Sacred Hearts’ Sandra in Bandra

Three people packed in an auto stop right outside Benne Heritage Bangalore Dosa on 16th Road in Bandra where there is a long queue The rickshawallah an old man asks worriedly ldquoWhat is this queue forrdquo ldquoItrsquos for a restaurantrdquo one of us repliesldquoSab bakwas haimdashlogo ke paas faltu paisa zyada hai Itrsquos futilemdashpeople have a lot of money to wasterdquo dismissing the idea of people queuing up for foodWe get off and join the queue trying to look away from his and those passing byrsquos judgemental eyes taking solace in the thought that we werenrsquot alone in this Benne is Bandrarsquos new craze and because they couldnrsquot keep up with the demand they have been operational only for a few hours a day five days a weekNext the shopkeepers whose entryway the queue was obstructing kept getting annoyed lsquoMove aside donrsquot touch this stand heremdashthey showed no remorse in expressing their discomfort The only chilledout guys were the Le 15 patisserie right next door to Benne who didnrsquot object at all We messaged Pooja Dhingra to ask if she had tried the dosa to which she replied that the queues had been discouraging No neighbour privileges or back door entry here it seemsThe queue outside Benne Heritage Bangalore Dosa on 16th Road in Bandra Pics Ashish RajeAfter standing in queue for about 25 minutes it seemed like forever in this sweltering humid weather we entered the tiny eatery through the wooden doors adorned by birdshaped leaf torans to be welcomed by cool blasts of ACmdash thank god for tech mercies There must be at least 15 people in that 150squarefoot cafe with a standasyoueat community table and alcove seating but it didnrsquot feel cluttered Everyone was minding their business and respecting personal space We headed to the kiosk to place our order on their short menu of South Indian favourites benne idli vada akki roti Mysore pak and a variety of coffees and were assigned a systemgenerated cool name inspired by Bangalore streets and locationsmdashwe were Sacred Hearts Sandra that evening And if you have a long list of things to order that you prefer to eat in a sequence we suggest you donrsquot be Sandra They donrsquot have the space to hold your order once itrsquos made except for coffee so order patiently even if it means going back to the kiosk thrice Tell yourself you deserve it and continue to annoy everyone outside waiting for their turnFilter coffeeFrom our order the quick ones to arrive were ghee podi thatte idli Rs 95 served with two chutneysmdashtomatoonion and coconutmintmdashand vada R70 The idlirsquos texture was disappointing For someone who eats idli and dosa twice a week and eats at darshanis in Bengaluru this idli was tough to break with a wooden spoon The chutneys were a letdown They lacked the lsquokickrsquo The vada was soft on the inside and crispy outside peppered with seasoning and wellcooked True to the Bengaluru tradition they didnrsquot come with sambharThe food here is served on sustainable areca leaf plates filtered water is kept on the table with disposable glasses tissue and wooden cutlery for quick use Next we tried three kinds of bennemdashthe benne podi plain Rs 175 benne plain Rs 175 and benne masala dosa Rs 175 We were delighted by the perfect balance of crispiness on the outside and softness on the insidemdashjust like any benne should be Our neighbour however complained yes we were eavesdropping that hers wasnrsquot cooked thoroughly Served with white butter it had the same two chutneys so nothing exciting happened there to lift the overall taste but we were happy with the podi and masala versions We also ordered the akki roti R130 a flatbread made with rice flour spices herbs and vegetables a popular breakfast item from Karnataka Cuisine It was pretty flavourful on its own but was crispier than we likedOur meal concludes with a Mysore pak Rs 60 and filter coffee Rs 50 something we will come back for when there are no queues of course Despite the minor hiccups the overall experience at Benne was satisfying and worth the wait Not that Benne is a pioneer of any sort in Mumbaimdashwersquove had Cafe Madras Cafe Mysore Anand Bhavan Amba Bhavan Sharda Bhavan Ram Ashray and Arya Bhavan at Matunga Circle nonchalantly churning out nonUdupistyle delicious dosas for decades But full marks to founders Akhil Iyer and Shriya Narayan for making it upbeat honest reasonably priced and ohso BandraesqueWhat Benne Heritage Bangalore DosaWHERE Louis Bell building 16th Road Bandra WestTIMINGS Wednesday to Sunday 5pm to 1130pmRating GoodBenne didnrsquot know we were there Sunday midday reviews anonymously and pays for meals