"Tell me what you eat, and I shall tell you what you are." *Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826) quotes in his **The Physiology of Taste** (1825). To me eating is personal and the choice of food is very intimate.
Being a die-hard fan of Saravana Bhavan food, I am bit hesitant to write a review on it because I could be partial. Let me give a try!!!
When I was at chennai, HSB was the place where we (me and my friends) had food very often. There was two near our T Nagar Apartment and one at Peter’s road, near my office. Whenever we plan to eat out...either it is a treat or gathering or shopping day or late night dinner or laziness (that we do not cook at home) , it happens to be Saravana Bhavan, without any doubt. I could say that I had the chance to dine at most of the branches across Chennai and the taste and aroma of food is excellent and consistent. The south Indian food served always had its authentic taste. The restaurants are maintained clean, hygienic and the quality of the food served is excellent.
The ambiance is good in most of them but few branches still have the older look and would need to be improved for better ambiance. The HSB fast food centers serve food pretty quick but the restaurants do take their own share of time to deliver the orders. The service rendered by the waiters at their medium range restaurants are not that great while the service at their top restaurants (like Peters road, Pondy Bazaar) are much better. I wonder how and why this difference arise between their own chains...may be the cost?
Though I say, quality is excellent; I have heard complaints from my friends that the quantity is very less. For people with little appetite, the quantity is okay and for most part of the community it is not. I would say they charge a very higher price compared to their competitors. Even for all the Pros they have, I don’t think they could justify their cost. Except the meals served at most of their branches for around Rs 25, everything else is costly. The management should give a serious thought on the cost and quantity of the food, if they would like to invite people who fall under the average income group.
I had a chance to visit the NJ and NY branches of HSB in the US. Compared to the other Indian restaurants (most of them are crap and serve very bad food with the tag "Authentic Indian Cuisine") in the US the food was great but they lag far behind in the taste and aroma of the food served in the Chennai branches.
All these years the hotel has gained a great brand name and reputation for its quality food through its service and effort, the management has to take a serious thought and seal the drop holes that might have a serious impact on their business in future.