The Southern touch

The roots of the Brindavan Hotel may lie in Chennai, however, the hotel has created its own identity in the City since 1967.

Known for their masala dosas and coffee, this authentic South Indian vegetarian hotel has apart from its restaurant, lodging facilities too.

With marble top tables, the inside of the restaurant shows high resemblance to the  military mess. It is said that the menu of the hotel has not changed since its inception.

 “We didn’t want to confuse the customers with too many items on the menu. Our head chef passed away recently but his assistant took his place. Therefore, even the taste of the food has remained the same,” says A Mohan Rao, one of the managing directors of the hotel. 

One must make sure to get to Brindavan before 10 am for breakfast as most of the items get over by 10.30 am, when they close. And if one does manage to beat the morning traffic and get there, then one must try the crispy masala dosa and the pongal.

The steaming hot idilis, poori bhaji, vada and the badam milk are worth a mention.

   “The sambar served here is very popular as it gives the authentic Chettinad taste and is fresh,” he says while adding, “Another ingredient we never use is soda, it is not only bad for health, it also spoils the taste and the oil used for cooking.”

While the entire week has a similar menu, Sundays are specially known for their ‘set dosas and vada curry. 

Lunch time is when the place gets really crowded. People from all over flock in for their famous ‘unlimited thalis’.

Served on banana leaves, the thalis have at least five vegetable kootus and poriyals, along with soft, sukka (no oil) chappatis (which are unlimited).

This is followed by the sambar, rasam and curd sessions with rice (again unlimited).
“The highlight of the ‘thali’ is that it is an unlimited meal for a reasonable amount. We also try to keep changing the vegetable items on the thali for which we make fresh masalas and spices everyday,” adds Mohan.

While the place does not really serve dinner, they do provide a light meal, through evening tiffan, which again comprises dosas, idlis etc. “Many people prefer light food in the night. So we decided not to serve dinner but stick to the snacks,” says
Mohan. Having stood the test of time on M G Road for so many years, Mohan says that he has nothing to complain about and is happy the way things are going, except for one thing, the Metro. “The construction work for the Metro has reduced our customer flow to a great extent, as the traffic has increased. Plus, there is hardly any place to park their cars. But we still manage to see some of our regular customers,” he concludes.

The hotel is open from 7 am to 10.30 am; 12 pm to 3.30 pm and 4 pm to 9.30 pm and is located at 108, Mahatma Gandhi Road. For details, call 25584000.