A perfect place for the people who relish good food. This is First of the Udupi Restaurant which was opened in Mumbai in 1942 by Mr. Rama Nayak. The restaurant is now taken care by his son Satish. The Restaurant is also known as UDIPI SHRI KRISHNA BOARDING
Location:- Step outside the Matunga (Central) Railway station on the Right hand Side on the first floor of the Municipal Market you cant miss a Big board of the Restaurant. It is one of Mumbai’s best known Udupi restaurants, The Restaurant is also located three Buildings from my residence.
Ambiance: - Totally homely atmosphere and nothing fancy. There are two sections in the Restaurant. One Section serves Full meal (Banana Leaf or Thali is your choice.) The Second section serves Fixed Thali. In this section they have one more section as Family and Ladies (Only for persons who come with family)
Meal Coupons: - As you enter the restaurant you have to buy Coupon for your meals. There are two types of Coupons available As Full Meals or Fixed Meal. Full Meal cost is Rs 50.00 and Fixed Meal cost Rs 24.00 with Curd (Sweet Dish not included). I would recommend Full Meal as you get unlimited serving of all food except the Sweet Dish. (Only one portion of Sweet Dish is included.) The Full meal has a choice of Plantain leave or Thali. I prefer plantain leaves rather than Thali, Plantain leave eating is fun and with bare hands is more fun. (Spoons are also available) The Fixed Thali consist of 4 Chapatti or 6 Purri, 3 Vegetables (Fixed Qty), Sambhar, Rasam or Dal, (unlimited) Curd (1 Katori), Butter Milk (1 Glass), Pickle, Appam (1 Pcs), & 2 Katori Rice. (If you want to eat less Rice you can take 2 Chapatti or 3 puris. Or Vise-versa). If you want anything Extra you have to buy Extra Coupon of some nominal amount. Don’t worry even if you have unused Extra Coupon they Refund the money or you can use the same in your next visit. They also have a good choice in Sweet Dishes. The menu changes daily. I like Paysam or Kheer. My Wife loves Rasgulla or Shrikhand.
Food: - They have everyday 3 choices of Vegetables; they have one Dry Vegetable, One with Gravy and one made with Coconut. They also make Different types of Rasam everyday. Tomato Rasam, lemon Rasam or kokum Rasam. Sambhar is also made with lots of Vegetables. So you are bound to get a change of taste every time you visit and enjoy drinking the same. The Vegetable are all prepared in coconut oil and not Spicy. Monday to Friday you have a choice from Chapatti or Puri but on weekends it is only Puri as it is very crowded.
The rice used in cooking is surti Colum; The Puri and chapattis whole wheat is bought and personally ground by the restaurant. Meals are cooked twice a day and no leftovers are served. It is a Total balanced diet, rice, wheat, lentils, vegetables, Curd and buttermilk. The calorie count for a meal is 1, 500 to 1, 600.
Service: - Service is very fast and before you blink your eyes you have the full meal in front of your eyes. The only problem is during lunch hours there is a big waiting. You are given a token and told to wait for your number. They have a waiting room area where you can Read newspaper or some Magazine. But as they clear tables very fast. Max waiting could be around 15 to 20 min.
Beeda or Pan: - After a heavy meal you can relax again in the Waiting room area and buy a Beeda (South Indian Pan). The best part of this Beeda is it does not have any Tobacco and is filled only with Grated coconut, Sugar, and clove. It is basically eaten to Digest the Meal.
Water: - This is only place where I do not carry my Mineral Water and they also do not serve Mineral Water. I am very particular when it comes to Water. They Serve Filter water but still if you wish not to drink it please carry a Bottle of water as they do not sell Mineral Water.
Feast: - This is a day once in a month which has mad rush as on this day they have an Extra Dish added to the Menu at the same Fixed meal charges. The waiting period could go unto 2 to 3 hours. It is fun to eat the feast meals. The Date of Feast is written on a Board at the Entrance of the Restaurant.
Timing: - The Restaurant is closed on Monday. The Lunch time is10.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. and Dinner 7 p.m. to 10.00pm.
Tiffin: - This is the best part of this restaurant. If you want to relax at home on a Sunday and do not wish to go to the restaurant you can send some person and collect the food as parcel or Tiffin. The Qty given in single Tiffin can be consumed easily by minimum 3 Persons. The charges for a Single Tiffin are Rs 60.00. The things you need to carry to get the Parcel are minimum 6 Big Containers with Lid and A 500ml Glass bottle for Butter milk. They take 30 min to pack one parcel so if you do not wish to wait then you can go down and do some shopping. You have a Nice Music Shop (National) down in the same Building, or you can visit Chedda Dry fruit stores or West view or Miss Universe on the opposite payment of this restaurant.
Something the Restaurant is proud :- The Restaurant feel proud in saying to all its customers as ’The owner eats here’ – I wonder how many eating establishments in the world could boast of that. The Restaurant also has one more sign board at the kitchen door welcomes customers to inspect it, with one condition; customers should remove their chappals before entering the kitchen.
Competition: - The restaurant has got a Competitor (Mahabhog) who tries to serve food with the same style but not that successful. Don’t get a wrong impression when you see a lots of Waiting outside as the waiting outside is because the sitting capacity is less. The tables are very close and there is no hand movement possible. The Air circulation is not proper and you trend to sweat more while eating. The people standing outside also make you uncomfortable as they stand on your head while you wish to enjoy food and have some privacy. The food is Ok and cannot be compared with Rama Nayak Quality. Another competitor in the same area is Kansons but as per my knowledge they serve only Rice Meals.
Recommended Eating places Matunga Area is famous for South Indian Food. There are many good South Indian Food Joints in and around Matunga. People from all over Mumbai Visit Matunga for its South Indian Restaurants. The Best Places are Sharda Bhavan. Anand Bhavan, Mysore Café. Café Madras, Ram Asharya. Amba Bhavan, Idli House. And so on.
Jai Guru Deva.
Bhupesh P Shah.
Matunga, Mumbai 400019.