P. Rajagopal opened a tiny grocery shop on the outskirts of the city.[4] In 1992, Rajagopal on his visits to Singapore observed the functioning of the multinational fast food joints like McDonald's and used them as a model.[5]
By the 1990s, the Saravana Bhavan chain spread throughout neighbourhoods in Chennai. In 2000, Saravana Bhavan opened its first branch outside India, in Dubai, with a large number of Indian expatriates. It eventually expanded to several major cities including Paris, Frankfurt, London, New York City, Dallas, Toronto, Stockholm, Doha, and Auckland. While the restaurants have gained popularity among non-Indians, they mostly target the South Asian expatriate population. They are sometimes referred to as "canteen-like joints strictly aimed at Indian expatriates missing a taste of home".[6] It is considered to be a high volume, low margin venture which is labour-intensive. Saravana Bhavan sends workers from India and America to work in their foreign branches.[7] The overseas outlets are run by franchisees.[8]
This famous South Indian restaurant chain currently serves in many countries worldwide, that are: India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Oman, Canada, France, Belgium, Germany, Singapore, Bahrain, UAE, United Kingdom, USA, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Qatar, Hong Kong, Thailand, Netherlands, and Sweden.
Saravana Bhavan in United Kingdom has restaurants in East Ham (Greater London), Harrow (Greater London), Ilford (East London), Leicester Square (West End of London), Southall (West London) and Tooting (South London). The branches of the biggest South Indian restaurant chain in the United Kingdom are mostly known to be...
Read moreWhen looking at this review, people are talking about two different places. They have very similar names and are about a block apart. The place I am writing about Sri Saravana Bhavan. @ 15/55 WEA Saraswati Marg, just across the street from the Krishna Udapi restaurant. Some of the pictures posted for this review are for Om Saravana Bhavan.
If you are in this area and just want a place with solid, tasty food where you are well taken care of and feel you need a minute to just breathe out of the hustle. Then this is a great choice.
Really liked this place. My second day in India and pretty exhausted from a day trying to navigate around Delhi. Walked by and made eye contact with the man at the register and he just nodded his head. It was inviting without any pushing. Also, it was packed with locals so that is always a good sign for a tourist. The service is efficient. It was hard to ask questions because the guy serving me had little or no English and I have zero Hindi. But using chat gpt I could sort of figure out what everything was. The food was really quite nice. I got one of the "meals" which had two curries, dal, rice, papadam and two roti with some sort of warm sweet that was delicious.
I went back the next day ight and had a regular dosa and a rava dosa. I preferred the regular, smooth, and little crispy on the edges. The rava is good too, more savory and made of semolina. Can go wrong with...
Read moreMight not seem like a trendy restaurant or even like a contemporary restaurant for that matter, but Om Saravana Bhavan is one of the best budget restaurant for quick bites. They primarily serve South Indian Udupi dishes but also boast a varied menu of North Indian dishes. The taste is always essentially Southern due to their use of their native spices and curries, yet OSB stands out in every serve. They are situated on Saraswati Marg in prime Karol Bagh market, which makes them easy to be found. Parking might be a problem nearby, yet in matters of food, hardly any other South Indian food outlet can match Om Saravana Bhavan in hygiene, taste, courteous staff and delightful servings. If you love eating Dosas and don't want compromise in hygiene, I would definitely recommend this place. Just ask anybody in Saraswati Marg, and they would point you...
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