Paradise of Ethnic Cuisine

The diversity of the cuisine available is reflective of the social and economic diversity of Bangalore. Roadside vendors, tea stalls, South Indian, North Indian, Arabic food, Chinese and Western fast food are all very popular in the city. Udupi restaurants, are very popular and serve predominantly vegetarian cuisine. The Chinese food and the Thai food served in most of the restaurants can be customised to cater to the tastes of the Indian population. Bangalore can also be called a foodie's paradise because of its vast variety of foods and edibles with a touch of Bangalore's uniqueness and tradition

Some of the renowned traditional Bangalore's vegetarian restaurants are MTR (Mavalli Tiffin Room), Vidyarthi Bhavan, Udupi Krishna Bhavan, Ramakrishna Lunch Home, Hotel Sharavathi in Yelahanka, New Krishna Bhavan, Janatha Hotel, Central Tiffin Room, Restaurants at Janardhana Hotel and Chalukya Hotel and Ullas to name a few. The masala dosa – rice pancake smeared with red chilli chutney and stuffed with potato curry, 'set dosa' – 3 medium-sized dosas, 'benne masalae' – thick rice pancake prepared with butter – are some of the local favourites and few stake the origin of these dishes from Bangalore. Bisi bele bath, Rava idli, Pongal, the spicy Uppittu – served as Khara Bath in most of the restaurants are some of the other local favourites. The Udipis or the South Indian restaurant/cafes are known for their Filter Coffee. One of the popular places in South Bangalore is Brahmin's Coffee Bar, where people go at 6:00 am for their fresh cuppa after their morning walks.

The Muslim cuisine of Bangalore is unique as it delivers an interesting blend of Mughlai cuisine, Hyderabadi Muslim or Nawabi cuisine, as it is called, with a distinct Bangalorean flavour. The MM Road in Fraser Town is renowned for its unique collection of around 5 to 6 Muslim restaurants, 3 to 4 Mughlai takeaways, a Chinese restaurant, a salad bar and 2 Arabian themed restaurants. Empire Restaurant of Shivajinagar is very famous and has its own chain of restaurants throughout Bangalore. The Chandni Chowk area of Shivajinagar also has a concentration of tightly packed restaurants and tea shops, where business booms behind closed shutters until the wee hours of daylight. The most favourite sought-after delicacies include the Tandoori Chicken, Bangalore Biriyani, Gundu Palav, Sheek kebabs, Sheek Rolls, Chicken kebabs, Rumali Rotis and lots more. Roadside stalls are abundant, giving a more dynamic and some would argue more risky option for sustenance, with typical dishes such as barbecued beef sheek kebab and a local Bangalore recipe Phaal, beef cubes in spicy green masala, served with hot Rice Sevian (Plain steamed Vermicelli). Fried Mutton Brains is also a really tasty choice for daring food-a-holics.

Arabian cuisine is also slowly on the rise with Shawarma and Falafel gathering some popularity although these hotels are usually frequented by Arab students and Indians who have lived in the Middle East.

Some of the bakeries in Bangalore are also quite popular for a quick snack. There are many fruit juice stalls and shoppers often visit them.

Bangalore also houses many sweet eateries too. Bhagathram sweets has Bangalore's best gulaab jamoons. other notable sweets shops are Anand sweets, kanti sweets and asha sweets which house a good variety of sweets and savouries too.

Bangalore also has some fine dining and specialised restaurants that cover various cuisines of the world. For good Mangalore and Konkan style seafood, there's Kudla, Mangalore Pearl and Sa-na-dige. The city also is known to have really good Italian and new-age continental food in places like Sunny's on Lavelle Road and Olive Beach. The various restaurants in the five-star hotels in the city also offer some very authentic and delicious meals. Some of these include Blue Ginger (Thai/ Vietnamese, Taj West End), Raj Pavilion (Colonial Indian Cuisine, Sheraton Windsor Manor), Zen (Japanese / Korean, Leela Palace), and the many 24-hour cafes these hotels run.