Those of you who have read my blogs would know that though I am not a great cook, I am a foodie at heart. I love good, wholesome, vegetarian food and I am always game to try out new places. So when my friend wanted to visit the recently opened Rameshwaram Café after coming across some reels on Instagram, I was game to go along.
Being one of the only 2 Bangalore girls in our group, I took it upon myself to look up the locations and the closest one to us was still 15 km away! Nevertheless, I decided to combine this outing with a visit to a temple in Malleshwaram that was long due. The Rameshwaram Café’s Rajajinagar outlet is close to this location (relatively) and we reached the place around 8pm as per plan, after the temple visit and doing some vegetable shopping in the Malleshwaram market.
Here is my honest review of the place and food as a true-blue Bengaluru Hudugi.
The Place
Rameshwaram Café is what we call a darshini kind of place. In the South, darshinis are eateries where typically south Indian thindi or quick food is available and works on the self-service concept. I and my 2 friends Purvi and Vidya, visited the café on a Wednesday, at around 8pm. Though the place is fairly large, it was CROWDED. There were easily 150 people. Since darshinis don’t have a table-chair seating concept, even the bench seating was limited and many were standing across the restaurant, which made navigation to order, pay, collect your food, and find a seat a bit challenging. Bangalore has been unusually hot this summer. So even at night, with the number of people around, it was hot with only fans for air circulation inside the eatery.
TIP – don’t go there after shopping because it is not convenient to juggle the bags, seating space, and food, especially if you are exhausted.
The place is at the intersection of 2 main roads, both very busy and no dedicated parking is available. If you are on a 2-wheeler, you may find parking in the adjacent lanes. Finding parking for a car will not be very easy.
The Food
We wanted to try the Podi Idly, as this is what Purvi had seen on Insta Reels. I had also checked for reviews from a few friends who had visited (I was not going to travel 15 km if the food was not good) and was told to try the Dosa & Pongal. We also ordered Upma, Kesari Bhat, and Poori. All items were piping hot and had a generous amount of ghee, which made them tasty. All the savory dishes were served with yummy coconut and tomato chutneys. Both the Podi Idly and Pongal lived up to the hype and were indeed very delicious. In fact, we ordered a second round of the Podi Idly. The rest of the items, while good were not WOW! This is my take as someone who has eaten at multiple darshinis across Bangalore over the 45 years of my life. However, my friends loved everything. Of course, we polished off the food with filter coffee and that was excellent as well!
Since it was dinner time and our tummies were happy, we wanted to get some items packed to take back home. However, sadly there was no parcel service available that day. All 3 of us went and cross-checked this separately and we were told multiple reasons for the unavailability from no containers (but we could see them stacked on the counters in plain sight) to the ‘parcel guy’ on leave etc. These excuses sounded flimsy and I feel they could have accommodated as not many were taking parcels. If it was at an extra charge or wait time, the same could have been mentioned.
Overall, the outing was good, as most outings are when the company is good. The food was good too, with some items exceeding expectations. What the restaurant can look to improve are seating areas, consistency in service including parcel, and choosing a location with convenient parking or valet service. We took a cab that day so we didn’t actually face a parking problem but I know it to be an issue as I know the locality well. But the flip side of it was that the travel cost us 3 times of what we spent on the food!
Based on these factors, I would rate my trip to the Rameshwaram Café, Rajajinagar as 4 / 5.
This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Zariya Healings.
Seems like you girls thoroughly enjoyed the food to the maximum. Lovely to have a joint serving the food we like but with the parking issue seems difficult for many to try it out.
Yes we did, despite the heat & crowd. Waiting to do a repeat visit with the rest of the gang!
Dining out with girlfriends is riotous, and a merry time, isn’t it? Looks like you had a fun-filled meal. The food looks so inviting and especially the poori and filter kaapi. Wishing you many more of these luncheons, Vasumathi
Like you, I am local food eatery fan. I enjoy south Indian food a lot-love the daily quick fare of idli, dosa, filter coffee. If I ever come to Bangalore, would surely keep this on my wish list.
