Vidyarthi Bhavan and Makkah Cafe

It was a good day today. I visited two good places to eat and drink in Bangalore. Unfortunately, they don't qualify as good hangout places because of the sheer numbers they attract. But, I feel, I should nevertheless write about them. 

We had our lunch at the famous Vidyarthi Bhavan. My small imagination, limited knowledge of its history and poor and uncreative vocabulary will hardly do any justice to this place. There is a Wikipedia article, a well written and researched The Hindu article, TripAdvisor page and numerous food weblinks and reviews. 

We patiently waited in line, along with tourists and other office workers. The places opened sharply at 2 pm. We got in and quickly occupied a table for 6. 4 random strangers also joined in, since the space availability is far outstripped by demand. We ordered one sambar vada, dosey and coffee. This was followed by sweet halwa and another salty preparation (memory does not serve me well on this one). 

This is a snap of the crowd at the entrance. 

 The restaurant has very traditional aesthetics from the inside. They save on lights by using sunlight filtering through glass panels fitted between brick roof. 

 The menu is limited and simple. Orders are taken fast, served fast and expected to be finished fast as there are way too many patrons waiting in the line.

The store decor consists of drawings of a legion of Kannada artists, musicians, writers and poets. The interesting story behind these protraits is covered in the The Hindu article, that I have mentioned earlier in my post. Apart from those, there are numerous photos of Mount Kailash dotting the walls. Some of them are never-seen-before kind of shots. 

Honestly speaking, apart from the sweet and the coffee, I found the taste was nothing extraordinary. The place seems to be surviving on the crutches of its history. The old patrons (and my colleagues included) though vouch for the authenticity of the taste and the environment of the place. But, the operational excellence and efficiency is commendable and something to write about. I saw one waiter stack up 20 dosey plates in his arms at one go, and serve them all within 2 minutes. 

The last picture is of the flower market right outside the entrance. It has its own charm. The restaurant is located at Gandhibazaar Circle. The area is an old part of Bangalore and very well known. Apart from Vidyarthi, there are several other old food stops in the area (well documented in the The Hindu article)

Next on our list was the Makkah Cafe. This is located not far from the junction between Bannerghatta and the Hosur road. The place is situated in an old building which has a very Arabic-bazaar kind of feel to it. 

The menu, again like the previous place, is simple and limited. Crowds throng it for its lime tea and piping hot Samosas. The area is a good hangout for the hipster crowd. This was probably the first place in Bangalore where I spotted Jholawalas (Proper JNU style)

And other haggard, tired, pot-bellied, bald salesmen like me.