Jewels of Mumbai: UDIPI SHRI KRISHNA BOARDING

Outside Matunga Station

This blog has been long overdue. I have visited Udipi Shri Krishna Boarding umpteen times since I had planned the write-up.

The counter where you buy coupons

This restaurant was established in 1942 – yeah, since before Independence. Amazing to see the quality of food served and so cheap too!

The Full Meal begins...

The restaurant serves a complete South Indian meal – read Karnataka style. There is a Full Meal section – costs Rs. 180 as of now. They serve everything unlimited here except for the sweet. In this meal, one gets to eat rotis or puris (puris are served only in the evenings and Sunday afternoons), rice, three types of veggies, sambar, rasam, dal, fried papad, one sweet, pickle, one cup dahi and chaas. You need a gargantuan appetite to do justice to this. But, it tastes amazing. We used to visit this section regularly some years back.

The Plated Meals section

Recently, not able to consume much, we have shifted focus to the Plated Meals section that costs Rs. 55 plus. The ‘plus’ is for those extras that you might want – like a sweet, extra sabzi, papad and so on.

Rotis being prepared

This serves three limited sabzis, unlimited sambar, rasam, dal, limited papad, pickle, curd, chaas along with 3 sets of staples. You can combine it any which ways. 2 rotis-3 puris-1 cup rice – you can have 3 cups of rice, or six rotis, or 9 puris or a combo that suits you. It’s quite flexible.

Puris & Papads fried here in different kadais

On a regular day, there is a choice of four sweets on offer.

They have one condition in both sections – DO NOT ask for items and waste. In fact, if you waste sambar, they charge you extra for that.

Cups of rice being readied

All the food items are freshly prepared and taste absolutely delicious. We always avoid going to Rama Nayak’s for Sunday lunch as the crowd is just too much. There is a snaking queue that runs down the lobby sometimes down on the staircase. You will probably need to wait for an hour or two to be accommodated.

Vattis for Sambar, Rasam & Dal

Any customer can visit their kitchen on request. They even allowed me to take pictures. I got to talking with the owner’s son on one of my visits.

They buy all vegetables from APMC Market in Navi Mumbai. Only seasonal vegetables are used. All the tables and chairs are moved against the walls and newspapers spread on the dining room floor for cutting veggies in preparation for lunch and dinner.

Diesel boilers for cooking rice, sambar, etc.

While LPG stoves are used for cooking rotis & dry sabzis, they use diesel to cook rice, sambar and the like. These are cooked in what look like boilers. The guy manning the rice cookers said that it takes barely 5-6 minutes to cook a few kilos of rice. Amazing!

The waiters, cooks and cleaning boys are well-behaved and treat the customers with respect. There are at least 2-3 supervisors keeping an eye on all customers to ensure that everyone is served well. One can get a copy of their booklet that tells you Shri Krishna Boarding’s historical journey since 1942 and even before, when Shri A. Rama Nayak came to Bombay.

Notice Board with newspaper cuttings

You will find all classes of people from different communities coming there to eat the excellent fare served. You will find a notice board full of clippings from various newspapers & magazines where the restaurant has been featured.

The restaurant is just one step away from Matunga station.

A. Rama Nayak’s
Udipi Shri Krishna Boarding,
1st Floor, LBS Market Building,
Matunga, Mumbai – 400019.
Phone: 24142422
Lunch: 10.30 am to 2.30 pm
Dinner: 7.00 pm to 10.00 pm
CLOSED ON MONDAYS