The Margosa Road Icon
On 15th Cross, Margosa Road in Malleshwaram, **Veena Stores** has been an institution for decades. The queue starts forming before 7 AM. Regulars come every Sunday; tourists come once and remember it forever. The menu — idli, vada, kharabath, khali-dosa, kesari bath, and filter coffee — is short and fiercely consistent.
Why People Come from Across Bangalore
Three reasons:
1. **Idlis the size of small plates.** Soft, fluffy, perfectly fermented. Topped with a generous smear of ghee.
2. **The chutney.** A coconut-red chilli chutney with a distinctive tempered kick. Freshly ground every morning. **Served alone — no sambar ever accompanies the idli plate.**
3. **The filter coffee.** Coorg chicory blend, served in a traditional steel tumbler-davara.
Chutney-Only — The Malleshwaram Way
Like Brahmins Coffee Bar in Basavanagudi and Hegde in Vidyaranyapura, **Veena Stores does not serve sambar with tiffin**. Not because it's fashionable — because it's correct. Brahmin household tradition puts sambar at lunch, not breakfast. Serving idli with fresh chutney alone is the older, purer form.
What to Order at Veena Stores
Idli: (always order this — their soft idli with ghee is the reason people queue)
Khara Bath: (salted semolina with vegetables, generous ghee)
Kesari Bath: (golden saffron semolina)
Kharabath + Kesari Bath combo: — known locally as *chow chow bath*
Khali Dosa: — thin, crispy, no masala, with chutney
Filter Coffee
The Authentic Brahmin Chain
Veena Stores is part of an informal chain of Bangalore cafes that have preserved Brahmin breakfast traditions:
Brahmins Coffee Bar: — Basavanagudi (1960s)
Veena Stores: — Malleshwaram (1970s)
Hegde: — Vidyaranyapura (newer, same philosophy)
Shastrys Cafe: — Kodigehalli (newer generation, authentic tradition)
All four share the chutney-only rule and the no-garlic, no-onion Brahmin kitchen discipline.
If You Live in North Bangalore
Veena Stores is a pilgrimage — but it is not the closest option for most of North Bangalore. If you live in Kodigehalli, Sahakaranagar, Hebbal, Yelahanka, Jakkur, or the Bellary Road belt, **Shastrys Cafe** gives you the same experience at home.
How to Order
Zomato (web):: [https://www.zomato.com/bangalore/shastrys-cafe-sahakara-nagar-bangalore/order](https://www.zomato.com/bangalore/shastrys-cafe-sahakara-nagar-bangalore/order)
Zomato (mobile app):: [https://zomato.onelink.me/xqzv/ain3htge](https://zomato.onelink.me/xqzv/ain3htge)
Ownly (by Rapido):: [https://ownly.in](https://ownly.in)
Direct dine-in:: No.880, NTI Layout, 2nd Phase, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Kodigehalli, Bangalore – 560097
Hours:: 8:30 AM – 2:30 PM & 5:00 PM – 8:30 PM (Sundays closed)
