Nagarjuna is one of the legendary restaurants in Bangalore serving Andhra Cuisine food since 1984. The outlet at Residency Road has almost been there forever and has stood the test of time.  Since then they have opened 5 more outlets across Bangalore and all of them have been successful. I feel that Nagarjuna has become synonymous to Restaurant serving Andhra Cuisine Food.  The single most important reason for holding up this coveted position as No.1 Andhra Cuisine restaurant is the consistency in quality.  I recently one their outlets and would like to share my experience.

Ambiance

The original restaurant at Residency Road has 4-6 seater Sofas where people would ideally visit for meals.  New outlets have chairs also with the sofas, which makes them look a little more sophisticated.  The restaurant has very good air-ventilation system which makes Vegetarians and Non-Vegetarians comfortable. Even though multiple non-vegetarian varieties are made and served, we don’t feel the strong odour.  The service staff and always prompt to respond back to request whenever something is needed.  Another interesting thing I observe is the uneasy calm that the serving staff maintain.  Inspite of having to run around multiple table, they don’t seem to be in a hurry and always serve with a smile. 

There is car parking around the outlet, if not there is Valet Parking which make it very comfortable for the guests.

Food

Nagarjuna has been known for serving some of the most authentic Andhra meals which comes with loads of items.  But they have plenty of options in Starters, Soup, Main-Course as well. 

Starters

Vegetarian

Vegetarians get limited options but every item tastes good.  Luckily, I visited this place during festive Navrathri season when some of the Non-Vegetarians turn Vegetarian for 9-days. Some of the dishes I tried – Paneer Sholey Kebab, Mushroom Pepper Fry and Baby-corn Sholey Kebab.  My top pick among these was the Paneer Sholey Kebab which had soft Paneer and it tasted very well with the mint chutney.  Mushroom Pepper fry also was a close second, in which the Mushroom were well fried along with spices and pepper.  Starters were quite delicious and irresistible.

Non-Vegetarian

Nagarjuna Restaurant is favourite place for Non-Vegetarians as they get some of the best starters.  Some of the dishes they tried were – Chilly Chicken, Guntur Chicken, Chicken Nagarjuna Roast, Chicken Roast, Chicken 65, Chicken Sholey Kebab, Mutton Pepper Fry, Mutton Kheema Balls and Fish Fry.

My friend who came along just relished eating all the Non-Veg starters. He loved it because they tasted very good and were also on the spicier side. 

Main Course

Veg Meals

Nagarjuna Restaurant is very famous for its Vegetarian meals which include plenty of items.  To list a few items – Rice, Poppu (Daal), Chutney Power, Goongura Chutney, Chutney, Ivy Gourd curry, Sambar, Rasam, Buttermilk, Curds, Paapad, Sweet, Pickles and few more.  The most important item that needs a special mentioned, in the Home-made Ghee, which adds the extra flavour.  Serving staff are very liberal in putting atleast 2-4 spoons and would not stop unless you ask them to.

The central item among all the items mentioned above is the Rice.  Rice can be taken with all the items mentioned above.

The combination of Rice with Pappu/Daal is the most preferred among food-lovers.  Daal served quite thick and spinach is present it.  The taste enhances atleast 2 folds on adding ghee.

The combination of Rice with Goongura chutney one of my favourites.  Goongura Chutney has the spice, tanginess and sweetness which when consumed with rice & ghee, tastes yummy.

The combination of Rice with Chutney powder and ghee is another favourite.

Apart from the above 3 combinations, Rice is most often consumed with Sambar, Rasam and Curds.

Eating a heavy meal as mentioned above will easily cause anyone to feel drowsy.  Infact, anyone would feel like they are in half-drunk state and stomach being full.  It would advise anyone having food at Nagarjuna, to take a power-nap before driving or any work.  I specially urge the restaurant to plan for having couple of dormitories in future.

Briyani

This is another item in the menu which is a favourite among many people.  Instead of eating multiple items in the meals, it would be best to take Biryani.  There are 2 variants that we picked up – Veg Biryani and Mutton Biryani.  I tasted the Veg Biryani and thought that it was average.  Biryani did not have much gravy and the spicy level was quite level.  I shared my feedback for giving Salan, coconut based gravy in future.

Drinks

The best drink to be take along with a heavy and spicy meal is the Fresh Lime Soda.  I have always loved taken the Sweet & Salt variant.  Other drink that goes along well are the Aerated drinks, Thumps Up, Coke & Pepsi.

Overall Experience

This was one of the best dinners I have had in a long time.  Enjoyed the Paneer and Mushroom starters at the start of the meal.  Loved adding Goongura Chutney, Papper and Chutney power along with Rice.  The taste of the food has always been across all the Nagarjuna outlets.  I have always observed, a waiting period 15-20 mts in every Nagarjuna during lunch /dinner/week-day/weekend.  Specially recommend, waiting to get seats, devour the wonderful meal slowly.

Rate my experience at 4.0/5.

Rating in other departments.
Food – 4.0/5
Drinks – 4.0/5
Service – 4.0/5
Ambiance – 4.0/5
Food for 2 at the restaurant along with a starter would come up to anywhere between INR 600-1000.

Pictures taken with fellow foodies and Nagarjuna Staff.