Bollywood film. Agents come scouting for talent at this café.
Kulfi falooda is a must-have dessert in Bombay. This falooda does not remotely resemble the Iranian version, and instead has a clear Indian stamp. Kulfi is a rich ice cream of sorts that is available in different flavors. One of the best places to eat kulfi falooda is Badshah Kulfi, near Crawford Market. The other place to eat kulfi falooda is Elco Chaat Place in Bandra.
Vada pav is this city's favorite dish. Vada is a concoction of potatoes and other vegetables that is liberally sprinkled with spices and butter, while pav means bread. Pav is actually the altered version of the Portuguese word for bread, Bombay and the neighbouring state of Goa were influenced by the Portuguese.
There are good eating joints all along Marine Drive, where you can get a bite to eat. I prefer to go to Taj near Gateway for my fix of Indian or Middle Eastern food.
Bandra/Juhu/Pali Hill is the other major hub where you can grab a good bite of food. However, I cannot vouch for the quality and consistency of some of the food. Bandra Bandstand has a Coffee Cafe Day where you can sip your coffee and look out at the Arabian Sea. Be aware that your nostrils maybe assailed by a strong fish smell towards the evening hours. Farther down the road is Taj Landsend and Hotel SeaRock. This Taj is a smaller hotel that has a couple of restaurants and a bar. The food at Masala Bay is not too bad, and you can kick back and have an aperitif at the lounge before heading to your restaurant.
Bandra also has the newly opened Bread Boutique; Elco Chaat Place; and Olives, the happening Italian joint. Olives has a decent selection of Italian food and bread, but like many Indian-Italian joints, they tend to focus excessively on rissotos and heavy, creamy, cheesy pasta offerings. If you are hankering for a California kind of Italian dish, then you will be disappointed.
JW Marriott on Juhu Tara Road is a good place to hang out for sandwich and Indian food. The couple of times I have gone to their Italian restaurant, Mezzo Mezzo, it has been a disappointing experience.
If you travel farther up, close to the international airport, you will find a slew of great five-star hotels with some fantastic restaurants. The Leela has The Great Wall, Jamavar, and Citrus. The Grand Maratha has a great lounge, Dakshin, and a couple of great northeastern Indian cuisine place. Then there is the Hyatt, with its share of restaurants.
If you travel west from Andheri, you will be travelling towards Powai, which has Hotel Renaissance. This is a great place to hang out and relax away from the maddening crowd of south and central Bombay.