Pongal
Café
In Jeeevan
Bhima Nagar
Like
every other South Indian I am a big sucker for filter coffee and
dosa. At one point I used to think my day couldn’t start
without either, but after having lived away from home for long,
both have become a delicacy of sorts.
Bangalore
as we all know serves food from every corner of the country and
all the International delicacies. There are restaurants offering
the best in Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Thai, Japanese, Portugese,Continental,
Mughalai and almost from all the regions of the country like Andhra
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarath, Tamilnadu, Rajasthani,
Kashmiri types of foods. While one can find a South Indian restaurant
that serves Udipi food in almost every corner of the street, there
are very few that serve authentic Tamilian food where the sambar
is not sweet! Pongal Café is one such place.
If
you’re looking for a quite restaurant with a lovely ambiance
and a menu card that runs into pages, this surely is not the place
for you. Pongal Café is a tiny restaurant on Jeevan Bhima
Nagar road, teeming with people at any given time of the day.
It is all of a huge room that can seat about 30 people and one
should be willing to share a table with anyone. Serving a variety
of Dosas and idlies with piping hot onion sambar and wonderful
coconut chutney, this place is a treat for all Tamilians and for
those who want to taste authentic Tamilian food.
The
Adai Avial, Podi Onion Uttappam and Idlies are definitely their
bests. For those with slightly more adventurous taste buds there
are Chilli Mushroom Dosas, Pizza Uttappams and Spring Dosas. The
most expensive item on the menu is the meals at Rs. 29.
The
place is a huge hit amongst Techies who hail from Tamil Nadu.
Most of the conversation revolves around developments in the IT
space, new and exciting projects, old projects going live or simply
another one of their offshore trysts.
Finding
a place in the restaurant could be a hassle, one has to grab a
chair as soon as its occupant gets up for there 10 odd people
eyeing for the same space. The food is definitely worth the wait.
A hearty meal for two could cost anywhere between Rs. 60 to Rs.
100. My friend and I had two rounds of Pongal’s best dosas
and finished off dinner with great filter coffee.
The
ambiance was that of a college canteen and I did bump into people
from my college in Coimbatore. With Rajni music substituting for
ambiance music, this place is a true tribute to Tamilian food.
To me, the biggest value was their quick service and great food.
‘Pongal’
in Tamil Nadu is both a harvest festival and a popular dish made
of dal and rice. Infact the festival derived its name from the
dish. On this day Tamilians prepare this auspicious dish in earthen
pots and commence the beginning of the festivities when the pot
boils over. I still can’t figure out why the restaurant is
called Pongal café except probably that it distinctly identifies
its Tamil origin. A more fitting interpretation could be that
like the Pongal pot the Pongal Café is ever boiling over
with its unlimited fleet of loyal customers. The Pongal Café
definitely cannot be categorized as a look alike of another Shanthi
Sagar.
Pongal
Café in a bite
Cost:
very affordable
Cleanliness:
average
Quality: excellent
Service: excellent
Ambiance: average
Bottomline: Great Tamilian food, cheery ambiance and service that’s
as close to home as it can get.
Prabhudoss
Samuel, a regular at the Pongal Cafe says with a thumbs
up for Quality, Service and Ambiance, " i am a regular
at Pongal Cafe and i must say that the food there is indeed excellent.
It's a boon for tamilian folk who like to end the day with "tiffin"
as we call it. they have an impressive menu of dosa's. i dont
know anything about the meals they serve in the afternoons because
i've never been there at that time. but Pongal definitely is a
nice place for dinner. it's a bit of a struggle to find an empty
spot to settle down and eat but the wait is worth it. i've never
see the place empty, it's always crowded. if you like authentic
south Indian tiffin and sambar that\'s not sweet this is definitely
the place for you. it's very conveniently located too. for good
food and value for money Pongal definitely is the place."
If
you have visited Pongal Cafe recently and would like to comment
on its quality of food or anything about the restaurant, please
rate this restaurant
here
