Vizag or Visakhapatnam has been a place serving multi-cuisine foods to epicureans. Also famed as the City of Destiny, it has been a destination for several home-grown, national and global brands from the food industry to mark their presence. While on one side, it flaunts its versatility to rise as an urban place with contemporary culture, on the other, it also retains its traditional evergreen charm by serving Telugu delicacies in the purest form. To test the latter version, one needs to explore the South Indian breakfast stops in Vizag. On any given day, the beelining of people vouch for how the native staples are still prevalent in this rapidly urbanising city.
So, hop on as we take you around Vizag and give you the feel of its five popular tiffin centres as described colloquially.
Sri Sairam Parlour
It is one of the oldest and most famous stops to enjoy a hearty south Indian breakfast. What started as a single store today has multiple branches across the city. The menu has also evolved over time. From serving regular dosa, idli, vada and upma, it has fancier items, and a few of them have a tinge of fusion as well. Nevertheless, one can't go wrong with its masala dosa, paper plain dosa, sambar vada and filter coffee.
Venkatadri Vantillu
This place has a fascinating story. Though it came into existence in 2002, it was referred to by the customers as Aunty's Kitchen. Only in 2006 it got its name after being christened Venkatadri Vantillu. Indira Vankineni founded this eatery to support her family financially, and the initial menu had only a few items cooked by her. The game changer was her signature sponge dosa. Now, this eatery has a dedicated name, place, menu, and a growing staff; the sponge dosa remains the crowd puller. There is also ghee karam sponge dosa, onion sponge dosa, and butter sponge dosa. Its uttapams are also quite popular.
Hotel Maa Nethi Vindu
It wouldn't be wrong to call it a slow starter yet a steady performer. It took time for this eatery to compete with the famous south Indian tiffin centres in Vizag, but now it is among the most frequented places by gourmands. One ingredient that works as a show stealer is its in-house pure ghee or neyi. Many of its breakfast dishes have a copious amount of ghee, adding to the taste, flavour and aroma. One can't miss its hot pongal, ghee idlis, ghee masala idli, aaviri kudumu, and Nellore ghee karam dosa.
Chutneys
Please don't go by its simple name. It can win your heart with culinary skills. It has both dine-in and parcel options. For a laid-back experience, try to dine in. This place is a good choice for those who can't handle too spicy food. The breakfast segment has nearly 15 types of dosas, seven types of idlis, six variations of upma, four types of uttapam and six variants of vadas. If you are puzzled, order ghee idlis, mixed uttapam, ghee masala upma, ghee set dosa, rawa dosa and sweet pongal.
House of Dosas
This one looks a tad fancier among the eateries mentioned above, proving its name. Its entry is also comparatively recent. But within a short period, it has garnered a solid fan following. Many swear by its cosy and chic ambience and tasty and quality food. Apart from the regular dosas, such as Ghee Karam Dosa and Masala Dosa, it has a few unique ones, such as Nutella dosa, Pizza dosa etc. Dip idly, Erra Karam Dosa with Bombay Chutney and Ponganam Dosa are highly recommended.
Let us know which one you would like to try!