Patel’s Vegetarian Refreshment Room

In search of the first bunny chow: Inside Durban’s legendary Patel’s 

My search for South Africa’s best bunny chow has taken me all over the country. I’ve learned that some places are better at mutton bunny, others at prawn. But it wasn’t until I dug deeper that I began to think a place’s real strength might best be tested by its vegetarian bunny. This epiphany brought me to 202 Dr Yusuf Dadoo Street in Durban, where Patel’s Vegetarian Refreshment Room offers a delicious reason to investigate the possible origins of this legendary dish.

Who invented the bunny chow remains contested. Patel’s is among the earliest establishments associated with the dish, but no single inventor is universally recognised. In a 2016 interview, longtime owner Manilal Patel recounted a family story: an early proprietor began serving curry in hollowed-out bread to feed black customers who were excluded from eating inside under segregation. Other accounts trace its beginnings to portable lunches for Indian labourers.

Whatever the definitive history, this place has been doing it for a damn long time, and they do it damn well!

On my visit, the choices included moong dhal, sugar beans, mixed vegetables and gram dhal. I went for a mixture: earthy beans, nutty dhal and comforting creaminess soaking into bread that softened and turned golden with spice. It was messy, deeply satisfying and, at R33 for my medium portion at the time, exceptional value.

For me, the pleasure is in how the meal changes as you eat it. You start by scooping up curry with bread, then work towards those soaked edges where everything comes together. By that point, the debate about which filling you should have ordered feels like somebody else’s problem entirely.

Sadly, Manilal passed away in May 2026 after decades behind the counter. His family said they intended to continue the business, tracing its history to 1911, with Ranchod Rama Patel taking over in 1932.

The exact birthplace of bunny chow may remain an argument best had over lunch. What I found at Patel’s was food worth seeking out in its own right: affordable, generous and full of flavour.

Somewhere in that curry-soaked bread is a very good reason Durban takes its bunny chow so seriously.