A ride to refuel the foodie in you : Naani Hotel, Vijayapura

“Aaaha… It was totally worth it buddy…” When I heard these words from my friend, there was a pause for a moment and then a sense of relief. It literally felt like a gamble as I convinced my friends overnight to ride early morning to this place and waited almost 2 hours at the door step of this restaurant to open. So, you might get the idea how relieved I felt when I heard those words.

Facade of  Naani Hotel

You might be wondering which restaurant it might be, you need to prepare yourself to ride or drive to the outskirts of the Bengaluru to experience their awesome breakfast delicacies. I’m writing about Naani Hotel, located in Vijayapura a 50KMs drive from Hebbal towards Chikkballapura.

HOW TO REACH THEIR

Stone Wheels of Chariot, Near Temple Complex, Vijayapura

You can depend on Google to reach Vijayapura but upon reaching Vijayapura depend on local guidance to reach this restaurant as the location of this restaurant on Google Maps keeps on changing every 3 months or so on. 

Or after crossing Devanahalli Junction, there is one more junction just few kilometers before to IPC (Indian Paratha Company);take right in this junction and head straight till you reach Vijayapura By-Pass road. From their you seek local assistance.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Waiting outside the restaurant!

Our initial plan was to visit Nandi Betta to witness the sunrise, but as I’m a foodie freak, I convinced everyone to visit Naani Hotel first and then to head towards Nandi Betta. We gathered near Veterinary Hospital at Hebbal with our motor cycles and after a short brief we hit the road by 5.30AM. Though we maintained slow pace we reached Vijayapura by 6.45AM and then we found out from locals that Naani Hotel will open by 8.30AM. I was the culprit among the gang as I convinced them badly to visit here so early. We parked our bikes near the temple complex and went for a walk in order to kill the time. Upon returning, shutter of this restaurant was slightly open and cleaning process was going on. We waited at its door as if they are offering free breakfast. And yes, when they finally opened the restaurant at 9AM we were first to enter in and order. 

FOOD

All I can say, it saved me from getting beaten up by my friends. It worth for all the sacrifices we made and patience we had. They serve their dishes on ‘mutthuga’ leaf backed up with a newspaper - Tricky to use, easy to dispose. Most of the dishes like rice bath, vada are prepared somewhere else and served here. Our food experience goes like this;

Bisibele Bath: Freshly out of their catering utensils, it was piping hot and very difficult to hold in hand. Upon tasting tiny first bite everyone's eyebrows raised and started mumbling Mmmmm unknowingly. In short - Bisibele Bath tasted like it came directly from heaven.

Masal Dosa: Every time I eat Masal Dosa, I usually compare it with legendary dosa restaurants. But in here, their Masal Dosa is completly from a different league. Even today when I remember it, I get mouthwatering feel. It was crispy, tasty and had an elegant texture. Aloo Palya was too good and the chutney provided a perfect combination. The taste was so good, I ended up having 3 dosas despite of my stomach’s plea to stop.

Masal Vade & Uddin Vade: After a long long time I tasted such perfect Uddin Vade, the ingredients were perfect and crispiness was worth a salute. On the other hand, Masal Vade was crunchy and the spice level was accurate. Loved these two snacks to the core.

Kesari Bath: It tasted good but not as great as other dishes. Four of us shared this dish as we were already full by other delicacies. I felt like sweetness of this dish is little more compared to standard restaurants in Bengaluru.

Chitranna: I just tasted few bites of it, I really regretted for not having enough space in my stomach for it. Though its commonly available dish in each and every corner in Karnataka, in here it felt so fresh and special. Aroma was nice and the sour and spiciness was balanced perfectly.

We really felt very happy and suffocation at the same time. Happy because we had such great delicacy & suffocation because we ate twice the limit of our tummy’s capacity like this is last breakfast we are getting before the world ends. Crazy but the quality of food justifies it. 

AMBIANCE

Its very very basic, you can’t expect any comfortable seating here. There are couple of wooden benches at a corner for those who like to sit and eat. Generally here people prefer stand-eat option. Whole place is not that huge but it can hold a decent crowd. At entrance, there is a cash counter and opposite to entrance they have food serving area.

SERVICE

They will be more than happy to serve you especially if they get to know that you’ve driven from Bengaluru to their Hotel. Sometimes they will suggest you to choose the dish. However, when it comes to billing, the things gets little messy. If you have a large gang, they miscalculate the number of items you ordered and they charge you more. So, you need to be clear and keep informing them as and when you take new dishes. 

Complex where Naani Hotel is situated

EVERYTHING ELSE: There is a huge space around this hotel which serves as a good parking space. Most of the customers to this restaurant are local villagers only and they start pouring in after 9AM. So, I would suggest you to be there by 8:00 AM and taste first bite of piping hot dishes. Apart from Dosa and Uddin Vada, they change their menu every day. They generally offer 2-3 extra special dishes on Sunday and during village festival season. Hygiene factor is satisfying considering  the fact that this hotel is situated in a village. There is no restroom here. They don’t serve coffee or tea, but there is a tea shop nearby which serves good coffee and tea.

FINAL VERDICT: Every mile you drove towards this hotel seems worthy once you taste their delicious hot Bisibele Bath and crispy Masal Dosa.  

BAKASURA RATING

4.5 / 5

EXPLORERS ACCOMPANIED ME:

• Sujay Krishna, Deepthi (Yamaha Fazer)
• Praveen, Sukrutha (Royal Enfield Bullet)
• Sudhakar, Dharani (Royal Enfield Bullet)

NEARBY PLACES TO EXPLORE:

1. Jain Temple, Devanahalli

2. Nandi Betta (Nandi Hills)


3. Sri Kailasagiri


4. Devanahalli Fort