Saanjhi Dopahar

Saanjhi Dopahar, a small eatery with a catchy black and red board caught my attention each time I passed the place. Over the weekend, going by the recommendation of a friend who was new to Bangalore, I decided to have lunch at SD.

The restaurant is situated in a lane near the Airtel Showroom in Koramangala, almost next to Furtados music store (if you’re familiar with the area). It's located at the corner of a building and has an entrance from two sides. As soon as I entered I realized it could hardly accommodate about 15 people. The ambience was very basic with a few tables and chairs with tall back rests. Being a very small place, there is not much place to move around.

We were handed the menu as soon as we were seated – two of them. One had a multi cuisine selection of food items while the other had a array of combo meals. My first impression – this place reminds you of home food. Especially for those from up north, the Rajma curry and Rice can be quite inviting. The menu ran into about four sides of a card and we chose to order some chicken tikkas and kebabs from the tandoori section and some butter naan with Chicken masala. It was a lunch we had to hurry through and quickly called for the waiter. As we listed our preferences, we were told that none of them were available. Not a nice thing I must say, considering we did not order anything exotic.

Of the 8-10 sections of the menu, the waiter told us to choose what we wanted only form about 3 sections. And with the limited choice, we placed our order a second time. Chicken 65 , Chicken Dum Biryani and Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani after confirming all were available. After a few minutes, the waiter returned to tell us that Chicken Dum Biryani and Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani were the same. Did we have a choice now? But why mention two names in a menu if both meant the same?

Chicken 65

Chicken Biryani

The Chicken 65 was a shade of bright red and had a generous amount of lime juice sprinkled on it. I like it that way. Spicy and tangy. The quantity was a too little for the price. The chicken was not dry as in other restaurants but the taste was not bad.

Soon followed the biryani. My friend liked it but having tasted some great biryanis, this did not live up to its name. It possibly had every ingredient off the kitchen shelf into it, the biryani was laden with spice. Very amateur to say the least. This simple dish could have been made much better. The quantity was good with a good helping of chicken pieces. But again, it failed to impress.

What was worse was that the kitchen did not have a proper exhaust/ chimney facility and all the fumes were out in the dining area. The pedestral fan obstructed the smoke from going out. For the rest of our meal, we had our eyes burning. The ‘not-so-clean’ wash basin near our table was a put-off as well.

Saanjhi Dopahar is probably a restaurant you would like to try for daily lunch if you were studying or working near-by. I would like to believe the Rajma and rice was far better than what we ordered. This place is a complete no for a leisure lunch.

Pay by : Cash. Not sure of Credit Cards

Restroom : Looking at the wash basin, I avoided using the loo. Could not see one either!

Average meal for two : Rs 350 (including soft drinks)

Mel’s overall rating : NA

Location: Next to Furtados Music Store, near the Airtel Showroom Koramangala. The first right turn after HDFC bank junction, if you are coming from the Forum.