69-year-old New Krishna Bhavan takes last order

Around 1 pm on Tuesday. Sunil Prabhu, co-partner at New Krishna Bhavan (NKB), was waiting for his staff to print out a notice saying they might not be able to serve all waiting customers.

The crowd was swelling by the minute outside the 69-year-old restaurant on Sampige Road.

The iconic eatery took its last orders on Tuesday. A jewellery store is coming up in its place.

NKB was started by Sunil’s grandfather. While his family was devastated to see the restaurant-cum-lodge-party hall go, they were moved by the outpouring of love once the closure was announced.

“A woman brought an album of what I think was her marriage reception held at our restaurant. Another diner, a boy from Tumakuru, said he was four when he ate his life’s first dosa here,” he said.

Politicians such as B S Yediyurappa, H D Kumaraswamy, K S Eshwarappa, Dinesh Gundu Rao, and Priyank Kharge, and actors like Vishnuvardhan and Raghavendra Rajkumar are among the more famous visitors to NKB.

“The politicians would come without any airs... and they paid for the food,” Sunil recalled. The last day had a mix of longtime patrons and younger people, whose presence he attributed to Instagram reels doing the rounds.

Last bite

An elderly couple from Malleswaram, waiting in the party hall, had masala dosa and puri palya on their mind.

“I like their food, simple service, cleanliness, and zero-waste consciousness,” said the man, who first visited NKB in 1973. “As we get older, we get drawn to familiar things,” his wife explained.

Both the south and north Indian food sections were packed with diners. Everybody from the floor manager to cooks and waiters and cashiers was hard at work. “We will miss this place” was the most they would say. At least 50 prominent restaurants have tried to poach them since the news of the closure broke, Sunil said.

The floor was busy, but not chaotic. Vijaya Kumar, 74, was waiting for his thali meal. “Since I lost my wife during Covid-19, I have been coming here daily for lunch. From tomorrow, I plan to go to Hotel Janardhan (on Race Course Road). Their meal is costlier than NKB’s. But what choice do I have?” said the Banaswadi resident.

Home baker Jyothi Eswar and her friend had come to NKB for “the first and last time” from Whitefield with green masala idli on their wishlist. The most popular demand was taking time, so they settled for masala dosa, neer dosa, holige and coffee.

“Whitefield doesn’t have iconic restaurants. We now have Metro connectivity to come to places like this, but iconic restaurants like NKB are shutting down,” lamented Jyothi.

1954-2023: Throwback

Sunil’s grandfather Ramakrishna Prabhu moved from Udupi to Bengaluru when he was 13. He learnt the ropes of the restaurant business while working as a dishwashing employee.

He went on to start Janata Hotel on Mysore Road and later bought NKB for Rs 75,000. Sunil’s father and uncle were involved from the start. Initially, NKB was a place bachelors visited for lunch–it sold 3,000 plates a day.

In the mid-80s, NKB was among the few first AC restaurants in the city. Sunil joined the family business at 24, after his father’s passing in 2001.

Idli lore

‘Where can we eat green masala idli now?’ patrons have been asking Sunil relentlessly. “Maybe I will put the recipe on YouTube,” he said.

This dish was added to the menu in the mid-90s. Sunil’s father and uncle were inspired by an eatery on Cunningham Road, which would cut leftover idlis into small pieces and toss them in a pan with spices. After many experiments, the duo settled on a recipe with button idlis, onion, green onion, capsicum, and spinach.