Bengaluru on my Plate: How a southern staple is winning Puneites hearts and loyalty

Dosas being prepared at Bangalore Canteen | Express Photo

The first outlet, launched in 2023 in Karve Nagar, was meant to be a trial. With a limited menu—just dosa varieties, idli, vada, and filter coffee—it tested the waters cautiously. The response surprised them. “Pune people really loved the taste,” Bawaskar recalls. What followed was steady expansion: Sinhagad Road, Viman Nagar, and now a fourth, much larger outlet, complete with seating for around 130 people on JM Road.

From the menu of The Bangalore Canteen

At the heart of The Bangalore Canteen is a quiet insistence on difference. “The flavours are very different from the South Indian food we usually get in Maharashtra,” Bawaskar says. Bengaluru-style dosas, he explains, are thicker, with a crisp outer layer and a soft interior—often confusing first-time customers who ask, half-jokingly, ‘Is this dosa or uthappa?’ But the texture, the masalas, and the chutneys stay true to Bengaluru’s everyday plates rather than Pune’s expectations.

Ghee garlic onion roast, the  stand-out item

If there is one dish that defines the brand, it is the ghee garlic onion roast dosa. Stuffed with pudi chutney, garlic chutney, and onions, it has emerged as the bestseller across outlets. “People absolutely love it,” he says, without hesitation.

Varieties of dishes from the menu of Bangalore Canteen | Express Photo

Experimentation exists, but within boundaries. “We can’t do pizza with sambar,” Bawaskar laughs. “The name itself is Bangalore Canteen. The food has to stay simple—idli, dosa, filter coffee. This is staple food for a lot of people.” Fermentation, tradition, and restraint shape the menu more than trend-hopping.

Where the brand does push boundaries is with filter coffee. The Bangalore Canteen has positioned itself not just as a food outlet, but as a next-generation South Indian café. “We realised most South Indian cafes attract an older crowd, around 35–40,” he says. “We wanted to bring Gen Z in.” From caramel iced filter coffee to Vietnam-style filter coffee, traditional decoction finds new expressions here. “That became a complete game-changer for us. People now associate our brand with filter coffee.”

From the menu of Bangalore Canteen | Express Photo

Operating as a quick service restaurant, The Bangalore Canteen keeps things deliberately uncomplicated. Orders are placed at the counter, tokens flash on a display, and customers pick up their food — canteen-style. What has evolved is scale and ambience. From standing-only outlets, the brand has moved to larger spaces that still retain the speed and simplicity of its original model.

Bangalore Canteen, the initial days

The early days were not without doubt. “People would ask, there are already so many dosa places in Pune, why will they come to us?” Bawaskar admits. Bengaluru food, unlike generic ‘South Indian’ cuisine, does not carry instant national familiarity. Feedback poured in—requests for white chutney, milder sambar, more familiar flavours. “But we decided to stick to authenticity. Jo hai wahi humne kiya.”

In the pipeline: 20 outlets across Pune, Mumbai

Looking ahead, the vision is clear. Over the next five years, the brand hopes to open around 20 outlets across Pune and Mumbai, without drifting into fusion. “We want to stick to traditional Bengaluru-style food,” he says firmly. Perhaps the clearest sign of success came even before the latest outlet opened. While work was still underway, a banner announcing The Bangalore Canteen went up. “People started clicking pictures of just the banner,” Bawaskar says. “There was this excitement—Bangalore Canteen aa raha hai. That feeling was new for us.”

In a city that loves its food deeply, The Bangalore Canteen’s journey shows how a very regional plate can travel, adapt, and still hold its ground—one crisp, thick dosa at a time.

(Advaya Apte is an intern with The Indian Express)