Restaurant Review: Sandarshini

Place: Sandarshini

Location: Masab Tank, towards Banjara Hills Rd. No. 1

Cuisine: Indian

Meal: Lunch - Thali

Ive been visiting Sandarshini since when it opened about 10 years ago. It started off as a tiffin center, but slowly expended as a restaurant. They have a air-conditioned dine in over the tiffin center. Its not a hi-fi place, but one where you get decent vegetarian food for reasonable prices.

The other day while I was here for lunch, I ordered a North Indian Thali. Priced at Rs.120/-, I should say it was quite a meal. Ive had the thali here before, long time ago, and am impressed to say that that it was as good as it used to be.

They started off serving Tomato soup and papad. The soup was pretty decent, nothing great. Then came the thali: Butter Naan, Panner Butter Masala (PBM), Channa Masala, Mixed vegetable, Pulao, Rice, Dal, Rasam, Sambhar, Curd, Raitha and Gulab Jamoon. Quite a meal, isnt it?? And I was surprised to see the size of the Naan. It was humongous. I used to order extra roti on my previous visits, but this time, there was no need for that.

The taste of the three North Indian curries was really good. Naan was soft. The PBM was actually excellent. I was almost full by the time I finished the Naan. The Pulao though was disappointing. The Dal was good, Rasam and Sambar were alright. Gulab Jamoon was a little under cooked. They served Vanilla ice-cream when I was done with the meal. The Jamoon tasted much better with the ice-cream.

Overall, a sumptuous meal at a very reasonable price. Other dishes, especially their Masala dosa happens to be really good as well. If your looking for a good tummy filling meal without burning a hole in your pocket, this is the place.

Food: 8/10

Ambiance: 7.5/10

Service: 7/5/10

Meal for 1: Rs. 124/-

Dumbo's Verdict: 8/10