Heritage Feast

“Why don’t you click pictures during lunch?” says Sameer Joshi,a regular at the restaurant. “Then it will look bright,otherwise the place looks so old.” But it’s essentially this dated feel that makes the place endearing. The about eighty-year-old structure was initially a wada. Even now the aesthetics are reminiscent of traditional Marathwada homes. A porch leads to the wooden structure. The main hall opens out to several smaller rooms that are all used as dining areas now. The restaurant was started in 1932 by D Moghe. When it started,it ran successfully at all its four centres across the city – Rasta Peth,Budhwar Chowk,Fergusson College Road and Sadashiv Peth.

With newer constructions cropping up,three of the centers gradually closed down. The Sadashiv Peth outlet has lived on,surprisingly,without bringing in a lot of changes. The property is owned by the Wagh family,which lives next door; Sadannan Chhatre manages and runs the business now. “In 1967,Vaman Rao Chhatre bought the property. We have not brought about any changes in the way the business is carried out here.”

One can relish a freshly cooked meal of rice,dal and sabzi for Rs 60 here. “When I came here for the first time in 1975,the price of a thali was Rs 1.75,” recalls Joshi. “But they still run it at a far lesser cost than many other places.” In the last two years,business has only improved. “On an average,there are 400 walk-ins every day. When people are looking for something authentic,they come to us,” says Chhatre. Close to 20 people work in the kitchen here. Work starts as early as 5am. Chhatre and Joshi go to the Mandai everyday to purchase the vegetables. “While the timings are only from 12pm to 1:30pm,and 8pm-10pm in the evening,work is continuous,” adds Chhatre.

And like most heritage spots,the Chhatres have conserved it well,unaware of its status as a listed structure. He is surprised to know that it figures on the PMC list. “We have kept it like it was because we don’t have the means to develop it. But it is too old,so may be we should change it,” he says.