Lingering taste of the South

Dosa aficionados may have a lot of choices in the City, but the one place that tops most lists is Shree Sagar, earlier called ‘Central Tiffin Room’ (CTR).

Following his heart, Sanjeeva S Poojari took over the restaurant in 1992 from Ramakrishna Holla who started it in the 1960s. “CTR has earned a name over the last 40 years. We don’t plan to change anything or make way for expansion. CTR is known for its quality and we intend to retain that, even if it means we take extra time to serve our customers,” explains Sanjeeva Poojari.

People can tickle their taste buds and treat themselves to a variety of lip-smacking dishes at a very reasonable price. With about 90 seats in the restaurant, the place is always packed with food lovers.

The crowd at the restaurant — always quite large — comprises working professionals, homemakers and shoppers. The ambience of the restaurant definitely reminds one of the City’s old eating joints.

“I have to come here at least once a week to eat some hot and tasty food. I stick to my usual, that is a plate of Mangalore bajjis, a butter masala dosa and a cup of piping hot coffee. The coconut chutney served with the dosa is out of the world,” expresses Sridhar Bhat.

Butter masala dosa and a plate of hot Mangalore bajjis are the favourites among regular diners. Many people say it’s impossible to walk out after having eaten just one dosa.
“I have been coming to this restaurant for over five years now, sometimes with friends and sometimes with my family. The flavour of the butter masala dosa is just amazing,” says Bharat, a resident of Malleswaram.

Other dishes include idlis and vadas, maddur vada, rava idli, puri, kesari bath, rice bath and five varieties of dosa which are served with different versions of coconut chutney.
It is a common sight to find people restlessly waiting for their turn to get a table and order a mouth-watering dish. While many people order for takeaway, others can’t wait to dig in. Although CTR does not have any expert chefs, the staff includes about 30 people.

“We don’t have any professionals, but we train our staff to follow the traditional recipes and make tasty and good quality food,” says Sanjeeva Poojari.

“My family and I often come from Vidyaranyapura to have the butter masala dosa here. It’s been 20 years since I ate my first dosa at CTR and I still enjoy the same flavours,” says Kotur S C, a doctor and a dosa lover.

Shree Sagar or CTR is open from 7.30 am to 12.30 pm in the afternoon and 4 pm to 9 pm in the evening. The restaurant is located at 7th Cross, Margosa Road, Malleswaram. For details, call 23317531.