Ohh lovely place to eat , was a lovely day with hot air gushes and darshan of lord Ganesh with small shopping pickups in our old Malleshwaram market ,
Would love to go again with all our gang.
I want to go too Vasuuuuu. And without even trying I know I will like everything😋. it’s really nice that you reviewed the restaurant in your blog… it will give readers a fair idea what to expect. esp. stuff like the parking, no place for bags, standing, parcel service… these are what we usually take for granted and assume are default.
Sounds like a heavily crowded place, which means the food is good or the place is new. The bonus tip will definitely come handy caz they was you mentioned about the crowd people will find it difficult to zig zag around.
Nothing compares to a day out with friends, particularly where food is involved. Enjoyed reading your review. I hear you about lugging the shopping bags. Pehle pet pooja, phir kaam dooja works better here.
Rameshwaram Cafe is the kind of place that I would go to for comfort food and nothing satiates both the soul and tummy more than piping hot crispy dosas, ghee pudy idles and kesari bhat. And yes, I agree one shouldn’t take shopping bags. Why spoil the eating experience with an added stress? You sure had a fun day. A day out with friends always brings laughter, adventure, and unforgettable moments, creating cherished memories that last a lifetime. Wish you many more happy days such as these, Vasumathi.
Thank you for sharing your experience at Rameshwaram Café.
The absence of air conditioning, combined with the summer heat and the large number of people, probably made the environment quite uncomfortable . Your tip about not going there after shopping is helpful, considering the added difficulty of managing bags and finding seating. Additionally, the lack of dedicated parking, especially for cars, is an important aspect to consider when planning a visit. Love your photo with your gang.
I have always heard of the word darshini but didn’t know its meaning. When we visited Chennai last, we did go to one and although the food was really good, it does make it difficult for people our age. Enjoyed reading about your experience, though.
When I visit a South Indian Cafe, I first order Rasam and Papad, that is my touchstone for checking how good the food will be! A place that serves good filter coffee and Good Rasam Papad generally does well on other counts too.That said, I am glad you girls found a great place to enjoy food and laughter. Helpful pro-tips too!
Full marks for covering issues like how it is not convenient to stop by here with a lot of stuff to carry and the parking availability.
I always have a special fascination for South Indian delicacies and Iddlis are just love for me. Although far away from this restaurant area I will surely recommend this to my sister in law staying Bangalore with all the pros and cons that you mentioned here in the post. Thanks for the review as it will help a many before planning for a visit there.
you girls seemed to have great fun! I can literally smell the filter coffee from my phone!
Marked this one. Going to drop in to this place on my next trip. Thanks you.
have seen so many reels on insta about Rameshwaram Cafe Bangalore. cost of travel these days has increased triple the time than food. coffee makes food better.
A day out with girl friends and good food to try out, you had a good and full day, Vasu! This sounds like those typical old restaurants we have in Mumbai where the food is good and people crowd there even if there’s hardly any ambience and limited service. The food looks good, I know I would love to try it too.
Lovely meal out with friends couldn’t be done much better! Love that you shared your experience with all honesty based on your tastebuds and not influenced by other’s opinion/ hype of the place. Appreciate you sharing your experience with us.
I liked your unbiased review covering all the smallest yet very important aspects like parking, food parcel etc. The food still sounds good to try will keep the other things in mind as well. Thanks for sharing.
Ah, what fun you girls would’ve had! I love South Indian food (being a Malayalee myself!). And whenever, I go to a South India cafe or hotel, it is always Podi Dosa and Ghee Roast for me. Bangalore is a great place with great South Indian food options.
looks like you enjoyed a lot. Filter coffee is a must for us whenever we visit any food joint to have South Indian food.
Friends, fun, and food! May the 3 F’s never cease in any person’s life. Your post with your friends seems like you are having a lovely time with delicious food, albeit even with parking woes.
Wow!! This sounds amazing, We Bangalurians can go to quite far distance to such places if there is yummy and traditional thindi available. Be it Hallimane or Kommagatta Chitranna or this. I am definitely gonna try this soon.
This was a lovely read – you really know how to draw the reader in by painting a picture of the entire scene.