Opening its walls to foodies

Several popular food joints dot the Fort area

While the Fort area boasts several places of history and heritage, it is also dotted with several popular snack and food joints.

Several passersby and motorists are seen thronging the vegetarian snack outlets and restaurants at West Fort near the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple.

Chapatti counters

With health consciousness on the rise, chapatti counters have been finding acceptance among customers. These outlets are preferred by customers for instant snacks and takeaways, as the items on menu are cheaper when compared to other restaurants in the city.

Some of the restaurants boast rich legacies. Venkadesa Bhavan that functions at West Nada has been in the business for nearly half-a-decade and still continues to attract many loyal customers, according to supervisor Murugan. He has been working at the outlet for nearly 35 years. The ‘karavadas’ that it dishes out is a much-sought-after delicacy.

Relatively new eateries too have mushroomed in the area. Such outlets attract passersby by offering quick-bites at low prices.

Combo for Rs.5

Sudhakar Rao, who works at Samskritha Bhojanalaya, which was established two months ago, says their ‘combo’ of tea and vada, priced at Rs.5, is much in demand.

While the competing outlets have been stocking up delicious items, lack of parking space is posing a problem for the customers. According to S.P. Mohanan, a technician and regular customer of an outlet here, there have been several instances when people who had parked their vehicles by the roadside for a quick snack, have returned to find that they have been fined for violating parking rules.