Chalukya Samrat relaunched with table service in Seshadripuram seven months ago.
Credit: DH PHOTO / Pushkar V
Samrat, a 48-year-old restaurant popular with politicians, advocates, and film stars, has moved back from self-service to its traditional service-led dining style. The move comes in response to feedback from long-time patrons, says second-generation owner Santosh Shanbhag.
After Samrat shut down at Hotel Chalukya on Race Course Road in 2022, it was relaunched as Chalukya Samrat in a QSR-style format on Museum Road, which it wound up about 15 days ago. It now runs a restaurant in Seshadripuram, with another set to fully open in Jayanagar on January 1, 2026. While both locations include QSR counters, the 25,000 sq ft, 250-cover spaces are primarily designed for full-service dining.
Currently, only a coffee counter is operational at the Jayanagar outlet. It stands in the five-storey building that once housed Maiyas, another landmark south Indian restaurant.
Santosh admits the QSR phase was an experiment and a learning curve. “Our loyal clientele consists mostly of families. They expressed disappointment that we had moved from a full-service to self-service model.”
For the restaurant, the shift marks a return to roots in more ways than one. The Seshadripuram outlet is a two-minute drive from its original location, making it easier for long-time regulars to visit. The Jayanagar outlet honours the entrepreneurial beginnings of Santosh’s father,
M L Shanbhag, in south Bengaluru. “He started Mohan Cafe in Hanumanthanagar, and Geetha Restaurant in Basavanagudi in the 1960s. Seeing the popularity of his masala dosa and idli-vada, the owner of Hotel Chalukya invited him to open a restaurant on its premises in 1977. My father was initially hesitant, as Basaveshwara Circle (known as Chalukya Circle because of the hotel) was sparsely populated, while south Bengaluru was a busy hub,” says Santosh.
Samrat soon earned a reputation for its ghee roast masala dosa, rava idli, badam halwa, coffee, and gulab jamun. South Indian mini meals, or ‘laghu ahaar’, became especially popular with office-goers during lunchtime — Vidhana Soudha and the High Court were a 10-minute walk away. “These light meals filled you enough without making you sleepy,” he says.
These classics still remain popular on their menu of nearly 300 offerings.