My 10 Recommended Places to Eat in Mysore – Part 2

October 17, 2016

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My 10 Recommended Places to Eat in Mysore – Part 2

Here’s Part 2 of my 10 Recommended Places to Eat in Mysore! These are personal favorite spots of mine located in various parts of Mysore that serve up different types of delicious food! Be sure to check out Part 1 if you haven’t already.


Anu’s Cafe This quaint place really is a little bamboo hut sitting on the rooftop terrace of a house located five minutes away from the big shala. Anu is a great cook and offers a lunchtime buffet of freshly prepared, tasty, home-cooked and healthy vegetarian fare that includes brown rice, dhal, chapatis, various vegetables such as lady’s fingers (okra), spinach, beets just to name a few. In the evenings, the cafe serves light snacks in the form of smoothies and vegan, flourless chocolate cakes. The smoothies are all banana based and you can mix and match additional toppings such as chocolate, cashew nuts or dates. This is a great place to hang out in the evenings without having to eat a full meal because most Ashtangis tend to eat lightly after lunch in order to be ready for practice the next day. Again, because Anu’s is such a crowd favourite, the cafe does tend to fill up quickly during lunchtime so get there early if you can. Otherwise, just squeeze in and share a table with other people. Everyone sits around low tables on comfy long cushions. Expect to spend: About Rs 250 for lunch at Anu’s
Lemon Tree This place comes highly recommended from many old-timers who come to Mysore. It used to offer only chicken shawarma and roasted chicken tikka, but now it seems as though their menu has expanded to include a whole variety of non-vegetarian dishes such as seafood, mutton and even a whole variety of chicken dishes. While I maintain a mostly vegetarian diet while here, I do come here for their chicken shawarma and roasted chicken tikka when the urge strikes, because it is one of the best that I have tasted in Mysore or anywhere for that matter! And while this does not make a difference to most Ashtangis since we have to be in bed early almost every night, this place opens till as late as almost midnight. Definitely a must-try for non-vegetarians. Expect to spend: Rs500 for dinner for two.
Temptations Ahh… Temptations…the place I come to for my biryani fix! It’s a little hole in the wall along Kalidasa Road and so it’s quite easy to miss. Keep your eyes peeled as you walk along the street looking for this place. Introduced to me on my second trip to Mysore, I never found this spot again until only recently when I stumbled across it while wandering around with no real agenda. Along with the regular vegetarian fare of dhal, cooked veggies, rotis, pilau rice, this little outfit serves a yummy, home-style chicken dum biryani. Everything is presented buffet-style, i.e. each item has its own serving dish and you are free to lift the cover of each and take a look at how each dish looks like. Needless to say, I went straight for the biryani and was given a huge portion of it – she really packed my takeaway foil container to the brim and them some! Because Temptations does not have much seating at all, it operates much like a takeaway counter. Expect to spend: All of Rs140 for one serving of biryani, which can probably see you through two meals.
The Sixth Main A regular hangout for me and my girls, this is our usual go-to spot for lunch at least once a week. Why? Because we love the jeera rice! Jeera rice is rice that’s richly flavored with cumin, onions and curry leaves. It tastes so good it can even be eaten on its own, without any accompanying curries or gravies (according to me anyway)! Sixth Main is a popular haunt for both yoga students and locals alike as it has a good variety of tasty vegetarian dishes, dhals, curries and gravies. My friends and I often order the dhal makhani, vegetable kofta and bindhi (lady’s fingers/okra)i in tomato-based curry and of course, the jeera rice. We usually finish all this off with a masala chai which is also really good here. Expect to spend: A very reasonably-priced place especially if you order various dishes to share among friends. Expect to spend about Rs200.
Original Vinayaka Mylari Considered to be one of the best dosa places in Mysore, this is a fast-paced outlet, which is small and cramped and there is often a line waiting to get in. They serve primarily two things, plain dosa and masala dosa, and some idly on the side. What I love about Mylari is that it has its own take on the classic masala dosa. Theirs are deliciously pancake-y, crispy and brown on one side and white and fluffy on the other. For their masala version, the stuffing is made of finely chopped onions and vegetables, instead of the usual potatoes. So the colour is actually green instead of the usual yellow. Each dosa is served with a dollop of butter and pure, creamy coconut chutney. You can’t stop at one, or even two! Another way that a few of us have found to enjoy Mylari dosa is with Nutella! It is the best thing ever, like having pancakes at home. So, remember to bring a bottle of Nutella with you, order the plain dosa and start slathering it on. You won’t regret it. 🙂 Expect to spend: Everything is super reasonably-priced so expect to spend no more than Rs300 for two.

