MTR — Restaurant in Bengaluru

Mavalli Tiffin Rooms is quiet synonymous with authentic, home style Karnataka food that is available in Bangalore. While there are so many MTR outlets mushroomed around Bangalore, the nostalgic feel of this MTR Lal Bagh outlet is something that cannot be explained and you can only experience it.

My first experience with the OTHER MTR outlet was just ok, first it was over priced, not for the good quality food that was served, more for the mediocre service that we received. The food is something that you cannot fault in any of the MTR outlets, service is something that is fairly inconsistent.

A long time ago, when I was sharing the wonderful MTR food that I had in the Whitefield outlet, with my friends who swear by MTR food, said not all MTR food is same as the ORIGINAL outlet in Lal Bagh road. And I was like, as a chain of restaurants, that too such a legendary brand, you expect a certain consistency of food across their outlets. Apparently it is not so, so I am told. And to prove their point, my friends invited me for a wonderful lunch at MTR Lal Bagh.

And my perspective of MTR food changed since that first visit, and I ensure that if it is MTR, then I visit the Lal Bagh Outlet and nothing else.

The food just tastes better here, maybe it is the nostalgic feel of this legendary building and the dining table service that you receive, it just better here and I recommend everyone to experience the MTR Lal Bagh outlet at least once.

For the most recent visit, a team of 15 went to savour the amazing thali lunch that is priced at 240 per person. I recommend that you reach the place before 1, definitely not after 1.30, cause it gets crowded and the wait time can be as short as 30 minutes to beyond an hour.

We purchased our food tokens (yes, its prepaid here) and reached the upstairs where we were waited to be seated in the old world green granite top dining tables with plastic chairs. Service was quick, with the staple grape juice served in stainless steel tumblers (as well call it). While enjoying the drink, we were served our empty thali plates, which was only momentary. The wait staff quickly started filling the empty pockets in the thali with delicious food. The chutney was followed by saagu, the yummy potato gravy and kosambari.

See, we are always greedy for the MTR Masala Dosa, laden with butter and pray that they serve the dosa everytime we visit there. And we have been lucky only twice. With the generous servings of Chutney and Saagu, we were anticipating the Dosa because of the Chutney or (a slightly disappointing) Poori because of the saagu. That 3 minutes wait time to know as the longest I have waited to know whatz being served next.

And it was the poori....

Nevertheless, we pushed in a few puri's in our next anticipation of either a vaangi bath or a bisibela bath (our favourites), but was disappointed the second time, as it was time for Vegetable Pulao.

Both the Poori Saagu and the Vegetable Pulao served with onion raitha, left nothing for us to complain and quickly diminished into our tummies only to ask for a second serving. The vada that was served was decent and not much to write further about.

Our meal was followed up with some Anna and Pumpkin Huli, the humble rice and spicy pumpkin gravy, and some more rice and saaru, the tangy and watery rasam. I always request a small portion of the saaru to be served in a tumbler to drink it away to glory. Definitely one of the city's best.

We did receive a small portion of MTR's famous Badam Halwa, which had an abundant almond flavour and the right amount of sweetness, and dripping with desi ghee, just the way I like it.

After a generous portion of curd rice, our fruit salad (surprising with some sappota slices) with ice cream arrived. A perfect way to end the meal, alongside a wrapped pan served in the end.

The overall experience at MTR has been excellent and this outlet specifically is Legendary and a must visit.

An insiders tip If you want to savour their famous Masala Dosa as a part of their lunch, visit them...

a long due visit to MTR "Mavalli Tiffin Room" the long form & Record holder for MTR was the first fast-food restaurant in the world to serve 21,000 customers in seven hours.very few know at last came true on this visit to Bangalore. Mother branch of MTR .

I tried thaali there which started with Puran Poli other things kept coming to the plate. Masala Dosa, Chatni, Phise bille bhaat, Curd Rice, Puri Bhaji, Sambar Rice Pasayam & ended with Fruit Salad with Icecream.

Now the following is my take.

Food Quality 3 on 5

Sequence of Food 0 on 5

Service Fast but Mechanical.

( No sence of what the waiter is serving not giving any heed to whether the guest wants it or not in this process lot of food goes to waste ..... which is very bad in country like us where so many fellow Indians go to sleep without food or either only on 1 meal in a day ) . Hope the sensible management of MTR will look in to it. Have not tried any other on menu if there is any.

Heavy waiting seen.

Hygiene 3 on 5

Furniture & Ambiance 1 on 5

Overall 2 on 5

will I recommend I don't think no.

For me it was a tick to one BOX of my wish list nothing more atleast for me.

Preetam.

at last came true on this visit to Bangalore. Mother branch of MTR .

I tried thaali there which started with Puran Poli other things kept coming to the plate. Masala Dosa, Chatni, Phise bille bhaat, Curd Rice, Puri Bhaji, Sambar Rice Pasayam & ended with Fruit Salad with Icecream.

Now the following is my take.

Food Quality 3 on 5

Sequence of Food 0 on 5

Service Fast but Mechanical.

( No sence of what the waiter is serving not giving any heed to whether the guest wants it or not in this process lot of food goes to waste ..... which is very bad in country like us where so many fellow Indians go to sleep without food or either only on 1 meal in a day ) . Hope the sensible management of MTR will look in to it. Have not tried any other on menu if there is any.

Heavy waiting seen.

Hygiene 3 on 5

Furniture & Ambiance 1 on 5

Overall 2 on 5

will I recommend I don't think no.

For me it was a tick to one BOX of my wish list nothing more atleast for...

We are from outside Bengaluru and visited it yesterday as it is 100 years old and supposedly an iconic one. We came all the way from a great distance- the cab cost us Rs. 500/- one way. However, my experience was disappointing, to say the least. Firstly, there are separate rooms and times for separate dishes. We went there at 7.30 p.m., to be able to get seating in time for dinner. We wanted to have their thali, but were told that it would start at 8 p.m. only. So we went to the Tiffin Room to have something till the Thali Service started. Most of the items we ordered, like Curd Wada, were finished, so we had to choose from whatever was available. We had 2 Sada Dosas, 2 Masala Dosas, 1 Rava Dosa, 1 Rava Onion Dosa, 1 Badam Halwa, 1 Rava Idli and 2 Filter Coffees . The filter coffee was excellent, the other dishes just OK, and the Rava Idli was dry and tasted more like Upma. We didn't eat the chutney. The bill was Rs. 1200+. I don't know whether this is excessive or not, since I haven't eaten at any other restaurant in Bengaluru. There are old photos of eminent guests whom nobody was able to name, so I suggested that they put up some information about the photos. I didn't like the way one had to change rooms for different meals. Also, I found the Thali charges exorbitant, especially as we are not allowed to share even with little children who are obviously not going to eat as much as worth paying for a separate thali. My granddaughter is just 7 years old. In the end, we left without having the Thali. The ambience is weird. People sit on benches in small, dimly lit waiting rooms. The staircase is painted a maroonish red. The street entrance smells of the drains. The only saving grace is a beautiful Lord Krishna photo. The service, however, was fine. The staff was smiling and cooperative. The Manager willingly guided us through the rooms and let us take All-in-all, nothing special, except for being around...