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."
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