Anu’s Cafe

This quaint place really is a little bamboo hut sitting on the rooftop terrace of a house located five minutes away from the big shala. Anu is a great cook and offers a lunchtime buffet of freshly prepared, tasty, home-cooked and healthy vegetarian fare that includes brown rice, dhal, chapatis, various vegetables such as lady’s fingers (okra), spinach, beets just to name a few.

In the evenings, the cafe serves light snacks in the form of smoothies and vegan, flourless chocolate cakes. The smoothies are all banana based and you can mix and match additional toppings such as chocolate, cashew nuts or dates. This is a great place to hang out in the evenings without having to eat a full meal because most Ashtangis tend to eat lightly after lunch in order to be ready for practice the next day.

Again, because Anu’s is such a crowd favourite, the cafe does tend to fill up quickly during lunchtime so get there early if you can. Otherwise, just squeeze in and share a table with other people. Everyone sits around low tables on comfy long cushions.

Expect to spend: About Rs 250 for lunch at Anu’s

Lemon Tree

This place comes highly recommended from many old-timers who come to Mysore. It used to offer only chicken shawarma and roasted chicken tikka, but now it seems as though their menu has expanded to include a whole variety of non-vegetarian dishes such as seafood, mutton and even a whole variety of chicken dishes.

While I maintain a mostly vegetarian diet while here, I do come here for their chicken shawarma and roasted chicken tikka when the urge strikes, because it is one of the best that I have tasted in Mysore or anywhere for that matter!

And while this does not make a difference to most Ashtangis since we have to be in bed early almost every night, this place opens till as late as almost midnight. Definitely a must-try for non-vegetarians.

Expect to spend: Rs500 for dinner for two.

Temptations

Ahh… Temptations…the place I come to for my biryani fix! It’s a little hole in the wall along Kalidasa Road and so it’s quite easy to miss. Keep your eyes peeled as you walk along the street looking for this place.

Introduced to me on my second trip to Mysore, I never found this spot again until only recently when I stumbled across it while wandering around with no real agenda. Along with the regular vegetarian fare of dhal, cooked veggies, rotis, pilau rice, this little outfit serves a yummy, home-style chicken dum biryani. Everything is presented buffet-style, i.e. each item has its own serving dish and you are free to lift the cover of each and take a look at how each dish looks like.

Needless to say, I went straight for the biryani and was given a huge portion of it – she really packed my takeaway foil container to the brim and them some! Because Temptations does not have much seating at all, it operates much like a takeaway counter.

Expect to spend: All of Rs140 for one serving of biryani, which can probably see you through two meals.

The Sixth Main

A regular hangout for me and my girls, this is our usual go-to spot for lunch at least once a week. Why? Because we love the jeera rice! Jeera rice is rice that’s richly flavored with cumin, onions and curry leaves. It tastes so good it can even be eaten on its own, without any accompanying curries or gravies (according to me anyway)!

Sixth Main is a popular haunt for both yoga students and locals alike as it has a good variety of tasty vegetarian dishes, dhals, curries and gravies. My friends and I often order the dhal makhani, vegetable kofta and bindhi (lady’s fingers/okra)i in tomato-based curry and of course, the jeera rice. We usually finish all this off with a masala chai which is also really good here.

Expect to spend: A very reasonably-priced place especially if you order various dishes to share among friends. Expect to spend about Rs200.

Original Vinayaka Mylari

Considered to be one of the best dosa places in Mysore, this is a fast-paced outlet, which is small and cramped and there is often a line waiting to get in. They serve primarily two things, plain dosa and masala dosa, and some idly on the side. What I love about Mylari is that it has its own take on the classic masala dosa. Theirs are deliciously pancake-y, crispy and brown on one side and white and fluffy on the other. For their masala version, the stuffing is made of finely chopped onions and vegetables, instead of the usual potatoes. So the colour is actually green instead of the usual yellow. Each dosa is served with a dollop of butter and pure, creamy coconut chutney. You can’t stop at one, or even two!

Another way that a few of us have found to enjoy Mylari dosa is with Nutella! It is the best thing ever, like having pancakes at home. So, remember to bring a bottle of Nutella with you, order the plain dosa and start slathering it on. You won’t regret it. 🙂

Expect to spend: Everything is super reasonably-priced so expect to spend no more than Rs300 for two.

So there you have it, my 10 favourite places to eat in Mysore. Do give them a try if you haven’t already and if there are any favourite spots of yours that I did not mention, let me know! I’ll give them a try maybe feature them in my next foodie blog post.

About the author

Nadira Mohsin

Nadira Mohsin is a Singapore based KPJAYI authorised ashtanga yoga instructor. Having practiced yoga for well over a decade under the tutelage of Sharath Jois at the K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore, India, she today leads a team of teachers at Singapore's Art of Yoga.