Am I justified in writing a review for a restaurant that I have never visited? I thought about it for a long time and decided that I ought to do so. While I may never have visited Sri Swamy’s Cafe, I have probably eaten the food from this restaurant more often than I may have from any other restaurant.
I had noticed this restaurant several times, but I never really thought of going there. It is a small nondescript ’’Udipi’’ restaurant on Mount Road. This is at the junction of Sir Theyagaraya Road and Mount Road at Teynampet, next to a bigger place called Anand Bhavan (or something similar). Every time I crossed it, I would look at the building, stare at the Krishna statue, and think about the people who would eat there.
When I started working at the Karumuttu Centre, there were not too many restaurants in the vicinity. One had to travel to Pondy Bazaar to find something to eat...and en route was Swamy’s. But none of us had the guts to try the place out. Swamy would not deliver food. You just had to go get it yourself. This was until we had a new employee in the company. Someone who had ordered food from Swamy’s for years when she worked at Voltas (across the street from Swamy’s). She pleaded with the owner to send her food as she was used to it. The rest of us were curious...why was she pleading with Swamy of all people to deliver food?
The man refused and so she sent the office attendant with some money and asked him to get her a dosa. And when it arrived, my affair with Sri Swamy’s Cafe began. The dosa was crisp. The sambar was simply out of this world. The minute my colleague opened the sambar packet in the pantry, the aroma of the sambar came wading through the rest of the office.
Very soon, I was hooked to this Cafe. Our orders were so many that delivery began. I have had most of the standard Tiffin items. None has failed to please so far. The idlis are soft and fluffy. The vadas are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. The chutneys served along with these were good, but nothing out of the ordinary. The Mysore Bonda needs special mention among the Tiffin items. There were days when I missed breakfast at home on purpose so that I could order from Swamy’s. The prices were really low. All snack items were below Rs. 12. Maybe the masala dosa was Rs. 15, I am not sure anymore.
The item that Swamy’s make best is the sambar. And their sambar rice is simply divine. It is extremely spicy, and its a wonder that someone like me, who cannot stand spicy food, ate sambar rice as often as possible. This sambar rice comes topped with some ghee and has lots of vegetables. The best part is the papad that accompanies it. When hunger strikes, a plate of sambar rice with the papad is like a Godsend.
With time, Swamy’s introduced an executive lunch. This comes neatly packed in a disposable tray. For Rs. 30, you get 2 pooris and chhole, 2 varieties of mixed rice, one vegetable dish, one raita, curd rice, pickle, papad and a gulab jamun. This is more than enough for 2 people. We got to a point where we thought that Swamy might just shut down his restaurant and focus only on deliveries, that too to our office alone! But I during my last visit to Madras, I drove past Swamy’s...and was happy to note that the restaurant is very much there.
What won’t I give to find a restaurant like Swamy’s in Hyderabad? To find one close to my workplace? I miss the food at Swamy’s...the ideal answer to hunger pangs!