The Bengaluru street buffet

Bengaluru is loved for its weather, music and pub culture. But they say that the one thing that you cannot experience in the city is walking down a street satisfying your nose with the aroma of different delectable dishes. The food street culture has always been lacking in the city and it’s something everybody complains about, especially those who come from street food capitals like Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi. The infamous darshini food culture in the city has always been a dead-end without any crossroads leading to a street filled with food stalls. But now, foodies in Bengaluru can see their dream coming true. The street-food culture in the city has been catching up and that too drastically. Deep-fried hot golden samosas, cold creamy rabdi with juicy hot jalebis, pan-fried onions served with a sweet and spicy dabeli and much more is awaiting every food lover in the city.

The Coffee Board Layout food street is what one would call modern-day street food, served from food trucks and food kiosks.Law student Sanjana Sridhar describes, “There are many stalls, especially those serving Mangalorean food here. They also have tavapulav trucks, dosa trucks, Bombay vada-pav trucks.But my favourite dish here is the one-of-a-kind momo, because it has a delectable chicken and cheese filling and more than seven different sauces, each with a unique taste of its own.”

The prices of the dishes served at the food trucks in coffee board layout vary from `50 to  `350 a dish. A plat of chicken cheese steamed momos costs Rs 120 and a plate of tava pulav ranges between Rs 70 –  Rs 100.

The Shivajinagar food street shows us the truest essence of old is gold in Bengaluru. If you are a sucker for meaty street food then this is the place for you. It gives you a Lucknow food vibe with its wide variety of Mughlai non-vegetarian food. Engineer Ankith Srinathsays, “Shivajinagar is a better and year-around version of the Eid food stalls around the mosque road. The best dish that I think you get here is the sheek kebab. The meat is juicy and fresh but the best part is the flavour of the masala. It’s spicy and has a tandoor flavour to it. During Eid, the prices of the street food is extremely high, a plate of 2 sheik kebabs costs  Rs 150 but at Shivajinagar, a plate with a minimum of 5-6 pieces varies between Rs 100 to Rs 150”

A narrow lane, filled with food shops, each serving a different cuisine is what Loafer’s Street in Vasanth Nagar is. Famous for being the go-to eating sport for Mount Carmel College students, this food street will fulfil any kind of foodcravings you may have. Chartered accountant Abhishek Badigar extols, “The food street outside MCC has the most pocket-friendly food joints I’ve eaten at. The street is filled with kiosks and my favourite is the one where they serve the Mexican chaat. It’s a plate of home-made nachos, topped with rajma curry, topped with diced capsicum, onions, tomatoes and a sprinkle of sev. It tastes so good and you feel so satisfied, especially because it costs less than Rs 50!”

The latest addition to the lip-smacking list of street eats in Bengaluru are the ones served up in the Wilson Garden food lane. Amongst all the other foodstreets in the city, this one is the cheapest. Although the options available here are quite limited, the taste of the food and the price makes up for the lack of variety.

Located amidst offices and commercial spaces, this food lane gets most crowded during the evenings, after office hours.