When hunger pangs get intense

Kolapasi offers a taste of home at its new branch in Ashok Nagar. VIPASHA SINHA on what makes the eatery unique

Kolapasi does not have a dine-in, but has tasting counters, where people can taste and then buy. Photo: R. Ragu

They don’t call themselves a restaurant, nor a mess. Kolapasi lies somewhere between the two. Santhosh Muruganantha of Kolapasi says, “There are already way too many restaurants in the city that serve cuisines of all kinds. They are rich and are flavoured with artificial products or chemicals,” he says.

A majority of the diners at Kolapasi find it difficult to cook every day but are also particular about food that is as healthy as what is cooked at home.

“We serve food that tastes like what they serve at home. It has no chemicals or

vanaspati . All they have to do is call us and get the food home-delivered or they have to come to our outlet and take away food. We don’t have a dine-in but we have tasting counters, where people can taste and then buy,” says Santhosh, an engineer-turned-entrepreneur.

Their idea is to deliver home-cooked food in as little a time as possible.

“Since the food is prepared, they just have to take and leave.”

Their menu includes vegetarian combo, sambar rice, curd rice, parpupodi rice, bhindi fry, phulka, special non-vegetarian combo, chicken biriyani, white rice chicken combo and fish curry.

Why Kolapasi? Santhosh says, “It’s a catchy name. Whenever someone is hungry, they use the word. The name has good recall, sparing us the expense of branding programmes ,” he says.

Kolapasi delivers food between 11.45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. and between 6:45 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

The restaurant is open for lunch from 11.45 a.m. to 3 p.m. For dinner, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. It is located at No. 60, Jaya Durga Apartments, 1st Avenue, Ashok Nagar, Chennai (opposite Gokulam Park, Near Hot Chips), Ashok Nagar. Ph: 770806335.

You can order online at http://kolapasi.com/. They also plan to launch a mobile app for ordering through Facebook.