Hey Guys 🙂 Today we will explore one of the best vegetarian restaurant out here. I mean, I really can’t believe I waited 28 years to do this! There are indeed many restaurants in Bangalore but not many can boast a legacy of 79 years! Based on my experience I can indeed vouch that Vidyarthi Bhavan is indeed an iconic restaurant!
This restaurant has its strong roots spread even before independence and is a South Indian Tiffin heaven. Do not get me wrong! There are not many items on the menu. However, the ones present are indeed yummy in our tummy 😛
I visited this place with my cousin to tryout out their legacy Masala Dosa. My cousin is another foodie (someone who has visited this place multiple times) and he made the perfect companion here . Without further ado, lets dive into the details
The decision to visit Vidyarthi Bhavan was an on the fly one. We had been to the local theater to watch an Malayalam movie and the idea struck us as we travelled back. It was quiet late in the evening and we decided to reach Gandhibazzar early in the following morning as the hotel is famous for its notorious queue. Since it opened its door to the customers at 6.30 AM, we decided to be there by 7 AM. But just as any good story goes, we did not leave our place until 8 AM.
We reached the restaurent around 9 AM were punished for our lateness by a wicked queue. The restaurant is set admits a busy market filled with multitude of things. As you enter the premise, the first thing you would notice is an restaurant administrator jotting down names. He would jot down names of customers and call out number of people waiting to the waiters inside. The waiteres held walki talkies and provided instruction on the go. The place was busier than an government office. We gave our names to the administrator and received a reward of 30 minutes wait time. (Originally stated as 20 minutes). We spent the time discussing food and my brother had the following statement:
“Eat Dosa, only dosa, fill tummy then try something else”
After the 30 minutes of wait time, we were ushered in and the first thing I noticed were the bench and table. The restaurant hosted old retro style seats that could sit 4-5 people in it and gave out an ambiance that was both comfortable and nostalgic. Also, the utilization of the table occurs on a shared basis so we had a couple of strangers with us ( I got a seat near the entrance).
The second thing I observed was it menu. It had very limited items in it and our star was second in the list: Masala Dosa (1st was Sagu Masala Dosa). The waiter came towards us immediately but for some reason proceeded to take the next tables order :P. Finally when he came towards us we ordered a Masala dosa and Vada for both of us (The waiter said that Sagu masala dosa just has curry in its innards and for a first timer, Normal Masala Dosa was a must). The people sitting opposite to us ordered Masala Dosa too.
Another decoration that highlights Vidyarthi Bhavan are its walls. The mellow walls are covered by numerous photos of famous people (read politicians) who had visited the place followed by numerous awards it had gathered through the years. Now going back to the food 😛
Within a few minutes the waiter placed 2 plates in front of us with hot Vada’s and steaming Sambar. The Vada’s were crispy and had soaked in the sweet Karnataka style Sambar. The sad part was that we finished it in a few bites and had to wait for our Dosa to arrive.
Finally after a wait time of around 10 minutes, the waiter placed hot, brown crispy masala dosa in front of us and poured coconut chutney into our plates. The dosa was about 12 cm in diameter and drenched in oil/butter. Though it was thick, the crisp and crunch stood apart. It had a sweet & salty taste and mixed with coconut chutney was heavenly. The center of the dosa held the golden treasure: Masala. The masala was a mix of soft, mushy potatoes and onions tempered in spices. Man, the combination of masala, dosa and chutney was to borrow an earlier reference: Heavenly.
I ended up ordering another dosa even though the wait time was 20 minutes. My cousin on the other hand ordered a Idly and claimed it to be soft as butter. As we devoured our meal, our neighbours ordered Puri. A plate of puri had 3 puri’s, the potato masala and chutney. (Based on their expression, I understood about its deliciousness)We finished our meal with filter coffee and left the place around 11 AM with our purse a bit lighter.
We had spent about a hour and half at the restaurant, yet the taste of the food remains in our heart after a week. I may not visit Vidyarthi Bhavan any time soon, but am sure that it would forever remain in my bucket list of places to be for sure.
Until we meet again with another amazing blog, adios.
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