The Southern fare for your taste buds

If Brigade Road, M G Road and Church Street are popular for their high end eateries, good old Sangam Hotel on Residency Road still commands a loyal customer base.
It has managed to retain its regulars and attract new ones as well. The delicious South Indian breakfast and lunch is a rage here.

A little more than four decades old, this eatery was established in 1967 by Nagaraja Navada on Brigade Road under the banner of Gaylard. Later in 1972 Nagaraj changed its name to Sangam Hotel and shifted base to its present location.
This joint is best known for its South Indian food but the menu was extended to include North Indian and Chinese food as well. The place is packed at all times, especially at breakfast and lunch. You’d have to elbow your way through to the food counter. “The South Indian thali, mini meals, rice bath, pulav and dosas simply fly off the shelf. There are those who troop in for a quick snack like bonda, bajjis, benne murku, and chow chow bath,” says Nagaraj.

Nagaraj knows his regulars very well. He says most people come here to relish the rice and sambar, “there are those from across the seas who come back just to eat rice and sambar. I am glad that they still cherish the taste and flavour of the food we serve,” he says proudly. His son Subhash Navada, an engineer by profession quit his lucrative job to take over the family business.

“For the last six years, I have been coming here for lunch. Most of the time I order mini meals that come  with rice, sambar, papad, palya and pickle. The chilled buttermilk is refreshing. The varieties of dosa including ragi, rava, onion and tomato are worth a try. Apart from the food it is Nagaraj Navada who beckons me. He treats his customers as his guests,” says Lohit, a marketing executive.