Mumbai's iconic Cafe Leopold reopens after attack

By Rina Chandran and Matthias Williams

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Mumbai's iconic Cafe Leopold reopened to customers Monday but the clock above the counter was stuck at 9:50 p.m. (4:20 p.m. British time), 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."