Mumbai's iconic Cafe Leopold reopens after attack

Customers are reflected in a glass pane with bullet holes in Cafe Leopold as it re-opened after recent militant attacks in Mumbai December 1, 2008.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Mumbai's iconic Cafe Leopold reopened to customers on Monday but the clock above the counter was stuck at 9:50 p.m., the time last week when Islamist militants threw a grenade inside and raked it with rifle fire.

At least seven people were killed inside the 137-year-old institution, including two waiters, staff say.

But it has reopened with bullet holes on the walls and in the thick glass window and a hole in the floor where the grenade landed. Candles and flowers were placed at the two entrances in memory of the victims.

The cafe, made famous in the bestselling novel Shantaram and a draw for Westerners visiting the city, was packed with about 70 people crowded into the ground level area. The upstairs bar will open later.

"Some of my staff were quite traumatised and have gone home for a few days," said manager Bernard Coelho. "They will be back soon."

Around him, patrons were drinking beer, eating sandwiches and fries, and trying to keep from being distracted by cameramen and reporters.

Named after a Belgian king, Cafe Leopold opened in 1871 as a wholesale oil store. It later became a restaurant, and then opened an on-site pub in the 1990s.

Posters of Elvis, James Dean and beer advertisements line the walls and mugs are stacked one on top of the other with the slogan: "Drink and be merry. Tomorrow you may diet."

Farhang Jehani and his brother, whose family have owned Cafe Leopold for decades, were both watching a cricket match on a TV in the upstairs bar when the gunmen lobbed the grenade inside.

"The first thing I heard was a big explosion, then I heard gunfire," Jehani said. "Everybody in the bar ducked."

Panic spread as customers ran for the side door or hid behind tables and chairs, Jehani said.

"We just can't sleep at night. We're still shocked."

At least 183 people were killed in Mumbai in the attacks, which ended when the last militant was gunned down by Indian commandos on Saturday morning.

The scars of the violence aside, Leopold seemed to be quite festive on Monday.

"I'd heard about this place, it's famous, and I wanted to come here," said Roy Peter, a visiting French tourist.

"I heard about what happened here, and I didn't expect it to be open. It's great here, I love it," Peter said, raising his beer mug.