Hill Road, Bandra West: Famous Shopping Destination of Mumbai (2024)
About Hill Road in Bandra West, Mumbai
Hill Road, in Bandra, is a unique tourist location for anyone coming to Mumbai. The Road connects Bandra station to the Bandra church and is the hub of commercial activity. If you intend to visit Hill Road during your visit to Mumbai, read this article to know how to make the best out of your outing.
Hill Road is a long stretch that begins from the Bandra Station. On both sides, you will see vendors selling rip-offs, cheap products, and trinkets. Women spend hours and hours bargaining and buying fashion accessories, clothes, and shoes on Hill Road.
Hill Road is famous because of the shops that line both sides of the street. Buying from these shops runs in the family for many Mumbaikars, for example, Warewell, S.S Dias, etc. Another old and famous shop at Hill Road is Cheap Jack. Some of the more recent ones are Trios, Dots, New Variety, and others.
There is a lot of options for shopping for everything at Hill Road, right from sunglasses to hats to slippers and shoes. Several street vendors sell sleepwear as well as earrings.
But if you want to enjoy your shopping, head over to the street vendors, and you will be pleasantly surprised at the discounts they offer with a little bargaining.
If you are planning to shop crawl and spend some time at Hill Road, you need sunglasses and a hat. The stretch is long enough and best explored in the late afternoon. Make sure you have a shopping bag. The vendors will sell you one, but that is spending money better spent on another pair of beautiful earrings. You will see steals of deals and will not know where to keep them after you buy them if you do not have a bag.
One amusing aspect of shopping at the street vendors is the absolute nonexistence of men’s fashion options. Apart from one shop that sells t-shirts for men, you won’t find anyone else selling to men.
Another pro tip for all you Hill Road explorers is: Carry cash. There are several shops on Hill Road, and not all of them accept debit cards, credit cards, and digital payments – though the lane was one of the first that did. The ATMs are further up the Road, so make sure that you carry enough cash and know-how to take care of the notes.
You are sure to get hungry by the time you reach the end of Hill Road. So, one good idea is to start your prowl from the farthest area, because there’s Elco near the station end of Hill Road and another restaurant somewhere in the middle. If you are looking for meat cuisine, there is a small but famous outlet somewhere along it all, that sells lip-smacking chicken puffs and other fast food. There is one building that houses Yoko Sizzlers if you are in the mood for that. Another pro-tip, if you believe you cannot have a sizzler without a beer, do not go to Yoko.
At the end of the path is Reliance Trends, if you are looking for some more shopping options. That shop has in-house brands from Reliance and offers a good deal as well. Reliance Trends is also an excellent option to take a breather from the heat, the dust, and the sheer crowd that you will see at Hill Road all through the year.
Other Popular Places Near Hill Road
Hill Road is in Bandra, the commercial hub of Mumbai, and it is home to several places that you spend hours. If you are looking for more shopping options, head over to Linking Road, that’s just the next lane. While reaching the railway station, you will see Lucky’s, one of the most famous restaurant brands in Mumbai. It makes sense to taste one of the dishes here.
You can also move along and visit the famous fishing villagers here in Bandra, Chimbai, and Ranwar and Pali. A walk through these villages reminds you of Goa. One pro-tip, if you are walking through these villages, refrain from photographing the people, as some of them are not very welcoming about photography and photographers.
Another lane to explore is Carter’s, the lane that houses some of the most iconic food franchises in Mumbai. Bandra also has Title Waves, one of the more famous boutique book store in Mumbai, which is also the venue of several book launches.
One of the more popular experiences here is Janta Bar, a no-frills attached bar that has a decent crowd. The restaurant is so famous that even foreigners come here to have a drink – to get experience. This restaurant is genuinely no-frills and the best place to get a slice of the urban life, all for the price of a beer.
The streets of Bandra have several nightclubs and discos and pubs. So, it makes sense to pack your bags with all your shopping and then let your hair down at one of them. You also have lounges, if you are not in the mood to dance to the groovy music that is sure to move you if you are listening to it with a group of friends.
How To Reach Hill Road in Bandra West, Mumbai
Getting to Hill Road is simple. It is extremely near to the Bandra Station, so board a train to Bandra. If you are boarding from Borivali, you need to travel South and North if you are traveling from the South. The railways are the simplest mode of transport to Bandra, but you can also cover the distance via bus. You will need to check if there are connecting buses to Hill Road from the place that you are boarding a bus.