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The best Chow Chow Bath in Bangalore

Also spelt chowchow bath, chow-chow bath, khara bath and kesari bath. A curated shortlist, shaped by your votes.

Editorial picks

Selected from published food guides and local reporting. How the list works

  1. Number 1.Brahmin's Coffee Bar

    Shankarapuram, Basavanagudi Basavanagudi and Jayanagar

    Open
    6am to noon and 3pm to 7pm, shut Sundays
    Where
    Ranga Rao Road, Shankarapuram, opposite Kannada Katte, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru 560004

    Order the khara bath with a kesari on the side, then ladle on the chutney they are known for. There is no sambar and almost nowhere to sit, and the shutters stay down all Sunday.

    What to orderKhara bath plus a kesari bath, with the coconut chutney

    0 votes

  2. Number 2.Mavalli Tiffin Room (MTR)

    Mavalli, Lalbagh Road Basavanagudi and Jayanagar

    Open
    6.30am to 11am, 12.30pm to 8.30pm, shut Mondays
    Where
    14, Lalbagh Road, Doddamavalli, Mavalli, Bengaluru 560027

    The chow chow bath arrives with the ghee already pooling, and the rava idli was invented in this same room during the war. Queues run long after eight on Sundays, and Mondays it does not open at all.

    What to orderChow chow bath, with a rava idli after it

    0 votes

  3. Number 3.Sri Raghavendra Stores, Malleswaram railway station

    Malleswaram West Malleswaram and Rajajinagar

    Open
    6.30am to 1pm, 4pm to 9pm, shut Tuesdays
    Where
    11th Main Road, next to Malleswaram railway station, opposite Manipal North Side Hospital, Malleswaram, Bengaluru 560003

    Pavement eating beside the railway line, no seats and no sambar, just chutney you can go back for twice. Get there before nine. Some listings have it shut on Tuesdays, others open all week.

    What to orderChow chow bath with the runny chutney

    0 votes

  4. Vidyarthi Bhavan, Gandhi Bazaar

    Basavanagudi Basavanagudi and Jayanagar

    Open
    6.30 to 11.30am and 2 to 8pm, shut Fridays
    Where
    32, Gandhi Bazaar Main Road, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru 560004

    Khara bath here is smooth rather than grainy, so eat that before the dose arrives. Give your name to the man at the gate at weekends and wait in the courtyard. Fridays it is closed.

    What to orderKhara bath first, then the benne masala dose

    0 votes

  5. Taaza Thindi

    Jayanagar 4th T Block Basavanagudi and Jayanagar

    Open
    7am to noon, 4.30pm to 9.30pm, all days
    Where
    1004, 26th Main Road, 4th T Block East, opposite HDFC Bank, Jayanagar, Bengaluru 560041

    Chow chow bath here costs very little, and the kesari carries bits of pineapple through it. Pay at the counter for a token first, expect no table, and avoid the mid morning rush.

    What to orderChow chow bath with the pineapple kesari

    0 votes

  6. S N Refreshments

    JP Nagar 2nd Phase Basavanagudi and Jayanagar

    Open
    7.15am to 1.30pm, 4.15pm to 7.30pm, all days
    Where
    11, 12th Cross, 22nd Main, 2nd Phase, JP Nagar, Bengaluru 560078

    They plant a vada in the khara bath unless you say otherwise, a habit purists complain about loudly. The room is barely bigger than a bus stop, so arrive at opening or queue on the pavement.

    What to orderChow chow bath, no vada on top

    0 votes

  7. Veena Stores, Margosa Road

    Malleswaram Malleswaram and Rajajinagar

    Open
    About 6.30am to noon, then 3.30pm to 8.30pm
    Where
    183/187, 15th Cross, Margosa Road, near BSNL telephone exchange, Malleswaram, Bengaluru 560003

    Buckets of chutney, banana and cashew right through the kesari, and portions several people call small. Standing room on the pavement only. The idli is what the queue came for, not the bath.

    What to orderChow chow bath and the banana kesari bath

    0 votes

  8. Mahalakshmi Tiffin Room (MLTR), DVG Road

    Gandhi Bazaar, Basavanagudi Basavanagudi and Jayanagar

    Open
    6.30am to 11.30am and 2pm to 8pm, closing day unclear
    Where
    85/1, DVG Road, Gandhi Bazaar, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru 560004

    Two hundred metres from Vidyarthi Bhavan and far calmer, so walk here when that queue defeats you. Take chow chow bath then a khali dose. Listings disagree on which day it closes, so ring first.

    What to orderChow chow bath, then the khali dose

    0 votes

  9. Shri Sagar (CTR)

    Malleswaram Malleswaram and Rajajinagar

    Open
    7am to 12.30pm, 4 to 9.30pm daily
    Where
    7th Cross Road, off Margosa Road, opposite Malleswaram Grounds, Malleswaram, Bengaluru 560003

    Nearly everyone in the queue wants the benne dose, which means the bath counter moves quicker than the rest. Take both. It shuts between half twelve and four, so late risers miss out.

    What to orderChow chow bath alongside one benne masala dose

    0 votes

  10. Airlines Hotel

    Lavelle Road, Shanthala Nagar MG Road and central

    Open
    7am to 10pm daily
    Where
    No. 4, Madras Bank Road, off Lavelle Road, Shanthala Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru 560001

    The reason to come is eating under old trees, or from the car with a waiter walking the order out. Order chow chow bath and coffee. Prices sit several times above darshini rates.

    What to orderChow chow bath and a filter coffee

    0 votes

  11. Bengaluru Cafe, Jayanagar 2nd Block

    Jayanagar Basavanagudi and Jayanagar

    Open
    7am to 9pm, shorter on Sundays
    Where
    6, 9th Cross, 9th Main Road, 2nd Block, Jayanagar East, Bengaluru 560011

    Khara bath comes loaded with cashew and curry leaf, and the kesari is made with pineapple. Cash is safest here, there is one bench for elders, and Sunday brings a queue down the street.

    What to orderChow chow bath with the pineapple sheera

    0 votes

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