Venue: Janpath off Connaught Place
Date: September 2016

Saravana Bhawan is probably one of the most recognized names in South Indian food in Delhi. We are always on the lookout for affordable South Indian restaurants especially on vegetarian days. In North or West Delhi we simply visit Sagar Ratna on such days. If we are in South Delhi, we head towards either Sai Sarovar Udupi, Lajpat Nagar  or Chidambaram in Khanna Market. But when we are in CP area, finding a decent place for South Indian food is a challenge at times. We have seen long waiting outside Saravana Bhawan and that raised our expectations from this place.

Recently when we went for shopping at Cottage Industries, Janpath, we decided to go to Saravana Bhawan for dinner. This is just a stone’s throw away from the emporium. Luckily we got a table as soon as we entered. But the place was terribly crowded and noisy.

To confess, we have been to the other Saravana Bhavan Connaught Place earlier and didn’t like their food one bit. But since it is very famous, we thought that might be a particularly bad day. This time, at the Janpath outlet, to be safe, we just ordered a simple masala dosa and filter coffee. As expected they took very long to serve our dosa. This dosa was absolutely lackluster. The chutneys served with the dosa were flat and the sambar below average. Everything lacked flavor. We have had better dosas in nameless neighborhood South Indian shacks. Just because they roast their dosa in desi ghee at Saravana Bhawan, it doesn’t make it any tastier than other outlets. In fact it overpowers the other flavours and makes it unappetizing.

We decided not to order anything else here. We had our filter coffee and asked for the cheque.

Along with food, the service also needs improvement. The waiters don’t provide any personal attention and the waiting time is long. For us Saravana Bhawan, once again turned out to be “Oonchi Dukaan, Feeka Pakwan”.