The New TamilNadu Bhawan

The New Tamilnadu Bhawan
Opposite Chanakya Cinema Hall, Chanakyapuri
South Indian - though they have other cuisines on the menu but wont recommend
Rupiaya - Rs 200/- per person
Suggestions - Worth one Visit


So i am a big (like really huge) Andhra Bhawan fan, and i just need an excuse to go there. But this time (and since we were in the mood for some experimentation) we went to the New Tamil Nadu Bhawan. The name is the New TN Bhawan which is next to the Chanakya Cinema Hall, right behind the petrol pump / CCD.

So the TN Bhawan building is quite swanky, As you climb the steps to go inside, one can see two foundation stones. Yes - you guessed it right, one installed by Tatha (Karunanidhi) and one by Amma (Jaylalitha) :P
The walls have images of Amma, her minsters, the recent CM swearin in ceremony, Huge TN maps. The Bhawan also has a cute auditorium, a small fitness centre and i believe rooms for accommodation (have heard its open to outsiders, but not sure!)

After exploring a little bit, we headed towards our mission which was obviously to eat. The mess is like a little canteen, with a separate section for residing guests.

The ambiance reminds you of all those numerous south indian homes one has visited - typical neel blue and green paints on the walls :P
AC was a bit dysfunctional - but never mind!
The menu - is an all cuisine menu, it includes mughlai, 'dragon chinese', and a lot of non vegetarian dishes.
Service - Sweet, although they do not ask you for seconds

okay so the food - we were 3 of us, and yes the three of us ordered 2 southindian thalis, 1 bowl of chettinad chicken curry, 1 sada dosa, 1 plate idli and 1 plate vada. The advantage - i got to taste all of it, the disadvantage - well we couldnt move after our meal.

The thali was decent - 2 vegetables, curd, sweet dish, sambhar, rasam, 1 roti, 1 papad, and a bowl of rice. The Sambhar was good, although not that great, liked the rasam better. The dosa was fine - very good coconut chatni, idli was not that great, vada was fine. Chettinad chicken can be spicy for some.

What was surprising was - they did not have the traditional Mulgapodi (Gunpowder chutni) which is a must with dosa/ idli/ vada. The Coffee however lived up to its traditional coffee taste.

So well, overall the new TN bhawan has good food, but the problem is Andhra Bhawan has just set very high standards, the food at AB is also way better. It has better service where it seems like their motive is just to feed you food. Beside with the thali, they also give you ghee, pickles, powders. Given a choice i will always pick AB! But not making this look like a AB review, the new TN Bhawan is worth one visit. And if you want to be tempted, there is Goa Bhawan somewhere close by, which is going to be my next :)

Cheers!