MTR Hotel

This blog is on my visit to the famous MTR Hotel with my friends.

Mavali Tiffin Room - or MTR as it is famously called, is near the Lal Bagh at the Lal Bagh Main road. This hotel is unlike any other you may visit. It does not have any fancy construction or a modern day ambience. In fact, it does not boast anything fancy to "attract" people. While many hotels try new and innovative ways to bring in customers, MTR has a problem of plenty of customers to cater. The fact is, people wait in queues for upto 2 or 3 hours for a simple lunch on typical weekends. This blog is about my experience in the MTR, when I went there with my friends on a Sunday afternoon.

We decided to go there after a few friends recommended it as one of the traditional hotels in Bangalore and the food was fantastic. When we reached there, it was quite a surprise. There was a heavy crowd that was standing outside. Luckily, we were able to navigate through and get our tokens easily. We were then asked to "register" our token at the dining hall. An usher registered our token number in his pad. Our token number was 69, while the number which was let into the dining hall was 25. Hmmm, did not sound good. Finally, we had to wait for more than 2.5 hours to get our place in the dining hall.

The Food
Very sweet grape juice arrived in silver tumblers. It was extremely sweet. A series of side dishes followed. A salad of carrot and lintels, chutney, sagu, poriyal, pickes, Payasam, a milk sweet all arrived next. Bise bela bath - which was very good(only good thing)- poori, Rice, Sambar, Rasam were served, curd rice were served. Taste wise, except for the besi bela bath, nothing was appreciable. The sweets were ordinary, Sambar and Rasam were not kinda okay. There was only one poriyal that was served. Even in the Andhra mess, we would be served at least 2 curries. Curd rice was actually good, well, what is there to mess up with the curd rice anyway. Mini vada and mini papad were served along with the meal.

My View
MTR is a pioneer in the field of package masalas. Rava idly made its origin here. The hotel even featured in Discovery channel. The place was very clean and you can actually walk through the kitchens and look how clean the environment is. The waiters were also prompt and neat and I was told they dont accept any tip.

But frankly, I did not find any justification for the hype and hoopla that surrounded the big name. It was simply very normal food, branded and overpriced. If you are a true foodie who would want to visit the traditional place, and do not mind the 2-3 hour wait, or if you want to enjoy spending time in Lal Bagh followed by a meal with family, go visit MTR. For others, well, in Bangalore, there are lot may other options for food.

For those who want to visit MTR, the address is:
M.T.R, 14, Lal Bagh Main Road, Bangalore.