Arambam - Flavours of South, Indiranagar (Navaratri Special Menu Available) — Restaurant in Bengaluru

TL; DR: Below average food (but good service and atmosphere) marketed for the use of millets and hyped (on google maps) for being owned by some celebrity? Also can't seem to spell the names of the places whose food they're representing properly.

Tried the place for the great reviews they seemed to have on maps and for the millet poori. While the space was great and well maintained, and the service fast (the place only had another diner and I), the accompaniments for an otherwise decent not-too-oily poori were terrible tbh. The chutney was some white mildly viscous liquid resembling mayo with no texture whatsoever which you should know is in no way any chutney anywhere in these southern states is - they would either have coconut or dal in them which add flavor and texture, and would also have tempering, neither of which was present in this. The potato sagu was also disappointing as it was flavorless, probably for the lack of any tempering. Basically, the accompaniments seemed like (or worse if this is how it was made today) something that would've been batch manufactured and packeted, which quite honestly, I would have no complaints about it, had it some some texture, tempering and flavor (refer ID's packeted coconut chutney for a good example of an instant chutney). The poori was alright - nothing spectacular, but hey at least it's millets.

For a place that claims it represents the flavors of the south, I find it funny that there was no one to proofread your poster of south Indian dishes which spells Trivandrum (or Thiruvananthapuram, the land of Ananthan, Lord Vishnu) as 'Trivendrum' - just makes it sound like another business based on cultural appropriation, or as if it was made by The Kerala Story's director (I'm surprised they didn't name it Karela or Kerela story lol)

I also saw the endless posters with the celebrity posing like our Prime Minister or Nita Ambani in their enterprises (with the former being funded by our tax money and the initiatives sometimes having existed since soon after independence). As a population easily swayed by media and celebrity worship, we are idiots enough, so I'd request you to go a little subtle on the influencer marketing. This would've been a win for the celebrity had the food been great and if you had someone on your team to proofread posters before you benefit from naming our culture while serving disappointing food. Meanwhile, I would request the people reading this to stop obsessing over actors, singers, politicians and preachers who do little for you (except for the occasional farcical philanthropy done to offset their terrible image). They and their lives have nothing to do with you, and instead of treating them as gods, treat them as what they are: actors, businesspeople, politicians and whatnot and hold them accountable for their jobs.

Apart from all that, the space is cute, the staff seemed homely. Hope you treat it as a food-first enterprise rather than just something you're planning to expand with endless franchises and to benefit the actor's brand value. Pricing also seemed alright compared to similar...

I visited this place today with my parents for breakfast. Since both of them are diabetic, I thought it would be a good idea to bring them here so I wouldn't feel guilty about compromising their health with junk food. At 9 a.m., there were no other customers, and we wondered if they were ready to serve. The place is small, more like a shop, and the menu was quite limited, offering only idli, dosa, puri, and pongal. If you're someone who prepares millet dishes at home, you might not find the taste particularly appealing, but the prices are reasonable and it's self-service. They don't offer a breakfast combo that would allow us to sample everything before deciding what we liked and order accordingly. As a result, it took us some time to decide, place our order, settle the bill, and collect the food multiple times. May be a one time visit...

Went to the restaurant because of Rakul Preet Singh (and to see what happens to millets when they are transformed into lunchtime dishes).

"Poori and chole" despite being on the menu were not available. Had to settle for some oily pooris with tasteless aloo ki sabji instead. Never seen "onion dosa" served the way it was - plain dosa sprinkled with half cooked chopped onions.

Unnecessarily pricey considering the accompaniments - chutney and sambhar served were average. Peanut chutney was a disappointment as it was mixed with curds to give the accompaniment a body.

Do you get to read this Rakul Preet? What are you trying to do? Restauranting doesn't seem to be...